Brooke Jacob is a STEM teacher at Shoreland Elementary and also an accomplished boxer.
"Creed came out when I was in high school and I started watching that, and my family got me into the Rocky movies," said Jacob. "And I'm like, I really like this. Boxing is pretty neat, like I want to try that."
She joined the National Collegiate Boxing Association in 2019 and was named the NCBA national runner up in her division. Unfortunately, the pandemic hit the following year which changed everything and her boxing career took a hit.
"Our regional tournament had gotten cancelled the day before and then our national tournament got cancelled, and it was like one day I was no longer an athlete," she said.
Jacob brings the mentality of grit and determination to hundreds of students in kindergarten to 6th grade every week and said the lessons she learns in the ring, she also uses to teach her students.
"(In) boxing, you're going to get punched eight times, but can you punch nine times back," said Jacob. "It's things like that – you're going to fall down, can you get back up. That mindset I think really helps me."
She also said she tells her students that losing is a part of the process and is something to build upon. She said that just because someone does something good, does not mean you cannot try and do something better.
We are so proud of our teacher athlete!