Governor Tom Corbett released his proposed budget for Pennsylvania on Tuesday. As expected, it slashed funds to many state-run organizations that will affect students and staff at Penn Manor.
Overall Corbett expects the state budget to total $27.14 billion, which is $20 million less than the previous year’s budget. Major fund cutting is in store for areas like education, public libraries, welfare, the Environmental Protection agency, Military and Veteran Affairs, and the executive offices among other state organizations.
Governor Corbett delivering his budget proposal. Photo from citizensvoice.com
Some good news for PA residents is that higher taxes are not in Corbett’s plans this year.
But, state residents will have to shell out money in other areas.
College bound students or current college students will most likely see another increase in tuition on top of the five to ten percent increase from last year.
In Corbett’s budget 20 percent of funds for the 14 state-owned universities will be cut, including 30 percent from Penn State, the University of Pittsburgh and Temple University.
“It’s encouraging more people not to go to college, which is going to make America a lot more dumb,” said senior Janelle Musser, who plans on attending a state college.
The funds for public education – kindergarten through grade twelve will be cut in some areas and was increased slightly in some categories. But with higher costs for public schools it may not be enough for school districts to avoid raising taxes.
“We have a fiscally prepared budget plan, so I think we will be ready for any budget cut the governor throws at us,” said Penn Manor Principal Jason D’Amico.
Many are upset about the cuts to public education.
“The governor is continuing down the ill-advised budget path he charted last year that pushes more and more of the costs of our public schools onto the backs of local taxpayers,” said Ted Kirsch, President of Pennsylvania American Teachers Federation in a recent article on MSNBC.
“While the governor may be taking a smaller step backward than he did in his first budget, he is still moving in the wrong direction,” Kirsch added.
He is referring to the fact that last year Corbett cut funding for k-12 education, and while this year he increased the budget Kirsch does not feel it is enough.
While Corbett is cutting welfare and higher education budgets he decided that it is necessary to increase the funding of the PA Game Commission for the sport of hunting.
Along with an increase for the Game Commission, Corbett also decided to increase funding for probation and parole.
The state Department of Corrections, after seeing an increase in funding last year, was one of the few organizations that did not see a decrease in funds in this year’s budget.
A 33-year-old teacher at Penn Manor is expecting, but the baby is not hers.
Jen Kroesen, is expecting a little boy April 25. But it so happens that this is not her child.
Kroesen is a surrogate mother. Although she has three children of her own including Jude, 6, and a set of twins, Jett and Joelle who are 4, she decided to take this unusual step so that she could help someone else experience the joys of parenthood.
Someone who could or maybe should not risk a pregnancy.
Kroesen said the genetic parents of the child she’s carrying are from Manhattan, New York. The mother is 39 years old, considered by medical personnel to be at an advanced maternal age to be having a baby. Statistics show a child born to an older mother is more susceptible to physical and mental disabilities.
Penn Manor teacher Jen Kroesen is a surrogate mother for an out-of-state couple. Photo by Maggie Dubbs
But according to Kroesen, who did not know the couple before the pregnancy, the wife couldn’t have conceived and carried a baby at any age because she has an underdeveloped uterus and therefore cannot get pregnant.
They met over the phone.
The parents in waiting came to Pennsylvania for the seven-week check-up to hear the heart beat for the first time. They also met Kroesen at the medical office for the 12-week and 20-week check up.
At the 20-week check up, they were then able to determine that the baby is a boy. Kroesen said the parents don’t have any names in mind yet, and are just glad to know the baby is healthy and growing.
“It really just felt right,” said Kroesen. “Not only have I known many people with infertility and pregnancy issues, but so many people have just had rough pregnancies and deliveries. I’ve had none of that.”
Coincidently, it was the infertility of a friend that first planted the idea of surrogacy in Kroesen’s mind.
A close friend of hers was having trouble getting pregnant.
“I offered to carry for (that) friend who was having trouble, but fortunately she did get pregnant,” Kroesen said. “After I made that offer, my husband and I talked more about it and decided we would apply to an agency to make the offer to someone we didn’t know.
