Jakob Sperry, a NuVu Innovation School graduate from 2019, is currently a Mechanical Design Concept Engineer at Ford Motor Company in Irvine, California. Working on the future of electric vehicles, the young engineer says that if it wasn’t for his four years at NuVu, he may never have had this opportunity.

Before NuVu, Jakob says he was struggling at a more traditional highschool. “I was having a really hard time focusing, a hard time with the system, and a hard time making friends. When my family and I heard about NuVu, I could see that my interests and passions really aligned with the work that NuVu was doing.”

At NuVu, Jakob not only thrived academically, but discovered more about himself as an individual. “I think NuVu was an environment that was really conducive to self-exploration,” he reflects. Becoming more confident in himself, and the skills he was learning throughout his design studio work, Jakob says he took this confidence forward into college, and now his burgeoning career.

Jakob says it wasn’t just the hands-on project experience that helped him thrive at NuVu, but it was the overall environment. He explains that while the content, the studios and the projects were all important aspects of his highschool years—it wasn’t the whole picture. “I think the environment and the dynamic between the coaches and students, plus the amount of attention you can get within areas that you need, and the space to be who you want to be, all came together for me. I was able to use it as an environment to really grow, explore and learn about myself, the world and about different communities and different cultures,” he shares. “It was a really beautiful experience in every possible way.”

Jakob went on to Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, MA  to double major in mechanical engineering and robotics engineering. Although he said his first semester was definitely a challenge, things eventually became more natural for him. What helped? According to Jakob, it was the essence of the project based learning he had immersed himself in at NuVu.

“The project focus at WPI is nowhere near the project focus at NuVu,” says Jakob. “It's nowhere near that order of magnitude, but it's still more focused on projects than other universities. And I think that helped me tremendously.”

Currently Jakob’s work at Ford is focused upon the user experience within his team’s EV product development. It is here, he says, where his NuVu education has come full circle. “So many things that I learned at NuVu can be applied to my current work, and that foundational education is really in line with what I’m doing right now,” he shares. “There is so much that I learned at NuVu that has stuck with me, and I continue to be so grateful for that opportunity.”