Jeffrey Reese

Jeffrey Reese

Jeffrey Reese was born and raised in Sandy, Utah where he grew up with his parents and younger twin brothers. Despite being born and raised in Utah, he and his brothers were not raised in the traditionally religious household Utah is known for. This oftentimes contributed to a feeling of isolation. Jeffrey vividly recalls being bullied early in his school days. However, despite this, Jeffrey was a focused student, earning straight A’s through high school and even lettering in academics as a result of his scholastic achievements.

After graduation from Brighton High School, and with a dream of becoming a veterinarian, Jeffrey briefly attended the University of Utah after high school, working at a veterinary clinic to help pay tuition. While in college, at 19 he began drinking and attending parties as he started to get comfortable and make friends. However, he still felt uncomfortable inside his own skin and in class. He was too timid to ask professors questions and his studies began taking a backseat to work. Once his grades began to slip, Jeffery decided to drop out of college and work full time. At the age of 23, Jeffrey married his high school sweetheart but divorced after 18 months. The dissolution of his marriage resulted in increased alcohol abuse, resulting in a DUI and brief stints in jail.
During this time, after running his friend’s restaurant and observing his mother’s career in the industry, Jeffrey decided on a career in the restaurant industry. While he loved being in the hospitality industry, his life continued to derail due to poor choices that were fueled by his increasing alcohol consumption, also contributing to his feelings of isolation. Needing a change, Jeffrey accepted a job opportunity to move to Denver, Colorado in 2018, where his over-consumption of alcohol truly got out of hand and became an everyday occurrence. Being introverted and lacking friends, outside of work, he never had to leave his house and could drink in an endless cycle.

Life really started falling apart when he turned 35. After another failed relationship and a broken engagement, his parents purchased him a one-way ticket to Florida with the hopes that he could stay with a cousin and hopefully start a new life. He lasted a total of 12 days, during which time he quickly learned the hard lesson that you cannot run away from your problems. Jeffrey knew he needed to find his way and take back his life. Fortunately, Jeffrey’s mother had a connection at Red Barn and reached out to them hoping that Red Barn academy would be the answer he was looking for.

Still in Florida, Jeffrey initially failed his interview with Red Barn due to being intoxicated. But realizing that this was his last chance, Jeffrey passed his second interview and flew back to Utah to enter the program. Being accepted into Red Barn provided Jeffrey with the second chance that he was seeking, and he has not looked back since. He has now been at the Barn since July of 2020.

His journey has not been without its challenges and adopting the mindset that Red Barn instills in its students took patience. During his time here Jeffrey has developed a mantra that he strongly believes in which is, “consistency plus patience equals reward”. To have the courage and consistency to keep doing the next right thing, and being of service to others, has brought him to where he is now. He is grateful to be giving back to the place and people that inspired him and helped him to become the man he is today. Jeffrey has now been at Red Barn Academy for two and a half years. While he was a student here, Jeffrey worked as a moving clerk, the moving manager, and as a house manager. In October of 2022 he became staff-in-training and as of January 1, 2023 is a full time staff member. Jeffrey is currently the Red Barn Director of Operations and continues to strive to stay patient and consistent.