As an avid sports fan, it wasn’t too surprising that former Lopez student Bryce Jardine would look into a job with the Mariners. And since he was hired as the Mariner Moose, he’s been loving every minute.

“I decided I was done working on Lopez, so I started looking for jobs in Seattle. The first thing I looked at was the Mariners because sports are my life. I sent in my resume and I got the job!”

A typical day for Jardine at Safeco Field involves hanging out in the Moose Den, where fans young and old wait in line to snap a photo with the famed mascot. Sometimes he goes out onto the field, meets people in the suites, and is “around and about.” He attends nearly every game.

“I love the job. The people I work with are great. I haven’t had any problems. The only downside is that the suit gets hot on a summer day,” he laughed. Jardine also works at the YMCA in Bellevue coaching football, baseball and basketball.

Jardine, who graduated from Lopez High School in 2006, is finishing his degree to be a physical education teacher and a high school or college football coach. During his freshman year he attended school in Hawaii, but after deciding it was too expensive, he enrolled in Northern Arizona University, which he’ll be attending this fall. During this past year he worked at Lopez School with special education students and was the assistant coach for the varsity football team and the varsity basketball team as well as head coach of little league baseball.

Jardine’s been living in Seattle for the summer, and his last Mariners game is August 10.

“I’ve met really cool people. It’s always fun to hold the babies. And it’s fun when the little kids wait in line and then get scared when they see me. There’s always something different that happens each game.”

Jardine has also chatted with some of the Mariners team members, including Jose Lopez and Jeremy Reed. “I have also talked to a few players from different teams: David Eckstein from the Toronto Blue Jays and Carlos Guillen from the Detroit Tigers. The conversations were short and sweet because I am not allowed to start the conversation but if the players say ‘hey,’ then I can talk to them.”