Jacob Climbs Ladder of Success

When Bret Jacob sets his mind to something, he does whatever he needs to accomplish his goal.

So it was no different when, as a senior at , the 17-year-old Glen Burnie resident decided he wanted to attend Johnson and Wales University. After learning about its hotel management program, he knew he had to attend.

Learning he was accepted earlier this year from the university’s representative for this region “made it 10 times better,” Jacob said.

“It was surreal. It truly was a surreal moment. I look back on it, and it was like I was in a fog," he said. "I mean, that’s not supposed to happen, to get into the school you wanted on your first try.”

But in a way, Jacob is used to working hard for what he wants and not letting things stand in his path. He learned that lesson early after a difficult childhood he declined to discuss on the record, other than to acknowledge he lived for a time in a homeless shelter.

“I’m not like, ‘Woe is me.’ I look at it as, ‘I lived through it. It’s time to move on,’” he said.

Jacob has moved frequently, and said North County is the longest school where he’s been a student. He started as a freshman, and it was his 10th or 11th school, he said.

“I’ve had some personal things with my family. With hardships, I’ve learned you can learn from everything, like I’ve learned good people skills. I think you need to see the dark side to see the light,” he said.

Not only has Jacob been accepted to Johnson and Wales in his preferred major, with a concentration in marketing and cruising, but he has been accepted into a leadership program that will train him to become an orientation aide, which offers free room and board.

He also received $36,000 in scholarships from Johnson and Wales, the Presidential Academic Scholars and a DECA Scholarship.

After deciding he didn’t like calculus and chemistry as a student, Jacob decided he liked the travel industry after he participated in North County’s Academy of Hospitality, Hotel and Tourism, the precursor to the school’s program.

He really liked seeing his education being applied to the real world, especially with BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport and dozens of hotels nearby, he said.

“I like interacting with people. It makes sense—travel and tourism is the last industry affected by a recession. Businesspeople are always traveling. People are always taking a vacation,” Jacob said. “I can see, especially in this area, what I’m being taught. I was taught that this is how it affects my life. I can look up and see the planes. I can look down the road and see the hotels.”

And taking—and nearly dropping—a class with Daniel Fluharty, business department chairman and director of the IT3 program, was a life-changing experience, Jacob said. He initially wanted to drop business law in his sophomore year because he thought it was boring. But he stuck it out, and Fluharty continued to serve as a mentor throughout his high school years.

“He was a huge person in my life. I grew as a person because of him. I hope everyone can have a Mr. Fluharty in their life,” Jacob said. “He always says, ‘Here’s the opportunity. I think you should take it.’ I’ve learned to take all the opportunities. He’s never steered me wrong, ever.”

Fluharty has as much respect for his former student, he said.

“He was really focused. When Bret figured out what he wanted, he said, ‘This is what I want. How do I get there,” Fluharty said. “He was very motivated. We have a lot of truly great students, but he has a special spark.”

At the time of his interview with Patch last week, the reality of leaving on Sunday had begun to sink in, but Jacob said that was not what made him nervous.

“I’m more nervous about screwing it up. I’ve had a lot of change in high school. It’s over. I can’t screw up now. Well, I could, but the stakes are higher, and it’s all on me,” he said.