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Jakob Oelrichs, 18, of Sterling, is one of Sterling High School’s January Students of the Month. He is the son of Myra and John Oelrichs, and has three half brothers, John, 11, Tristan, 9, and David, 7.
Favorite class: Calculus, because amidst all of the derivatives lie discussions of sassiness.
Favorite teacher: Alexis Rivera, calculus. He is very knowledgeable and enjoys the subject he teaches, and through some mystical means actually makes calculus fun.
School activities: Scholastic Bowl, Tabletop Gaming Club, National Honor Society
Civic, church, volunteer or activities: Happy Tails Animal Shelter
What will you do after high school? I will attend Sauk Valley Community College for 1 to 2 years, and I will then (hopefully) transfer to the University of Minnesota St. Paul to pursue a degree in aerospace engineering.
What is something you learned in high school that you think you will never use? Everything I have learned will be useful to me in some way at some point. Maybe not in a significant, life-saving way, but useful nonetheless.
What kind of music are you listening to? Civil War era folk/military string bands
What is your favorite:
App: Plague Inc.
Food: Meat-lover's pizza
Game or activity: Kerbal Space Program
Movie: "The Green Mile"
TV show: "Ed, Edd, n' Eddy"
Do you have a hobby? I collect vintage/antique cameras and movie cameras.
What's the one thing in your life you can't do without? My friends
What is your advice for surviving high school? Get your work done ASAP so that you have time to look it over and fix mistakes (and then have time to relax after).
If you could try any job for a day, what would it be? As cliché as it sounds, I'd love to be an astronaut for a day.
If you could go anywhere in the world for free, where would it be? Germany. The majority of my family has German roots, and I have always thought seeing my family's place of origin would be interesting.
What is the last good book you read? "The Great War: Breakthroughs" by Harry Turtledove, alternate history. This is the final book in a tetralogy about an alternate timeline in which the Confederate States won the American Civil War and survived into the early 20th century. At the dawn of WWI, the Confederacy sides with Britain and France, and the U.S. sides with Germany. I love alternate history as a whole because it makes you consider how many other ways our history could have happened as opposed to the way it did. I enjoyed this particular series because it doesn't just tell the story from one perspective, it follows a multitude of characters looking at the situation from all angles (Northern, Southern, rich, poor, etc.).
What is your proudest moment? My proudest moment was during eighth grade, when I pushed the power button on the computer I had assembled myself and watched as it fired up with no problems. It made me relieved that all of the money I had spent for the components hadn't gone to waste. It also made me feel very accomplished, as I had successfully built something with a practical application that worked correctly.