Senior Profile: Gabe Jacobson
Gabe Jacobson is a six-year senior who has contributed greatly to the visual arts program. He is known for his memorable Assembly announcements and his quirky sense of humor. While Williston will certainly lose a little of its personality next year with his departure, Gabe is sure to excel at NYU Tisch, where he will be studying film.
Q: What’s your best memory from your time at Williston?
A: One memory that I really am fond of is when I got a grade back on an assignment that I didn’t really want or thought I deserved, but then I realized that I didn’t even know what the criteria was when I started, and that wasn’t my fault. I got the grade, and I thought to myself, “This is the world. This is such an awesome metaphor for the legitimacy for so many systems.” And after having been in the art program for a while now, I think I understand now how subjective most grading is. This experience happened after I’d decided that I wanted to go to art school so grades mattered less to me, but it was just a reminder that I need to be confident and proud of myself and the choices I make.
Q: How have you changed over your time at Williston?
A: I’ve changed a lot. I think everyone has. I think it’s less changing, and more just coming into who I am. I think Drake once said, “You know it’s real when you are who you think you are.” I don’t think I’m quite there, but I will say that, now, I see a tunnel. Not a light at the end, but a tunnel. By that I mean, I understand, narrowly, what I want to do: something artistic. I’d say I make my own rules now, for myself. I don’t mean I don’t follow the rules here, sometimes I certainly don’t and sometimes I certainly do, I mean conscience-wise. For my conscience, I rely on myself.
Q: What teacher has most impacted you here?
A: Susanna White. Of course. I obviously have to call out Mr. Harris Thompson because he’s the man and his class helped me understand why I want to be an artist, [in a positive way]. But Susanna White, of course, because she’s not just a teacher. She’s a friend. She’s a mentor. I think her influence is kind of like my mom’s influence on me. I couldn’t even really define what it is because it’s so omnipresent. She’s influenced me because she’s there, she cares, she treats me like an equal, and she treats me with respect. She treats me the way I want to be treated, which is amazing. She does, in a lot of ways, remind me of my mom.
Q: What are you most looking forward to after you graduate?
A: I’m excited to be at a place that is specified and that is trying to teach me exactly what I want to lean. As far as I’ve pushed myself at Williston, I think I could have pushed myself more, [or] a lot less. But overall I’d say that there’s no real difference between pushing yourself at Williston or pushing yourself out in the world. I’m excited about being surrounded by people who are as interested, as committed, and as creative as I am, all the time.
Q: What are you going to miss most?
A: I think most of what I love about Williston is how it changed me and how it shaped me. I’m going to miss seeing Ms. White often. Obviously, I’m going to miss my friends, but I’ll still talk to them and I’ll make more friends. There are two things that I’ll really miss: the comfort of being here and the community. There are so many people who support me here and they’re very kind and generous with their time and resources. I think it’s easy to take that for granted, but the world is not going to be like that after I leave here. It’s very personal here, and I don’t think I’m always going to have that.
Q: How would you describe yourself as a leader?
A: I do consider myself a leader. With that said, I think everyone is super different. Other than the fact that we’re all Homo sapiens, every single person is unique. So being a leader is hard. Here, I find myself often giving people artistic help, and I think I lead the most in that way. Most artists don’t want to be led or told what to do, so being a leader with arts here, I think all I can do is set an example and offer people help when asked. I think one of the things that makes any artist wonderful and unique is the fact that they’ve found their own way, and I think that if I were to lead people completely, I would be robbing them of finding their way themselves.
A version of this article appears in print on May 1, 2015.
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