“I realized how blessed my husband and I were with our three healthy kids,” she said.
But Kroesen said she worried how people would view her when she found out that some people do this for large amounts of money.
Although she declined to say how much the couple is paying her to carry their child, she said she is not doing it for the money.
There were other issues as well.
She also struggled with the fact that some clinics would fertilize many eggs at once, and then discard the unused ones. Some also performed selective reductions or abortions of unhealthy fetuses.
“(I) did not want to be a part of any of that, or go to any clinic that would do that, and didn’t want to be associated with it,” said Kroesen. The clinic that performed her in vitro did not support any of these things.
She chose to find a clinic that would meet all of her prerequisites including being able to choose what kind of parents she would be delivering to. She wanted the future parents to be married and know that they would not want to abort the fetus if any issues occurred.
Even though she chose the clinic that was right for her, the clinic also had to choose her.
In order to qualify as a surrogate, Kroesen had to have an extensive physical. Both her husband and she also had to take very intense psychological tests.
“A lot of the questions were weird, they were definitely repetitive but worded differently every time,” Kroesen said.
Kroesen plans to take a short maternity leave when she delivers the baby she is carrying. Photo by Maggie Dubbs
Kroesen knows some will wonder what her own children will think of the situation.
“They are too young to understand how this happened and too young to grow attached to a baby they can’t see,” reasoned Kroesen. “They probably will never remember this. If spoken about, we always refer to the baby as belonging to his parents.”
Kroesen freely admits there are some downsides to the nine-month experience.
“I don’t have as much energy to play with my kids,” she said. “I like to exercise and I can’t do that. I don’t regret it but I don’t think I would do it again.”
But for Kroesen, pregnancy has always been a natural and easy thing.
“I didn’t have morning sickness or any complications with my pregnancies,” she said. “My deliveries were induced because I could have carried longer. Even my pregnancy carrying twins was easy. I worked right up until the induction of both pregnancies.”
Kroesen said her athletic build is a positive in the situation.
“I’ve also carried very healthy babies,” she said. “Some doctors believe that women who have bigger babies do so because their bodies give more nutrients to the babies they are carrying. I had bigger, healthy babies and am tall so I am built to carry them. This baby is already over the 90th percentile for size.”
But she said it was a blessing to be able to do what she is doing since there was only a 35 percent chance that the surrogate pregnancy would work.
Although Kroesen doesn’t believe she will stay in close contact with the parents she won’t be surprised if the couple sends email updates or even Christmas cards.
“I really just felt like I was the perfect candidate for something like this, and I was called to do it,” said Kroesen
With 35 years of service under her belt, Ellen Pollock is ready to take the next step in life and try something new.
Assistant Superintendent of the Penn Manor School District, Ellen Pollock, announced her retirement after 35 years in public education, 34 of them with Penn Manor.
Assistant Superintendent for Penn Manor School District Ellen Pollock. Photo courtesy of Cindy Rhoades
After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Pollock became an English teacher at Solanco High School. From there she took her talents and passion to Penn Manor where she became engaged in a variety of jobs and responsibilities not only as an educator, but as an adviser and coach as well.
“If you look at what jobs I’ve done at Penn Manor, it’s been the best place anyone could ever work. I’ve been able to try so many things here as an educator – high school teacher, track coach, field hockey coach, newspaper and yearbook adviser, middle school teacher, middle school assistant principal, middle school principal, elementary principal, assistant superintendent,” explained Pollock. “I couldn’t have gone anywhere else and been able to have such a varied and fulfilling career.”
Not only has she influenced the lives of students and staff at Penn Manor, Pollock has done a great deal for the community. She is a member of the Lancaster Rotary South, a member of the Student Assistant Team and a driver for Millersville Meals on Wheels.
photo courtesy of Millersville250.org
“I think it’s important to be involved in your community,” explained Pollock
She said she feels very fortunate be able to work with the people she has over the years.
