A Big congratulations to Jakene Reaves ‘17 who is heading to Cornell University this fall! Jakene graduated from E Prep Cliffs in 2017 and spent all four years of high school at Hawken School where he was a member of the Track and Field team and was elected onto the Hawken Senate for two years. He was also a member of the chorus through high school as well as a member of the Black Student Union affinity group. Freshman and Sophomore years Jakene participated in the Red Key Society, which hosted students that shadowed the school. He was fortunate enough to host a student from E Prep Cliffs once!

Jakene credits his time at E Prep Cliffs with helping him prepare for the rigors of high school. He commented that “Cliffs actually taught a lot of about history and math that even kids at Hawken didn’t know yet. At Cliffs, we were learning a bit of Algebra 2 and pre-calculus in 8th grade, so when I came to Hawken I was ahead of the flock.”

Favorite memories from his time at E Prep Cliffs include pep chants during school meetings. Jakene said, “My homeroom in fifth grade, UC (Ursuline College, shout out to Ms. M), was practically undefeated every time there was a competition. I also remember classes doing chants to out chant the class next door, then eventually the whole floor would be stomping the floor and shouting at the top of their lungs. That was fun too!”

Jakene is looking forward to heading to Cornell early for a summer program before officially kicking off his Freshman year in the Fall. He was looking for “a flexible degree that could be used in many different industries, just in case the industry I planned on entering had a decline in jobs. I also wanted a challenging school that would be rewarding in the long run, in terms of an alumni network.” Jakene plans to major in Industrial and Labor Relations, which is essentially business with a focus on people and asset management.

Good luck, Jakene!