Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacob Schwartz.
Jacob, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
When I entered middle school, I made it my mission to build meaningful, lasting relationships with as many people as I could. I decided that the best way to do this was through student government. After I fell in love with the program and its values, I continued ASB throughout High School, serving as Black Mountain Middle School’s ASB President, and Westview High School’s Sophomore Class President and ASB Vice President. These roles gave me the platform I needed to better help both my peers and my community.
A word about this. Many, especially those in government, have vague aspirations about “helping their community”. Often, that “community” is a sort of nameless, faceless ideal, removed from the passion and anguish that drive every individual. I see government differently. I start with people– real, flesh-and-blood people. I ask them what motivates them, what scares them, what makes them feel safe, or appreciated, or anxious. Then, I work to restructure the institutions that are bearing down on them; I try to make these institutions more efficient, more humane, more user-friendly. Although I believe I have made a positive impact on many people’s lives, there is still much more work to be done.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
My entire life I have struggled with depression and anxiety. Due to the severity of these conditions, I began medication and therapy in the third grade. Throughout elementary and middle school, the workloads were relatively easy. I rarely felt stressed.
When I went into high school, however, I hit a complete brick wall. All of a sudden, classes were harder, friends were cliquey and everything (I mean everything) was a competition. These aspects triggered my anxiety, often leading to situations where I would have to remove myself to recollect my thoughts and emotions. As the years passed and I became an upperclassman, the work and stress grew astronomically. Without changing something, I knew I could not be my absolute best.
I began paying more attention to stress management, organization and self-reflection. With a stronger mindset, I grew as a person, learner and leader. Now, whenever a situation arises where I get overwhelmed or feel like I am on the brink of a breaking-down, I have more tools and experience to know how to best handle the circumstances.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I attended Westview High School from 2015-2019. Throughout my four years, I had an overall great experience. I had fantastic professional relationships with my teachers and administrators, as well as a strong friend group who always supported me in my endeavors.
Many people described me as “the hardest worker they have ever known.” I woke up at 6 am, ran two miles, went to school, attended my four AP classes, attended two club meetings at lunch, went to practice, worked from 6-10 then completed homework. This is excluding other extracurriculars such as piano, cross country/track, and being on the Poway Unified School District Board of Education.
Through my positions across various boards and clubs, I met many people with varying backgrounds. I learned how to work with individuals who are different than me, as well as encourage people to be their best selves. Because of this, many people would also describe me as empathetic and caring. This compliment was one of the most impactful for me because my mother (my everything), has always taught me to show empathy wherever possible.
I specialized in a variety of subjects at Westview. My main focus was of course school. I took almost every STEM AP science offered and received nothing less than an A- until my senior year. Outside of actual schoolwork, I spent almost all of my time on three things: ASB, Best Buddies and PUSD Board of Education.
I was in ASB since the sixth grade. ASB became my home, and my high school advisor, Ms. Shannon Parker became one of my biggest role models. People also knew me as “the ASB kid” because I was always doing something for the class.
Best Buddies was another safe place for me. Best Buddies is an international organization that strives to create friendships between individuals with and without disabilities. I was lucky enough to befriend many of the students inside the special education program at Westview, some of them becoming my closest friends. Best Buddies was not just a club for me. It was my second family.
In my senior year of high school, I was elected to the Poway Unified Board of Education as the Student Representative. In this role, I was to represent all 36,000 students inside PUSD. This was a very difficult, daunting and stressful task, but nothing has taught me more about working with professionals. I learned the inner workings of a school district, as well as the logistics behind the local government. Westview was not a school. It was a collection of second homes where I felt most safe. Overall, I would not trade my high school experience for anything different.
What were you like growing up?
I have retained many of the same characteristics throughout my life. One of my first passions was community service. I knew how fortunate I was to be living comfortably in San Diego but also knew many people were not. I worked at my first soup kitchen when I was around nine years old. After only a few hours of volunteering, I was introduced to some of the most inspirational individuals I have ever met. This was when I fell in love with community service.
I also had many interesting hobbies and talents. For example, I could make anything, and I mean anything, out of duct tape. I collected rare tape-rolls to eventually re-sell when their value increased. Unfortunately, and expectedly, their value never increased by a cent. However, my passion for duct tape taught me more than just how to stick strips of tape together. It provided me some of my first experiences of not giving up. Many of these structures would take weeks if not months to make. I learned that if I didn’t finish the job, I wouldn’t be satisfied with myself and/or I would let others (my customers) down. This mindset of not giving up and to “finish what you start” allowed me to become notably trusted on a variety of different tasks, especially ones that required in-depth work and considerable amounts of time.
In short, I was a very creative, caring kid. I loved to volunteer and be an entrepreneur, especially when it involved using my talents. Overall, I would argue the positive experiences I had during my childhood greatly impacted the person I am today.
Contact Info:
- Email: jakeschwartz7@gmail.com
- Instagram: jake.schwartzz
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