“I can retire from Penn Manor knowing that we will continue to have a wonderful administration, teaching and supporting staff in place. I also know that this district will work hard to make sure that students’ needs are being met, even as the budget gets tighter and traditional education is examined through a political lens,” said Pollock.
Pollock said during her career she’s learned a few things.
First, she emphasized, that listening to others is key and that she needed to listen more.
And secondly, she said she used to have this big educational philosophy, but she realized that it is more about how one deals and interacts with people.
“I’ve gotten so much more then I’ve given,” she said. “It’s not about me, I am where I am today because of a lot of people”, said Pollock.
Retiring from a life-long career is never an easy thing, however Pollock is confident that she is leaving a school completely capable of succeeding and continuing its excellence in preparing kids for the future.
“I liked everything,” Pollock said. “It’s been a good career and I can’t think of anything that’s a low.”
Her plans after retirement include going on a week long trip with her mom to Scotland and a surprising plan to work at Darrenkamp’s grocery store in Willow Street.
“I believe in the value of customer service. That’s what is at the cornerstone of any successful school or business. We work hard at Penn Manor to do this,” said Pollock. “Darrenkamp’s and the Darrenkamp family also believe in customer service and treating people with decency. Since I am retiring from Penn Manor I would like to work at another place that believes in this as I do.”
She explained how working at a place where customer service is the top priority is her dream job. Similar to working at Penn Manor with such a big staff, she enjoys working with people and is ready to take the jump from superintendent to supermarket.
Although Pollock is excited about the next phase of her life, the prospect of her absence is certainly hitting others in the district.
“She will be missed,” said Penn Manor Business Manager and colleague Chris Johnston.
Big brother is watching you, and at Penn Manor he received an upgrade.
Recently the high school underwent a security enhancement, adding about 120 security cameras to the previously outdated system.
“We were fortunate enough to get a grant in joint with Millersville Borough Police, so we made the upgrade,” said school resource officer Jason Hottenstein. “The system was outdated, it was time for the upgrade.”
Penn Manor recently installed cameras. Photo by Sam Valentin.
Hottenstein jokes, “The system we had was completely outdated, you couldn’t tell who was who or a person from an animal.”
The new surveillance structure is not up and running yet, but will be operational before March. Hottenstein says that in spite of this delay, the presence of the cameras has already kicked in as a deterrent to misbehavior.
“Less trouble has been happening, (the cameras are) going to help a lot,” said Hottenstein. “It’s going to be complete coverage, no partial or blind spots.”
Assistant Principal Eric Howe agrees with Hottenstein and is pleased with the upgrade opportunity.
“The federal government offered to match whatever we put in,” said Howe. “It’s great anytime you can get free money.”
Hottenstein says that the new cameras will help to maintain student safety.
Penn Manor senior, Evan Bigler agrees.
“They can watch more areas,” noted Bigler. “If someone is doing something illegal they can catch them and keep the school safe.”
“The number one thing it will help with is student physical altercations. They can be a tool to determine how it started and who started it,” said Hottenstein. But not all students agree with Bigler.
“I think they are a bit unnecessary,” said Penn Manor senior, Katrina Torres. She added jokingly, “It kind of feels like a jail.” Torres is also a victim of multiple robberies here at Penn Manor. She thinks the cameras will help cut down on this issue.
“Hopefully it will aide in preventing such behavior,” said Torres, a victim of thievery here at Penn Manor. Hottenstein also said how they can help them respond quicker to these altercations, among other concerns like theft.
“It will help solve the theft issues we’ve been having in locker rooms,” said Hottenstein.
Altogether Hottenstein says that Penn Manor should feel safer after these cameras are up and running.
In 1946, David Lombardo started the family-owned restaurant “Lombardo’s” in Lancaster City. Since then, it has been a tradition in the Lombardo family to pass down the ownership from generation to generation.
But it’s a tradition in which Alex Lombardo – who is next in line-is not interested in, but he doesn’t want to tell his family just yet.
Alex Lombardo pondering his future plans. Photo credit by Brady Charles.
Now in 2012, a big decision needs to be made.
