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| Jake at age 4 |
Born Jacob Ryan Jessop in 1987 to Carmen and Joseph, I was named after the 1971 western film "Big Jake" starring John Wayne. I've always been called Jake, but I must admit that Jacob sounds rather proper and old-fashioned on paper so I'll keep it for those reasons. Passions of mine early in life were model cars and LEGOs. Around age 4, Santa brought me a Power Wheel from the amazing elves at Fisher Price. In 1991, I was way ahead of the hybrid craze with my blue, 12-volt battery powered plastic truck. I most certainly was the envy of the neighborhood. My sister Tiffany, 6 years my elder, and her friends were even begging me for a ride.
A Tiny Town
I was brought up in the tiny town of Presho, South Dakota. Don't let the population sign outside of town that reads "Pop. 648" fool you. Only 497 people were counted in the 2010 census. In the midst of my kindergarten year, my family relocated - brace yourself - to a farm six miles outside of town. My days of riding my bicycle to the schoolhouse turned to a 20 minute commute on the short bus. Nevermind, though. My grandparents lived nearby and I had spent countless days on their farm tending the chickens with my grandma, playing in the hay loft, watching sheep mysteriously give birth to baby lambs, and riding in the tractor with my dad. I had no time to think about when I was going to play with my city friends. There were hay bales to climbs, my own pond to swim in, and later, a 5 horsepower go-kart that replaced the tired 12-volt Power Wheel. Not long after the move, my brother Jordan, seven years my junior, was born and I quickly learned how to mix formula and change dirty diapers.
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| Jordan, Tiffany, and Jake in Honolulu |
In those days, I spent a lot of time on my own -playing, exploring and creating. One winter in fourth grade, I convinced my mom to order a candle-making kit from this Scholastic book order magazine we received weekly at school. I assume the reason Mrs. Hoffalt sent these “book order” magazines home was to encourage our families to buy books and her students to read them. Nonetheless, the candle-making kit arrived and I got busy. I soon developed a knack for candle making. Lucky for me, my aunt offered shelf space at her beauty salon for me to display my creations in exchange for some cleaning and secretarial duties. Before I know it, I was taking custom candle orders and pleading for rides to the nearest Wal-Mart 50 miles away so I could gather the necessary supplies. I became known as “the candle guy” and offered lessons to a few of my closest friends.
There is a hill on my family farm with a good view of my hometown and some small towns farther away. I remember going there often to reflect. I felt on top of the world. At that time, I couldn’t imagine what lay beyond the borders of my surroundings nor the people, diversity, and culture waiting for me to discover.
The Entrepreneur
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| Alicia and Jake posing in front of their store in 2007 |
By the end of high school, my farm and tiny hometown were spent in their offerings to fill my appetite for adventure. I filled my time with shifts at the one and only local restaurant, Hutch’s Café, as a cook. In the summer, I worked as a lifeguard at the swimming pool and became a business partner with my best friend at her fireworks stand. I developed another passion –making money.
During my junior year of high school, I boarded my first commercial flight bound for Kona, Hawaii. My sister was doing a semester exchange at The University of Hawaii at Hilo through her nameless home university. Before getting to Hawaii, I had to take pictures of the Denver International Airport to document my journey. This was a big deal to me. I now someday wanted to study away like my sister, only I had to outdo her with a more exotic location in the name of sibling rivalry. The only other place I had gone previous to Hawaii was to Texas by car to visit my mom’s side of the family. Something about five bodies in a 4-door car for 13 hours one-way making an annual pilgrimage to Amarillo was never entirely thrilling; however, I think that growing up with this experience made realize how easy it can be to change surroundings, even if just for a few days.
The Coyote
College rolled around. I was a Coyote at The University of South Dakota. It wasn’t long before I made good friends, figured out how to pull an all-nighter, and get busy with everything except for my class work. In fact, I was nearing the end of my sophomore year at The University of South Dakota and still hadn’t studied abroad. What happened to my dream of beating my sister at the study abroad game? If I went in the fall it meant I miss homecoming and back-to-school festivities with my fraternity brothers. If I went in the spring it meant I missed out on Strollers, a theatrical competition between Greek houses which I so fondly participated. Regardless, I logged on to my universities study abroad homepage and started scouting the prospects. Germany: language skill required. Spain: language skill required. China: Not Interested. The Netherlands: no language skill required. Bingo!
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| Posing with friend at Vlissingen Beach, NL |
A Passport
Mass emails from the study abroad coordinator indicated that a few other students from USD were signed up as well. Phew. Now I had a group of cronies and all the language skills I needed. But wait, it gets better –I was able to convince my girlfriend at the time to join me on this adventure! We could even share a room. I had it all figured out and we would be back home in time to open Christmas gifts. By the time we boarded the plane back to South Dakota at the end of the semester, it was clear to me that taking my comfort zone and moving it over the Atlantic didn’t work to my advantage. A month later I was single and back on campus for Spring semester trying to make a name for myself again, in case people had forgotten me.
