Catching up with Cody Jacobs
Much of life in the past year has been a whirlwind for Cody Jacobs. A member of Huntington High School's Class of 2011, the teenager is completing freshman studies at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Ms. Jacobs is a spunky, forward-looking young woman with a sense of adventure and an artist's flair. She earned a sterling academic reputation during high school and was flagged as one of the most promising young photographers on Long Island.
"It's really difficult to put into words how my first year at university has progressed," Ms. Jacobs said last week from Canada. The school year is quickly winding down with the last day of classes set for April 5. The teenager doesn't have to face the traditional final exam schedule since she is studying fine arts.
Asked to share her experiences since last summer, Ms. Jacobs doesn't know where to start. "I feel like I am bursting with all this information," she said. "I have learned so much on a range of things. In the scholarly sense, I have learned a lot about the history of photography, religion, sociology and anthropology."
The Huntington alum's classes have included Introduction to Hinduism, Sociology of the Cybernet, Introduction to Anthropology, Women's Ritualistic Expertise & Expression, The History of Photography and Contemporary Photography.
"It is pretty cool that although these classes are really diverse they still can relate to one another," Ms. Jacobs said. "For a research paper I did in photography, I combined anthropological knowledge, writing a paper about the 'cultural construction of identities in National Geographic.'"
The Huntington grad's decision to study in Canada didn't come as much of a surprise to those who have known her for many years. Ms. Jacobs' brother, Ryan attended college in Edinborough, Scotland and studied for a year in Hong Kong. The Jacobs family has widely traveled throughout the world.
Concordia Meets Expectations
Concordia University seems to have met all of Ms. Jacobs' expectations. "My Women's Ritualistic class is among my favorites," she said. "We have a lot of guest speakers that focus on the place of women in various world religions. For example, we have been learning about Korean Shamanism and Mae Chiis in Thailand. In a lot of my classes, I have noticed how often my professors refer to our understanding of many things as being biased from the western perspective. It is common for us to think women are marginalized in society, especially in religious context, but this is not always the case, even in patriarchal societies."
Photography is more than just an activity for Ms. Jacobs. She lives and breathes it and she shows a great deal of potential in the field. "In relation to my photography classes, I have learned so much about the importance of the artist's intent when photographing," she said about the past year. "I am in a color film photography class and we develop our photos in a color darkroom, one of the best in North America! I am also in Black and White Film Photography. It's a really conceptual-based program and the fact that it's a fine arts program really shines through."
At Concordia, Ms. Jacobs is surrounded by some extremely gifted classmates. "There is so much impressive work," she said. "It can be really difficult sometimes because I don't naturally think conceptually, but it's good to challenge yourself. I did a color series on a beautiful church for one of my first color projects. For my final color project, I have been working on a series about places of importance in my life. I'm really excited about it. It's such an amazing feeling to be proud of your work. I wasn't aware of how much I didn't know about photography and I still have so much to learn! It is a wonderful atmosphere in Montreal for photography. Everyone is creative and so beautiful inside and out."
She's Easy to Like
Last year, Ms. Jacobs' work was showcased on the Huntington School District's website and drew rave reviews. She earned an Outstanding Achievement in Visual Arts Award in photography at Huntington's senior academic awards night. The honor carried with it a $100 stipend. She also won the $1,000 Jagoda Scholarship and the St. John's University Women in Science Society Award.
She's well on her way to achieving even more success in college. "There is a really active student union association here and students are really involved in what's going on," Ms. Jacobs said. The Huntington teenager is easy to like and she quickly developed strong friendships with several of her Concordia classmates and embraced life at the university.
"There is a threat from the Quebec government that tuition will be raised dramatically, especially for international students," Ms. Jacobs said. "Currently the students of my faculty are on strike and starting March 15th students at Concordia will be joining a province-wide strike against tuition hikes. It is a boycott against using the classroom and attending class, but students are encouraged to still produce work. The studios and darkrooms are still open for students to use. Last week my photography professor had my class meet at his studio in the Old Port. Most fine arts teachers are supportive for the strike. It's a really colorful atmosphere right now. So much is going on."
Inspired by Mother's Portfolio
Ms. Jacob's enjoys a very close relationship with her parents, Karen and Robert. "I love, support and have benefited from them," she said. "So much of who I am comes from them."
The astute young lady became interested in photography after she looked through her mother's old portfolio. "My grandparents took photography and even made a darkroom in their house, which inspired my mom to take classes at FIT and then, in turn, inspired me to become interested in photography," she said. Her ideas are often spur of the moment, so the teenager is rarely seen without her camera.
"I have made so many amazing friends here who have shown me so much about themselves," Ms. Jacobs said. "I have a really close knit group of friends and we spend a lot of time together. The drinking age in Montreal is 18 so I am treated like an adult here. It's not about being able to drink legally. It's just such a nice feeling to be treated like an adult. Not being babied at school has absolutely helped me to grow. I feel so full of energy, you know? Like a lust for life."
Interviewed for a "photographer's spotlight" on the Huntington School District's website last year, Ms. Jacobs said her favorite type of photography "is always on location. I like when I capture a moment and it is more than a snap shot. I have always dreamed that one day I could be a National Geographic photographer, but recently I have become interested in projects where I base it all on one idea."
Considering her international experience, adventurous nature and the ease with which she moves through a variety of cultural circles, a career with National Geographic is definitely not a far-fetched possibility.
"I'm just so excited to be here in Montreal and now it's almost over," Ms. Jacobs said with a sense of amazement. "It's crazy the year went by so fast."