Lombardo, a senior at Penn Manor High School, will decide in the upcoming months, whether he will attend college for a business degree and keep his family tradition alive by running the restaurant, or will he decide to chase his own dream of becoming an engineer.
Growing up around the restaurant, Lombardo learned plenty of valuable lessons about running the restaurant. He said he has been trained to take over the business.
“I’ve been working as a bus boy at the restaurant [Lombardo’s] for three years now, and I grew up helping out around the restaurant,” said Lombardo.
“But I can already tell it’s not what I want to do for the rest of my life,” he said.
The decision now rests on the shoulders of the third generation, Alex Lombardo, who is quite unsure of his future right now.
“It’s a lot of pressure,” he said. “Part of me wants to take over the business, and I know my family would be happy if I would do that, but at the same time I’m just not sure if that’s what I want to do for the rest of my life. I would really like to be an engineer.”
Along with the benefits of great pay and not having a boss, the restaurant business can be very risky if the owner doesn’t make proper decisions. One day your business could be flying high, and the next day you could be shutting down.
According to a study done by Ohio State University, approximately 60 percent of restaurants shut down within their first three years of opening. Owning your own restaurant is very demanding, and requires a lot of time and effort from the owner.
“I’d have to give up a lot of nights and weekends if I took over the business, I’d rather have my nights and weekends for my down time,” said Lombardo. ” I really don’t like the stress the business would bring.”
“In the end it doesn’t matter what we think because it’s ultimately his decision,” said Alex’s father, Michael Lombardo, about his son’s uncertain goals.
Lombardo wants to go to Temple or Penn State University next fall, and wants to major in engineering, but only if he decides not to follow in the footsteps of the Lombardos of previous generations.
When the time is right, Lombardo will come to a decision.
Some people might think Ryan DiCamillo playing and practicing on the same hockey team with his girlfriend is weird, but DiCamillo doesn’t think it’s even unusual.
“We act as teammates,” said DiCamillo. “We don’t act like we’re dating when we’re on the ice. We just play the game, so it’s not weird.”
It’s the first year that DiCamillo, also know as “Dico,” has ever played hockey on an actual team.
Ryan Di Camillo and Jessie Capanelli are dating and are teammates. Photo by Errol Hammond
His girlfriend, Jessie Capanelli, however, has been playing singe age 10.
Although it’s his first year, he has done very well.
Teammate Braden Kruger (goalie for the Comets) had positive things to say about the couple.
“Being on the same team with them is unique and kinda cool,” said Kruger.
Dico said he wasn’t intimated to come out for a new sport in his final year of high school.
“It’s senior year,” he said. “I like the sport and it’s something to do. Plus it would be cool to do it with her.”
DiCamillo is supportive of his girlfriend and proud of her accomplishments. She received a scholarship and recently committed to Stevenson University to play ice hockey there.
“I’ll be watching her play,” said DiCamillo. “It’s not a far drive and she’ll play on the weekend, so it’ll work out well.”
But DiCamillo can’t completely separate his feelings for his girl when she’s playing on the team.
“Alright, if she gets hit clean then I’m cool with it,” laughed DiCamillo. “Then when she get’s hit dirty, ’cause she’s a girl, then I get [mad] and hit them, but it’s hockey you know, so…that’s how that works.”
Playing a good season on a team with his girlfriend for the first year was a fun way for Dico to end senior year.
“I had fun playing with her and the team this season,” he said. “I would have started in my freshman year if I could go back.”
The spring lacrosse season is fast approaching and the Comets are looking to make some noise in the section and league. The boys lacrosse players are itching to show what they can do in what is considered a fairly tough league.
“We are going to have a lot of potential,” said senior crease attackman Mitch Domin. “We really could be go. I am pumped for the season.”
The Comets lost some key pieces from last year, however they still have a solid foundation with talented returning players. Key players this year include Alex Cummins, David Mohimani on defense, and Harrison Manning, Alex Kirk, and Brady Charles playing attack.
“Our defense will be rock solid,” said senior laxer Alex Cummins who is going to Flordia Tech next year to play college lacrosse. “I think it is our strength but I might be a little biased because I play defense, but we will be tough.”
