When discussing priorities in life, many people will put together a list that looks something like this: family first, school second, and everything else third and beyond.
But sometimes, we find exceptions to the rules and we’ll choose that third priority over the second; having fun or being lazy instead of taking care of our school work. Club swimmer Tyler Jessop, however, is an exception to that exception. @@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=tyler+jessop@@
Growing up in Ripon, Calif., there were two high schools in his local area: Ripon High School and Modesto High School. While the majority of his friends chose to attend Ripon, Tyler branched off and elected to go to Modesto to participate in their renowned International Baccalaureate program. @@http://www.modbee.com/2010/07/28/1271027/modesto-high-schools-international.html@@
“School always comes first because it is really important to me,” Jessop says. “I’m really involved with it because I want to set myself up for success in my future career.”
Really important? Really involved? Those may be the understatements of the year. Now a sophomore at the University, not only is he double-majoring in political science and business administration, but Jessop is also minoring in Spanish. Aside from his intense school workload, he also participates in mock trial to prepare him for his future goal: law school. And as if he’s not busy enough, he’s also a resident assistant in the Hamilton Complex. And he does all of this while maintaining a 3.75 GPA. So, how does he do it? @@http://twitter.com/swimdaddy@@
“Time management is really important to me,” he says. “With 16 credits, mock trial, being an RA and swim club, every day I have to schedule out my entire day, hour by hour.”
Oh yeah, swim club. Yet another activity that Tyler excels at. Last year as a freshman, he was one of nine members of the University club swim team to qualify for nationals. In that tournament, which took place in Mesa, Ariz., he swam the 200 yard individual medley and the 200 yard freestyle.
“You can tell Tyler is a person with a lot of drive,” says April Robinson, a former Division I swimmer and current coordinator of the University club swimming team. “This isn’t a scholarship sport at the school, but he still pushes himself really hard in practice even though there is no driving force, and that says a lot about him.” @@http://clubsports.uoregon.edu/coordinators@@ @@http://twitter.com/aprilkristine@@
The club swimming team has a demanding schedule that includes five practices a week: four in the pool and one spent lifting weights and conditioning. For Robinson, the task of coordinator became so rigorous at one point that she asked her swimmers if any of them wanted to help her with the role of coordinator, assisting by planning schedules and seeking sponsorships.
“I basically asked if anyone wanted to attend this coordinator training session with me and help me out, and Tyler just stepped up,” Robinson says. “He did something that wasn’t asked of him. He just did it because he wanted to.” @@http://pages.uoregon.edu/uoswim/University_of_Oregon_Swim_Club/Calendar.html@@
Aside from practices, the swim team competes in tournaments at various locations every few weeks. The season culminates with the regional meet in mid-April and then the national tournament later that month, for those who qualify.
“I don’t understand how Tyler does so much outside of swimming,” says Shawn Hui, a club swimming teammate and resident of a Hamilton dorm in which Tyler is the RA. “But he does it. I haven’t known him for long but I can tell that he enjoys what he’s doing and that he’s going to be extremely successful in the future, both in the pool and with his studies.”
Although Tyler may be viewed by his coach and teammates as a superhero, he doesn’t look at it that way.
“I just like swimming because it’s a good way to de-stress and be a part of a club that doesn’t focus on academics all the time,” Jessop says. “It’s a good break.”
After he has earned his degrees and finished his roles in his clubs, Tyler would like to go to law school. He plans on applying his degrees in political science and business into a career in politics or law.
“I’ve always been interested in politics and making a difference by helping people,” Jessop says. “I’m interested in being a prosecutor because that combines both of those desires into a career.”