Marcia Jacobsen smiled warmly as she tucked her eight-year-old daughter into bed. Allison played the part of the tired, obedient child perfectly. After her mother would close the door though, she would hop up out of her bed and turn on the light. The plan was fool proof–or at least it was until neighbors started to ask her parents why their young child’s lights were on well up until midnight.

The jig was up, and now everyone knew that Jacobsen spent her nights feasting on words. She not only devoured fairytales, fantasy, and children’s fiction, but nonfiction, biographies, the Webster’s English dictionary, too. Jacobsen savored them. She loved knowing the how and why behind everything. As she aged, her insatiable hunger for the knowledge that words provided never left. If anything, it grew.

It now seems altogether fitting, because of Jacobsen’s long history with literature, that she was named this year’s Sterling Scholar in English. She is arguably one of, if not the top, student in all of her classes. Jacobsen exceeds expectations when it comes to any course. In getting to know her better, it became apparent that she was not just a one trick pony. She has a deep understanding of chemistry, mathematics, physics, and Spanish. Jacobsen has a remarkable aptitude in memorizing words, synthesizing information, and metacognition. But even with these academic advantages Jacobsen still works hard for her grades and perfect GPA. She dedicates as much time as it takes to fully understand the topic, whatever it may be. 

 “Allison is absolutely brilliant and it shows in her academic success. She studies and works really hard for what she earns and it really shows in her homework and test scores. She is the kind of person that will study something until she knows it better than the back of her hand,” Annie Crandall, a friend of Jacobsen said. 

 Jacobsen doesn’t just let her natural abilities carry her through high school, though if she did, she would probably still get by with straight A’s. It is her dedication and perseverance that sets her apart from her peers. Her grades aren’t everything though. They are secondary to her insatiable hunger to learn.

“In general, through every book I’ve read, whether it’s been for school or just for fun, literature has been kind of an escape. It gives us the opportunity to look at life from a different perspective, to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes. I think it allows us to examine our lives, and examine ourselves more closely. It has helped me to learn about the world, but it has also helped me to consider myself and what I think about things,” Jacobsen said.

Jacobsen’s refined taste for words has only grown stronger as she has matured. She learns something about herself from everything that she reads.

Besides her love of literature Jacobsen is deserving of this award because she is able to find time to serve her community and hold a presidency position in the National Honor Society at Highland. Jacobsen she is still so much more than just her grades and service hours though.

“Allison is a passionate crusader for the underdog. She cannot stand injustice to any people regardless of their situation. Whether it’s a homeless person, a person of different nationality, or a person with a different sexual orientation, she is a champion for the underdog. She is passionate about social justice,” her mother, Marcia Jacobsen said.

This is a true description of Jacobsen, for some of her crowning characteristics are her kindness, fairness, and political correctness. More often than not, when a peer in Jacobsen’s classes makes a politically incorrect, prejudice, ignorant, or discriminative statement, people can count on Jacobsen to call them out and stand up for justice. She will not condone people making jokes at others expense.

Just like you can’t judge a book by its cover, as you can see Allison Jacobsen is a lot more than meets the eye.