Cummins added, “With our defense playing well, we can play with anyone.”
Penn Manor’s defense is almost completely back this season after the shut-down defense of Jaquan Presbery. Attack and midfield which lost some talented but they comets are reloading and not rebuilding.
Alex Cummins playing lock-down defense with a long pole.
“We lost some really good players and a lot of people need to step up but we will be fine,” said Domin.
They are coming into the season with high hopes.
” We will definitely be able to contend,” said first year varsity player Ian Martzall.
” Any team could be good. The section is pretty up in the air at this point,” Domin said as he started pondering about the up coming season.
“We can win it this year,” said Eric Schlotzhauer a Penn Manor lacrosse player, “I am really looking forward to see how everything shakes out my senior season.”
Penn Manor will look to run with the best teams. The lacrosse team has been described as “pure speed” by some.
“Our strength is no doubt our athleticism. We are fast and if we get our fundamentals down then we can be a dominant presence in the league this year,” said Domin.
The comets first game will be at Hempfield at 4:15. This is starting the season out with a bang playing against their section rivals and they look to start their season on the right foot. However lacrosse players are begging for a better student section during the games this year.
“With some student support, the lacrosse team should be a force, but we need as many people as possible to come out and support,”said Domin.
“Last year the student support was really weak. This year it has to be different,” explained Martzall.
Penn Manor lacrosse wants to make some noise this year and win the section. It won’t be easy but it seems that comets are hungry to see what is to come. They are up to the challenge.
“We can definitely win it (section) this year,” said Martzall, “You better believe that we are going to kick some butt this season.”
High school junior Aaron Brown does something most kids his age would think is absurd. He asks his parents to ground him.
Brown is, in most respects, an average 17-year old boy. He plays on the school golf and baseball teams, as well as in Penn Manor’s recreational basketball league. In his free time, he focuses on his school work, plays video games and enjoys hanging out with his friends.
However, when video games begin to interfere with his school work or sports, he asks his parents to take them away.
To many, Brown’s solution to this common issue seems preposterous and unthinkable.
To his critics, he replied, “I’m not very self-motivated, it’s something I need to work on.”
Brown admits that at times he can be a video game addict and an hour of gaming can quickly turn into an entire evening, demolishing any opportunity to spend extra time on his school work. His courses include the likes of AP Calculus BC and Honors Physics. Most of his peers don’t see a lack of time for school work to be much of a concern.
“I’m hard working, organized and a good student. I take pride in getting good grades,” said Brown.
Aaron Brown, Penn Manor junior. Photo by Taylor Skelly.
While Brown insists he lacks self-motivation, he does display an admirable trait, self-discipline. Brown’s ability to recognize something holding him back from performing his best in school, in this case video games, allows him to stay focused on achieving a larger goal of his, playing either baseball or golf while attending Lebanon Valley College.
“It’s a good school and the right size for me,” said Brown, “It’s also in a good location. I don’t want to go too far away from home because I have a good relationship with my parents.”
“I have a lot of respect for him for taking his schoolwork so seriously, but most kids his age would think he’s ridiculous,” said Penn Manor junior Travis Wells.
Despite the chastising Brown receives from time to time, he says he plans on continuing to handle his video game problem the same way for the rest of his high school career.
“It works for me,” he said.
In college, Brown hopes to use what he is learning in high school to move past his current video game habits and prepare himself for a career as an actuary.
“I probably won’t even have an XBOX in college, so I won’t have any option but to hit the books,” said Brown.
For this junior, getting into a good college is more important than countless empty hours of video games.
Typically, people don’t realize what they have until it is taken away from them.
James Frese is like most people. He found a greater appreciation for the things he took for granted in life, once they were taken away.
Frese is currently a senior at Penn Manor High School, and a member of the Penn Manor Ice Hockey Club. He has played ice hockey since second grade.
However, Frese was not entirely sure if he would be physically ready to play this season with Penn Manor.
In September of Frese’s sophomore year in high school, he found himself in discomfort on a family vacation.
