Jake Stoope

Jake Stoope is one student who has gone above and beyond the average student in multiple ways.

Stoope was originally born in Jackson, Tennessee but moved to Arlington when he was one. He is now a senior at Arlington High School. Outside of school he fills his time by being very involved at his church, working, and watch various sports. Stoope says that he has always has always had a love for sports. He said “I have always had a desire to be in a sports career.” However, the love for media arts didn’t come until later.

Jake Stoope started to notice the media side of sports in late middle school/early high school. “I looked at guys like Kevin Harlan and Mike Breen as having the best job in the world.” Arlington High School’s media department has helped him excel and follow his dreams. During his junior year, he was enrolled in Television Production, a class full of seniors. Although this may have been very intimidating, he saw it as an opportunity. Right off the bat, he was asked to commentate the football games. Later in the year he also produced his own show, “Tiger Clash.” He is currently enrolled in 3 media art classes which are Sports Media, Television Production, and Work-based Learning where he interns at the district office.

Even on top of the stress of being enrolled in 3 media arts classes, it still was not enough for Jake Stoope. He and Brent Lyons team up to produce, write, direct and edit the “Men in Hoodies” TV show that comes out every 2 weeks. This show is “all things Arlington sports.” This is completely on their own time as well. It is not even for a grade. They schedule interviews, studio time, crew lists, talk to teachers, and so much more. Even during the summer, he was still wanting to know what he could do to prepare for the new class, Sports Media. He was so excited to see how this new class would look while also trying to push himself beyond what he accomplished the previous year. Whether that was fixing problems in Men in Hoodies or commentating more athletic events. Last year, he was looking for another class when Ms. Roberts, one of the media arts teachers, mentioned being an intern for Tyler Hill at the district office for Arlington Community Schools. Now, he goes to the office for 2 hours of Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday to “write articles, writing scripts, descriptions for Instagram, posting on Instagram, and interviewing people at other schools.”

Although the work he does looks fun, Stoope explained that it is not that easy. “There are so many underlying factors beneath the surface that many people do not see. “Some days I am unmotivated and lazy but it is my passion for what I do that drives me through and keeps my going.” He has learned to be a leader and to not let other people’s lack of passion affect him and his drive. “Being in these classes has challenged me to be more encouraging while still finding the right balance of strictness.” His leadership roles are not limited to just media arts, however. “I have now become better at leading large groups of people.” Stoope leads the AHS Student Ministry along with being a member of the Student Leadership Team at Bellevue. He is always doing things for the benefit of other people. He wants to set people up for success so he can prepare the next generation.