Student Spotlight for Feb. 3: James Jacka

Age: 16.

School: River Ridge High School in Lacey.

Grade: 11.

Parents or guardians: Kelli Coffman and Monte Jacka.

Best personal achievement: Learning skills that allow me to keep my career choices open.

How I spend my time: Artistic design and listening to music.

Favorite subjects: Auto care, science, stagecraft and English.

Favorite movie: “Braveheart.”

Favorite book: “Watchers” by Dean Koontz.

Dream job: Designing cars.

Someone I respect: John F. Kennedy.

The hardest part of being a student is: Having to adapt to each teacher’s individual teaching style.

My ambitions or career aspirations include: Automotive engineer.

Someone famous I would like to meet: Seth MacFarlane.

Someday, looking back on my life, I’ll be able to say: “When I was a kid, we had to drive our cars instead of our cars driving us.”

Biggest challenge facing teenagers today: Knowing who they are and not letting other people’s opinions change how they see themselves.

One thing in the world I would change if I could: End our dependency on fossil fuels.

Nominated by: Theater teacher Leslie Van Leishout, who wrote, “James works hard in class and always attends set calls. He is willing to do the difficult tasks that others shy away from. He loves to learn and is always the first to volunteer. He has a great smile and shares it with his peers and teachers alike.”

To nominate a ninth- to 12th-grade student for Student Spotlight, email the following information to lpemberton@theolympian.com, fax it to 360-357-0202, or mail it to P.O. Box 407, Olympia, WA 98507, attention Lisa Pemberton. Selected students must submit a photograph and fill out a questionnaire. Provide the student’s name, age, grade, school name, telephone number and/or email; a quote about the student from a school staff member; and the name and contact information of the nominator.