Ivy League-bound student athlete making the most of it
The Pacheco family (left to right): Eric, Kristi, David, Jacob, Nick and Alex.
Jacob Pacheco will begin his collegiate career at the University of Pennsylvania this fall, joining the school’s lacrosse team. Pacheco is undecided on a major, but has been accepted into the prestigious Wharton School of Business.
“The University of Pennsylvania has always been a dream school of mine,” said Pacheco. “And when they came recruiting me in my junior year, it just felt like the right thing to do.”
Pacheco left home as a sophomore to play lacrosse at The Boys’ Latin School of Maryland, an all-boys school in Baltimore. His older brother, Eric, played lacrosse and will be a grad student this year at Loyola University in Maryland, about three miles from Boys Latin.
“Having my brother just down the street made it easier,” Pacheco recalled. “My parents were able to come out and see both of us at the same time. I think that made our family feel a little bit more comfortable with my decision to move out at such a young age.”
Before he transferred, Pacheco went to Valor Christian High School and Rocky Heights Middle School. He made an immediate impact at Boys Latin both on the field and in the classroom, becoming a class of 2023 representative by the end of his sophomore year and being elected as the class student body president his senior year.
Pacheco credits his success to the values his parents have instilled in him and his three brothers. They taught their sons to make the most of every opportunity in life.
“I don’t know if I could get into an Ivy League school if I didn’t have that lacrosse aspect helping me out,” said Pacheco. “That’s one thing that all my brothers and I have always worked to do and to honor our parents who have given us all these excellent opportunities.”
Although he spends the school year on the East Coast, Pacheco finds time to come home and visit his family who still live in the Amber Ridge neighborhood. He enjoys anything that has to do with the outdoors: skiing, golfing, hiking and he loves hanging out with his brothers.
“I go back and forth between Baltimore and Colorado, but definitely during the summers and on breaks, the majority of my time is spent in Castle Pines,” said Pacheco. “Whenever I leave Colorado, the first things I miss are the beautiful views and the weather.”
The University of Pennsylvania does not offer athletic scholarships, but Pacheco was able to earn an academic scholarship as he embarks on the next chapter in his life.
Jacob Pacheco
By Mindy Stone; photo courtesy of the Pacheco Family