Mass emails from the study abroad coordinator indicated that a few other students from USD were signed up as well. Phew. Now I had a group of cronies and all the language skills I needed. But wait, it gets better –I was able to convince my girlfriend at the time to join me on this adventure! We could even share a room. I had it all figured out and we would be back home in time to open Christmas gifts. By the time we boarded the plane back to South Dakota at the end of the semester, it was clear to me that taking my comfort zone and moving it over the Atlantic didn’t work to my advantage. A month later I was single and back on campus for Spring semester trying to make a name for myself again, in case people had forgotten me.
I started my senior and final year well knowing that I would have enough credits to graduate on time. Four years for a bachelors degree is pretty good nowadays. But I wasn’t ready. So I found myself back on the study abroad homepage. I had already seen Europe, still had no second language, and wanted a program that would complement my business degree. More importantly, I wanted what I felt I had missed during my first experience abroad: self-discovery, a new sense of confidence, and a new language. While I had in fact gotten these things to an extent in Europe, I wanted more damnit! I found it. “Otaru University of Commerce, Japan. International business classes. Japanese language skills not required. Study for one semester or one year.” This time I wouldn’t go with a pack of Coyotes. Four months in Europe seemed like a long time, but I wanted to experience more. I wanted to learn the language, make Japanese friends, and feel like part of the community.
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| Snowboarding at Asirigawa near Otaru, Japan on January of 2011 |
Destination: Japan
After putting pen to paper, I said goodbye and boarded Delta flight 619 with non-stop service from Minneapolis to Tokyo. It was everything I could have hoped for --my own micro-apartment, other students from all parts of the globe, world-class snow skiing, and beginner Japanese language classes. I couldn’t imagine a better place for me to be. On March 11, 2011, a tsunami ravaged the northeastern section of Japan. Subsequent earthquakes hit Tokyo. Though my university in Japan was not directly affected, my home university decided it was best for me to return to the states. Seven days after the tsunami hit, I was back in South Dakota. I had enough credits to graduate as I had completed the first semester in Japan, so I received my diploma in May of 2011. After the dust settled in Japan, I booked a flight back. Many of my fellow exchange students had either waited out the situation or had went home and returned back to Japan for the start of the spring semester in April. Time and money only allowed me to return for 2 weeks but I got some much needed closure to the abrupt conclusion of my exchange in Japan.
After putting pen to paper, I said goodbye and boarded Delta flight 619 with non-stop service from Minneapolis to Tokyo. It was everything I could have hoped for --my own micro-apartment, other students from all parts of the globe, world-class snow skiing, and beginner Japanese language classes. I couldn’t imagine a better place for me to be. On March 11, 2011, a tsunami ravaged the northeastern section of Japan. Subsequent earthquakes hit Tokyo. Though my university in Japan was not directly affected, my home university decided it was best for me to return to the states. Seven days after the tsunami hit, I was back in South Dakota. I had enough credits to graduate as I had completed the first semester in Japan, so I received my diploma in May of 2011. After the dust settled in Japan, I booked a flight back. Many of my fellow exchange students had either waited out the situation or had went home and returned back to Japan for the start of the spring semester in April. Time and money only allowed me to return for 2 weeks but I got some much needed closure to the abrupt conclusion of my exchange in Japan.
The Traveler
As you may have guessed, travel is a big part of my life. I've now visited 9 countries, with return visits to Sweden and Japan.
Sweden- July 2007 & October 2008
The Netherlands- August to December 2008
Spain- September 2008
France- October 2008
Italy- October 2008
Belgium- November 2008
Belize- January 2010
Japan- September 2010 to March 2011
Taiwan- March 2011
Other notable destinations include:
Branson, Missouri- August 2002
Kona, Hawaii- March 2004
Tampa, Florida- July 2004
Memphis, Tennessee- January 2007
Los Angeles- January 2007
San Jose & San Francisco- July 2008
New York City- March 2009
Honolulu- March 2011
Many more destinations to come in the future!
The Graduate
With Bachelor's of Business Administration in Human Resource Management degree in hand, I have now moved to Denver, Colorado to start a life and career in this vibrant city. You can find me on twitter @jakejessop, on LinkedIn, Facebook, or email jake.jessop@hotmail.com. Thanks for reading!
With Bachelor's of Business Administration in Human Resource Management degree in hand, I have now moved to Denver, Colorado to start a life and career in this vibrant city. You can find me on twitter @jakejessop, on LinkedIn, Facebook, or email jake.jessop@hotmail.com. Thanks for reading!
