Majors: Political Science
Hometown: Aurora, Nebraska
Not everyone’s path leads directly to college — and Jacob knows that from experience. After graduating from high school, Jacob took a gap year to explore his options.
Eventually, he enrolled in a community college to get back in the swing of school. But when he transferred to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, things didn’t fall immediately into place. As a transfer student entering a new school amidst a pandemic, adjusting was hard. He leaned on the Center for Academic Success and Transition (CAST), Counseling and Psychological Services and his friends.
Jacob’s own experience as a transfer student inspired him to help others. He became a transfer student peer mentor at CAST, a role in which he gets to help fellow Huskers as they adjust to life at UNL.
“I didn't want people like me to feel like they were less than, or I didn't want people to feel like they were alone in their transfer experience,” Jacob said.
Though he entered UNL undeclared, Jacob is now a political science student with minors in economics and national security studies. He hopes to attend law school — something he never would’ve seen himself doing years ago.
Jacob’s path to college has proven to him that everyone’s journey is different.
“I wanted to be a peer mentor because I wanted people that were in my position a year ago to know that they're not alone. There are multiple paths to success and multiple paths to find your calling — and that doesn't always involve spending four years at your state university or spending four years at your dream school,” Jacob said. “If you don't know what you want to do, you're unsure, or you have circumstances in your life that prevent you from taking the traditional path, there are tools and there are multiple ways that you can achieve what you want to achieve.”
