Meet clay’s 2022-2023 Political Analyst, Jacob Luckenbaugh! Although this is his first-time as a clay columnist, Jacob nonetheless has a year of clay experience under his belt, last year working as the e-zine’s graphic designer. An artist, baking enthusiast, and avid reader, his many interests and ideas are sure to intrigue any audience. Jacob also has held a keen interest for politics from early on. He is especially concerned about the internet’s potential to limit a person’s political viewpoints despite also offering such a wealth of information on the subject, and in his column, he seeks to present readers with a balanced standpoint from which to build a “deeper understanding of issues they care about.”
Jacob is 17 years old and lives in Virginia. In addition to living, he also reads books, draws, paints, listens to music, and enjoys banana bread and ketchup (but not necessarily both at the same time). He is also, of course, a very talented artist and graphic designer, finding the creation of moving graphics and portraits especially interesting. At present, Jacob aims to pursue a career in graphic design or advertising, although he hopes to find a way to incorporate writing into his future livelihood as well.
If Jacob were to be detained for a month in a deserted shopping mall for interrogation interview purposes (not that he actually was or anything), he would handle the crisis very sensibly: After gathering any necessary the food items (along with several cases of ketchup), into a refrigerator, he would likely search around for a bookstore and also try to find art supplies and writing materials with which to document his stay there. Aside from potential loneliness, he probably wouldn’t mind being kept there all that much.
Surprisingly, not only is this Jacob’s second year at clay, but it is also only his second TPS school year too! In the forthcoming months, he will take AP Literature and Chemistry courses. So far, his favorite class has been English Lit Survey because of the variety of content covered therein.
As learned from his time in the shopping mall, Jacob really likes books, especially The Book Thief, A Tale of Two Cities, and the Harry Potter series, but he also enjoys such genres as poetry and memoirs. He also really likes the Bible (he particularly likes Psalm 23: 1-4). Regardless of how wonderful an uninterrupted month of reading might have been, however, Jacob admits that he would rather spend his time reminiscing over days gone by with Charles Dickens’ Doctor Manette in some firelit corner late at night.
We await Jacob’s articles with considerable excitement, and we hope students will be sure to stay tuned to clay magazine and gear up for another great year of reading.