The Who, What, and Why of Jake
Let’s get personal
Born in San Jose California, I had an exciting childhood full of many relocations across the country going from San Jose, CA; to Bakersfield, CA; to Westbrook, ME; to Charlotte, NC; to Morgantown, WV where I currently reside. While I made many moves and left many comforts, it also allowed me to see places I wouldn’t have otherwise seen and learn to adapt to them.
From this fast-paced upbringing, I took Newton’s first law to heart, “an object in motion stays in motion.” Consequently, I am always looking for a new skill or concept to learn and master… sort of. A jack of all trades and a master of none, I take up many roles, quickly engross myself, and learn to succeed in them. With the cadence of today’s modern world, this mindset has given me many opportunities to benefit those around me whether they be a small company or the communities I live in.
Today, I have developed a lasting love for expression through photography, fabrication, design, teaching, and communications. These hobbies turned into career goals and gave me direction for my professional life.
Let’s talk business
I began my professional journey in the Landscape Architecture program at WVU in 2015 after spending a year in the Civil Engineering program under an academic excellence scholarship. It turned out that high-level Calculus wasn’t for me.
Regardless, I found my way through the LA program and into a job with a local environmental consultant agency based in Fairmont, WV where I gained many additional skills primarily in Restoration Design, Land Surveying, and Information Technology Administration with tinges of Environmental Assessment, Archaeology, and report-writing.
My Landscape Architecture degree gave me the skillset to competently navigate a fast-paced working environment that consistently required self-motivated research and learning to complete tasks to a professional standard. Through the program, I grew my knowledge of programs such as AutoCAD, ArcGIS, and Adobe Suite which still serve me well in my daily work.
While working in Fairmont, I had the opportunity to divide my time between the office and the field which allowed me to understand how plans translate from the screen to the real world and vice versa. I frequently jumped between planning for construction and monitoring conditions after construction to ensure that our jobs were built according to our designs. During my progression through the ranks of surveying and assessment, I was trained in the Rosgen system of stream restoration to better understand and design our restoration projects. I carry that training still and try to utilize it where I can.
My IT experience was unconventional, but informative as I was abruptly given the position. Through my time as the IT administrator for our small company, I quickly learned the ins and outs of server maintenance, GPS equipment maintenance and procurement, and the dreaded printer troubleshooting tasks. Luckily, I already had a background in computer hardware and software to aid me in my duties, especially while out of the office.
Eventually, I decided to leave for a Master’s degree in Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Resources. Since starting, I have been able to work with the WVU Smith OEDC and WVU faculty to improve the recreational resources we have in the state of West Virginia. I hope to continue this work for many years here and beyond. Who knows what comes next, but I’m sure it will be exciting!
