MEET Jacqueline!

 

Jacqueline is a 15-year-old sophomore at Novato High School in Marin, and the very first student accepted by Summer Search North Bay this year! She was nominated by her English teacher, Sue Sommer, who worked with colleague Eve Cooper to refer her to the program. Her Summer Search mentor is Lindsey Roark.

Why do you think you were chosen to be in Summer Search?
I think because I showed them how much I want to be in it and how much I’m willing to learn and how much I want to help other people. I guess maybe in the future I can see myself as a leader. I have to work on it, definitely.

Have you learned anything about yourself from being in Summer Search?
I actually ended up learning about myself in the interview. I told them that I wanted to get into sports at school and that I wanted to be on a team, and they were wondering – why hadn’t I tried out for sports before? I told them I just don’t have enough time. But they were still wondering about that, and we figured out that it was the competitiveness in the sports that I really did not like. I just never realized it before, but the aggressiveness just reminded me of things in my past and everything, and that was what made me stop myself from actually joining in. So the week after my interview were soccer trials and I decided to go out for them. It was competitive and there was pushing and shoving, but I had actually had fun. I felt like I was actually trying to open up and try something different and I felt really proud of myself.

What is the most exciting part of Summer Search for you?
The most exciting parts about Summer Search are challenging myself and working on myself because I know I need to be more open and not so shy. And I’m excited about going to Wyoming with Teton Science Schools. I picked it because one of my favorite, favorite hobbies is drawing and so I’ll get to learn more skills at that. I think the first year is the trip to work on myself, and then the following year I’m going to get the opportunity to do volunteer work and I’ve always wanted to go out in the world and help other people. My family is excited about Summer Search too. My sister wants to be a Summer Search student next year.

Jacqueline was nominated for Summer Search by Sue Sommer, who teaches her Honors English class, and who describes her as, “Just delightful. She’s just really a good kid who just needs to become a little more sure of herself. I’ve had other kids who I’ve nominated for Summer Search in the past and they just blossomed, and I’m hoping Jackie will too.”

Her mentor, Lindsey, has been very impressed by Jacqueline so far, from her thoughtfulness in the interview to her ability to make changes in her life based on the insights she’s gaining in the mentoring: “It was incredibly refreshing how much she processed the questions we asked in the interview, and examined the details of her life, and was able to put her own conclusion into her own words. She was pretty shy and she’s already making steps to be more active with her voice and leadership. After her interview, she took a lead role singing in church, which she had said no to for years. So it seems like already she’s seeing herself differently – she’s seeing herself as someone who can step up, and so she’s doing that.”