Lemont HS Senior Explores World Through Language

Learning the Spanish language from kids on his childhood soccer team is what opened doors to a new world for one high school senior.

Jacob Gasienica, of Lemont High School, was one of 24 students nationally to earn a travel award to study in Puerto Rico. He also was one of six students at Lemont High School to receive Premio de Oro honors on the 2015 National Spanish Examinations.

He was one of only six students nationally to achieve the Premio de Oro honor on the 2015 National Spanish Examination.

Gasienica, who speaks Polish at home with his family, said this trip “eye opening.” Spanish is Gasienica’s third language.

“My life in the little bubble here in Lemont, I never thought there was a whole world of diverse people that I never even thought about,” he said.

Gasienica became interested in the language as a child when he met native Spanish-speakers on his youth soccer team. Getting to know those teammates, their family and their cultures encouraged him to study Spanish.

“That is a group of individuals I would never have met if it weren’t for soccer,” he said.

Since then, he has worked with other native-Spanish speakers, and has continued to study Spanish in school.

In Puerto Rico, he learned more than just vocabulary. The group took daily excursions, such as a trip to the rain forest. His favorite, was a kayaking tour that ended one night in Bioluminescent Bay, near Fajardo. Micro-organisms light up when they were touched by the paddles.

“It was really beautiful,” he said. “The coolest part about Puerto Rico was being exposed to another culture.”

Gasienica has continued playing soccer and is on the varsity team. He is a member of the National Honor Society, a Mathlete, and in the Worldwide Youth in Science & Engineering club. He has also competed in the Model United Nations, where students try to solve a global problem. Last year, his group addressed nuclear proliferation.

Gasienica intends to study medicine. With fluency in English, Polish and Spanish, he believes he can return to Chicagoland after college and make a difference as a doctor.