Campus Leader to Represent Sixth BVU Grad in Family

Jacob Simonsen's pursuit of a BVU degree is one that traces back many decades. In May, he will join the ranks of five family members who have also graduated from BVU, expanding on the family tradition.

Jacob Simonsen’s path to Buena Vista University continued a family tradition that began with his great-grandmother, the late Ruth Steineke, of Washta, who graduated nearly seven decades ago.

“My great-grandma had a picture of Old Main when it was standing,” says Simonsen, a native of Quimby.

Before his arrival, Simonsen’s grandmother, his parents, and his older brother, Derek Simonsen, were all BVU students. In fact, Jacob roomed with his older brother during his freshman year. He worked under his older brother at the toxicology lab serving the University of Iowa last summer as Derek, a 2016 BVU grad, proceeded toward his doctorate in toxicology.

Jacob, meantime, blended parts of two worlds in his academic journey, majoring in biology while minoring in chemistry and U.S. history.

“I’ve gotten a well-rounded education. I tried to get everything out of the experience I could.”

Jacob Simonsen

“It’s a renaissance combination as you get some creativity with writing in history and then develop analytical thinking in the sciences,” he says. “I’ve gotten a well-rounded education. I tried to get everything out of the experience I could.”

Simonsen served as president Students Concerned About Tomorrow’s Environment (SCATE) and presided over the BVU Pre-Vet Club as it became the BVU Science Club. He served as an RA, a Community Coordinator, tutored at the Center for Academic Excellence, and worked as a teaching assistant in biology and chemistry.

“I was interviewing with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources when everything kind of stopped due to the coronavirus,” Simonsen says during a break in his work at Simonsen Industries in Quimby. “I’m waiting to see what develops when things get back to normal.”

Simonsen would like to one day work in the public sector, perhaps researching or executing environmental policy, in a career emphasizing both ends of his academic pursuits.

Until that time, however, he’ll continue his work at Simonsen Industries while finishing the final semester of his BVU undergraduate stint, the sixth such experience in his immediate family.

Tags: