Staff at the Arvada Library have said, "You have to experience the phenomenon that is JACK!" And right they are — this teen volunteer is filled to the brim with enthusiasm, positivity and talent.
Jack is a seventh grader who joined the Library in 2022 as a Summer Challenge volunteer and has already distinguished himself as extraordinary. He excels at making patrons feel welcomed and acknowledged each time they visit the Library. In fact, more than one patron has asked the staff at Arvada who Jack was and if we were planning to offer him a job because they had such a great experience interacting with him during the Summer Challenge!
Jack decided to volunteer at JCPL to see what the responsibility of having a job would feel like and learned that working is harder than it looks. One of his biggest struggles was trying to keep all the Summer Challenge books organized and well stocked (not to mention running up and down the many stairs at the Arvada Library)! Jack had the most fun handing out prizes and seeing the kids' faces light up when they got their reward for reading. One of Jack's funniest memories from the summer was when he accidentally got locked in the stairwell going down to the basement of the Library to get more books — luckily, another volunteer heard him knocking for help and quickly set him free!
Jack is looking forward to volunteering again and is considering working part-time at the Library in the future.
Jack is also interested in working at a rock shop since he's a collector of fossils and curios and has extensive knowledge in geology and paleontology.
During the school year, Jack keeps extremely busy with extracurriculars. He is an actor and will be appearing in five different shows this year! This past fall, his confident and extroverted personality served him well in his role as Bruce Bogtrotter in his school's musical rendition of "Matilda."
Jack would love to be a famous actor, but if that doesn't work out, he is also extremely interested in a career in tech. He is already proficient in coding and can frequently be found modding video games or apps on his phone. All his coding knowledge is self-taught, and he even has his own Youtube channel focused on gaming and mods.
Despite his busy schedule, Jack always makes time for reading and completes all his required reading for the school year by the end of October! He is a big fan of all of Rick Riordan's books, and after finishing the Percy Jackson series over the summer, he is now working his way through "The Trials of Apollo." He loves that he gets to learn about mythology while being immersed in a fantasy world — and has even picked up some Greek and Latin while reading the series!
Jack recommends any teens who love reading to volunteer at the Library because you get to know lots of new people and have some fun as well!
"Always believe in yourself," Jack reminds those who may doubt themselves. "If you work hard, everything will work out."
