Jacob’s Story

Unlike my wife I had a rather boring childhood. I was born in Provo, Utah and grew up in Provo and a small town 20 miles to the south called Salem. I have an older brother named John and sister named Janele. I also have two younger brothers name Joseph and Paul with a younger sister named Ruth between them. As I was growing up I was the kid that never fit in at school and it was not until high school that I found my niche with theatrical lighting and special effects. I did look into making a career of it but found that the work could be sporadic and decided that I wanted something more secure. Growing up I started working at a young age with my first job being a paperboy at 10 and then working for the high school theatrical department. I have always worked for someone else and have no desire to run my own business. One thing I have learned about myself is that I like to operate semi-independent but I don’t want to be the one that has to figure everything out.

At the age of nineteen I served a mission in the Arkansas, Little Rock Mission from 1996-1998. It was some of the best times of my life. I didn’t see a lot of baptisms while I was on my mission but I did grow by leaps and bounds. After my mission I decided to go to college and it was going well until my mom got a job, all the kids were out of the house, and I lost my Pell Grant. I ended up dropping out of college because of the funds and it was shortly after this that I meet my wife Sharon.

Sharon and I have an interesting story in that when she first saw me while I was sleeping on my brother John’s couch she knew that I was the man she would marry. I woke up shortly afterwards and saw her for the first time and thought that she was gorgeous. She also said that she was not going to get married until she was 93 and I decided to prove her wrong. Well I was able to succeed in that and we were married before she turned 23.

After getting married I ended up working several different jobs and Sharon had to quit hers because of problems it caused her back. I decided that I needed to get back to college and get more education. This then lead to joining the U.S. Army where I have been serving for over five years. In the Army I have been to both Iraq and Afghanistan and have learned what it takes to get along with different people. There just isn’t a choice when you live with someone else that is not of your choosing.

After leaving the Army later this year, 2009, I plan on going to college and finishing my bachelor’s degree and then working on getting my masters. After I have my masters I plan to be a colleger professor.