“I woke up with an odd leg pain, and I didn’t know why because the days before I didn’t do anything active that would cause soreness or pain,” said Frese.
Frese went to his doctor’s for a diagnosis, and after numerous tests over the next five months, he got his diagnosis.
“I was scared about the situation leading up to my diagnosis,” recalled Frese. “The doctors had no idea what it was.”
Frese was diagnosed with spondyloarthritis. Spondyloarthritis starts in the spine, with symptoms of inflammation and stiffness. The inflammation and soreness can spread to the arms and legs.
In Frese’s case, he experiences significant pain in both of his heels and in his right knee.
“There’s a very slim population in the world that has spondyloarthritis, and each person has inflammation in different areas, so that’s why the doctors were so unsure,” said Frese.
There is no cure for the condition and Frese was told that it was unlikely that he would make a full recovery.
As a result of the diagnosis and the amount of inflammation at the time, he did not return to the game of ice hockey his sophomore and junior year.
James Frese (left) enjoys one of his personal pastimes, hunting. Photo taken by Braden Kruger.
Frese did not go through rehab for the condition, since rehab cannot do anything to help the pain or inflammation that comes with spondyloarthritis. The only method of easing some of the pain was to take anti-inflammatory medication.
By the time his senior year arrived, he finally had the physical capability to play hockey again. At the same time however, his symptoms were not completely absent.
At the beginning of the year, Frese made the decision to take the ice once again.
“It was pretty much if I wanted to play, I could. I knew my limitations,” Frese said. “Luckily, I was good enough to play this year.”
He returned to the Comets in full force. Frese tallied three goals and six assists on the blue line, for a total of nine points. His point total is second most among defensemen on the team.
Senior Comet netminder, Braden Kruger, also relies heavily on the defensive play of Frese in front of him.
“He’s been a major help to me as the goalie and the entire team,” said Kruger. ‘He blocks so many shots which helps me majorly and he is one of our best defenseman.”
Kruger is also a good friend to Frese off the ice and recognizes the magnitude of the decision that Frese had to make before the season began.
“I’m sure it was a tough decision on playing again or not since his injury took a lot out of him. It shows that he is a determined as a person and a player to come play again,” said Kruger.
Frese said the whole experience has taught him that even the young cannot take life for granted.
“I look at life a lot differently now and I realized that overnight, it’s possible for your entire life to cartwheel,” Frese said.”Playing ice hockey this year has really brought my attitude around now that I actually look forward to things that I enjoy doing, so it really means a lot to me to be healthy enough to play.”
With eight years of acting experience and thirteen productions under her belt, senior Courtney Jacobs is ready to graduate and take on college, committing to an acting major.
Since age 10 Jacobs has known theater was something she wanted to do. Jacobs admits starting theater camp at age 10 at the Fulton Theater was a big step in making her who she is today. She will always remember that her passion for theater started close to home.
“My Nanny and Poppy met and fell in love in the show Oklahoma. Growing up in their house they were always singing show tunes,” Jacobs recalled, “My Nan taught me songs from all of the classics and I fell in love with them,”
Jacobs’ family played a tremendous part in why she is so dedicated to and has such a love for the arts.
“My mom was in theater growing up, and my dad has been in a band since high school. I was lucky enough to grow up in a musical family.”
Courtney Jacobs. Photo by Austin Hess
Since Jacobs was brought up in a “musical family” and started acting when she was 10, one has to wonder how starting theater so young has affected her acting now as a seventeen year old.
“I’m glad that I started when I was 10, because it really helped me build confidence and become proud of my performing abilities. I don’t get as nervous because of it.”
Every summer, the Fulton runs a summer camp for kids ages 10 to 16 called Broadway Jr., where kids spend three weeks auditioning and practicing for a show that they perform at the end of the program. Jacobs has been in numerous Broadway Jr. courses.
Since beginning the camp, Jacobs has been involved in the shows Guys and Dolls, Honk!, Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Phantom Tollbooth, Pirates of Penzance and Annie. Being involved in each show has provided Jacobs with a fun and unique learning experience. She has contributed many great traits to Penn Manor Productions and will use those traits throughout the rest of her career.
