Jacob Adams
Understanding the diversity of a community is an important step in providing a welcoming environment to new members. As a resident assistant, orientation leader, tour guide, and peer health education, Jacob Adams is often a student’s first encounter with the Ohio University and larger Athens, Ohio community. Entering his final year at Ohio University, Adams plans to apply to the Peace Corps after graduating, continuing to expand his horizons while helping people around the world.
“I live by the motto ‘We cannot alienate those we wish to educate’,” explains Adams, who believes inclusion in all its forms – racial, gender, sexual orientation, and viewpoint, is a vital element of a vibrant community. Adams represents a model of the university’s goal of inclusion through his on-campus roles as a student representative to prospective and current students, and through his participation in volunteer activities in the greater Athens community. Building upon his own experiences as an international student, Adams has helped push Ohio University to become a leader in international student orientation and integration.
Adams credits his father, Joe Adams, with introducing him to the importance of diversity. The elder Adams, a manager for over twenty years in the RTO-industry was quick to teach his son the importance of diverse exposure. “All walks of life come through the doors of his store, and because of this exposure, my dad was equipped with enough experience to be comfortable in supporting his openly gay son,” Adams recalls. Although less directly impacted by the RTO-industry than his father’s clients, Adams is quick to point out the industry’s importance in his formative years.
Adams is a member of the 2018 cohort receiving funding from the APRO Education Foundation’s Scholarship Fund. He is among a group of 47 students given over $110,000 worth from APRO and state rental dealer associations in Florida, Kansas, Missouri, and Tennessee. The APRO Education Foundation Scholarship Fund’s mission of helping futures leaders take ownership of their dreams is only possible thanks to the generosity of our donors. Thank you for your continued support, and we hope you will take a moment to support the next group of emerging leaders from our RTO-family by donating today.
