Meet Jacob!
Jacob has been a student in our virtual program for four years and will be graduating with the Class of 2026!
Before finding The Open School, Jacob attended several different online schools. When he moved back to California in 2019, he considered attending an in-person program because he was looking for more social interaction and opportunities to build stronger friendships. Due to the pandemic, those plans changed, and he continued his education online. The online schools he attended followed a more traditional structure with standard classes, assignments, and tests, and Jacob found it difficult to keep up with the workload. Over time, he began to feel that this style of education was not the right fit for him. Eventually, he found The Open School, and he shares that his time here has been some of the most fun, meaningful, and memorable years of his life.
Some of his favorite memories include the unique inside jokes, shared traditions, and special moments that helped create a strong sense of community among students. He especially enjoyed the end-of-year celebrations and the creative trivia games hosted throughout the years. One of his favorites was “Eric Trivia,” which was centered around a former virtual staff member that featured many of the iconic memes and jokes students had created over time!
Jacob enjoyed sponsoring and participating in activities where students could gather, play games, and connect over shared interests. He often streamed games such as Minecraft and Hearts of Iron 4, creating spaces for students to hang out and spend time together. He also would regularly sponsor an activity called Everything SCP, where students explored and discussed content related to the SCP universe!
One of the things Jacob values most about the school is the supportive environment. He shares that the staff have always been approachable, attentive, and genuinely willing to listen to student feedback and provide guidance when needed. Group advising, in particular, has been a meaningful part of his experience, offering a welcoming space where students can connect, reflect, and feel comfortable opening up to one another.
While Jacob is grateful for his time at The Open School, he shares that he wishes he had pushed himself more to take advantage of certain opportunities and further develop his time management and commitment skills. One example he points to is an offer of math tutoring that he chose not to pursue at the time. Reflecting on that decision, ultimately motivated him to join the weekly math class this year. These experiences have encouraged him to continue strengthening those skills as he prepares to begin community college.
Jacob also enjoyed participating in classes that fostered creativity, particularly those focused on character creation and world-building, which inspired him to further develop his own stories, characters, and fictional worlds. He also spent time teaching himself 3D modeling through Blender, creating weapons, characters, and scenes while building his skills through tutorials and hands-on practice. He continues to work on these projects and hopes to keep improving his abilities in the future.
Jacob has also explored interests beyond his primary passions. For the past two years, he has attended Hackingtons, a coding school that offers both online and in-person learning opportunities. During his time there, he earned black belt certifications in both HTML and JavaScript.
One of his proudest accomplishments was recreating the Undertale website as part of his HTML certification project. The project required extensive coding, including building a working menu, importing the correct fonts and images, and creating different buttons that displayed information about purchasing the game on multiple platforms. Jacob is very proud of the skills he developed and the work he accomplished through his time at Hackingtons!
As he prepares for his next chapter at Sierra College, Jacob feels both excited and nervous about what lies ahead. While he is still exploring potential majors and career paths, he hopes to pursue work that allows him to create things others can enjoy, whether through art, games, storytelling, or other creative projects. In the meantime, he plans to continue living at home, attend college, and find a job to help save for the future.
Jacob is especially thankful for his family, friends, and the staff members who supported him throughout his journey, including Jessica, Pat, Lexie, and his former advisor, Eric. He credits them with encouraging him to pursue the projects and interests he was most passionate about. Jacob looks back fondly on the experiences, opportunities, and friendships he found at The Open School and will always cherish his time in the community!
