What’s challenging/interesting/rewarding about my current job?

I get to impact lives through a game that is very special to me. I wake up excited to go to work each day and enjoy building relationships with the players. I am a teacher, mentor, motivator and communicator of complex ideas. 

How do I use various communication proficiencies in my work?

I speak to an audience with confidence. I learned to inflect and add emotion into my vocal cadence to make my information more interesting. I think this is a super important skill. I was not the most “on top of it” as a student Nora can attest, (publishers note: Jake was a good student) but I took presentation of what I learned very seriously; to my graphics, to my scripts, to practicing my vocal tone.

What surprised me about my career?

Teaching a group of 20-30 young men to become a singular unit has so many challenges. The weakest link can really drag an otherwise cohesive group down more than you expect.

Here’s my number one piece of advice for Communication undergrads:

Get really good at script writing. If you can write a good script, turning it into other media forms is a breeze. Interviewing random people really makes the stories more interesting.

Any other insight into life after graduation? 

Talk to people and be social with people around you. A simple how are you or eye contact and a smile can make a person feel seen.

Current position:  Hitting coach/Recruiting Coordinator at Dakota State University

Jobs since graduation: Hitting coach for the Fulton Railroaders, Hitting coach at Lackawanna College, pizza delivery driver, snow plow operator, private instructor, gold level Uber Eats driver

Class year: 2025