Jacobs says that in each show she uses a different acting technique.
Moving forward from her six shows at the Fulton, Jacobs has starred in seven Penn Manor Productions: Little Shop of Horrors, Check Please, Curtains, Is He Dead?, The Music Man, Dracula and this year’s spring musical, Seussical. Seussical, simply known as “Seuss!” by many of the cast members, will be Jacobs’ last show at Penn Manor before she graduates.
Little Shop of Horrors was the Penn Manor production Jacobs made her freshman year.
“Making my first show my freshman year really boosted my confidence and helped me to believe in myself and my ability more,” Jacobs said.
After finishing Little Shop, Jacobs auditioned for the 2009 spring production Beauty and the Beast but wasn’t chosen for the cast.
“Although I wasn’t cast in Beauty and the Beast, that was kind of a lesson in itself – not making a show. It taught me to never be disappointed or bitter because you just weren’t right for something, and not to doubt myself, but to improve instead,” she said.
That is what makes Jacobs so bright, she is positive and adds positive energy to any environment. Since Jacobs did not make the show, she joined the publicity crew, which will make her future brighter and more informed in marketing.
After her first year of high school and two finished shows, Jacobs went on to be in the next six Penn Manor productions.
“I applied to Point Park, DeSales, Frostburg and Fairleigh Dickinson Universities. I have been accepted to all four,” she said.
Before getting to the real college auditions, she decided to compete in the acting categories of this years annual Pennsylvania State Thespian Conference to earn scholarship money. Not only has Conference provided theater scholarship opportunities for Jacobs, it has given her the most positive theater experience she could have ever asked for.
“It’s honestly the most amazing thing in the entire world. I have gathered so much knowledge, information, opportunities, and friendships from that wonderful place. I performed in an individual event for dialog my junior year, and had a scholarship audition during my senior year. A representative from each of my colleges mentioned sat in on my audition, and that is the reason that I’ve received my scholarships,” she said. “The people and experiences are life changing, and it’s the most fun I’ve ever had.”
After all this is through, she is excited to begin college and get even more experience in her life long ambition. But how do you choose where to go when you have so many options?
“I was given an $8,000 a year acting scholarship to Point Park and a $10,500 a year scholarship to Fairleigh Dickinson. I’ve dropped Frostburg from my choices, but I have my scholarship audition at DeSales on Feb. 11,” Jacobs said happily.
With so many things going through her head about college, she cannot help but think about the ups, downs, nerves, and leaving the friends shes had the past 4 years of her acting career after graduation.
“I’m excited to wake up ever day and do what I love. I’m excited to grow as an actress, and learn from people better than me. I’m nervous for the audition processes, and living with someone I don’t know. Mostly, I’m just excited to show other people what I can do, and get better at it. It’s scary going into a talent based profession because there’s so much competition, but it’s going to be amazing.” she said. “I have made every single one of my best friends through a show or musical performance. They’re the best people. You become so close when you’re in a cast because you get to see each person express themselves, and you’re forced to get comfortable with each other in order for the show to be successful. Theater hasn’t taken a toll on my social life because theater is my social life.”
With practicing and performing Seussical, having her final State Thespian Conference this year, graduation and moving on to a great college experience, Jacobs certainly seems prepared to tackle anything that comes her way in the future. Looking back four years and seven shows, was she certain this was how her life was going to unfold her senior year?
That answer is yes.
Jacobs knew that with her determination, passion, and ability, she was going to succeed at anything she set out to do.
“I have always known what I’ve wanted to do with my life, but High School is what really made me sure of it. I thought that maybe I’d end up doing it, but I never knew if I was ‘good enough to make it.’ When I hit the stage, I know where I’m supposed to be,” she said.
“I honestly would not change anything. I am so happy that people pushed me to audition for that scholarship at conference, and I’m thankful for everyone who has taught me things along the way. I have loved the parts I’ve play in each show, and I’m excited to be involved for the rest of my life,” said Jacobs.
