VERO BEACH — Even as a self-described dilettante, St. Ed’s junior Jad Shalhoub may want to reconsider his jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none introspective on the broad spectrum of school-sponsored activities he has participated in since middle school.
A lengthy resume clearly reveals his tendency to dabble in just about everything St. Ed’s has to offer, but to say the 17-year-old has overreached would be severely missing the point.
“I just figured that involving myself in as many activities as possible gives me the most exposure and helps me get a feel for what I like,” Jad said. “I’m not only concerned about finding a career for the future, but also for the experiences right now. I’ve really taken away a lot from everything I’ve done.”
Whether sports, extra-curricular activities or pursuits related to academia, Jad readily signs on as both a participant and competitor. The latest example will come today when he travels to LaBelle for the prospect of securing a slot at the state weightlifting championships in Kissimmee.
These Florida jaunts pale in comparison to the two-week trip he took over an extended spring break to represent St. Ed’s at a conference of the Model United Nations in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Jad also attended Model UN meetings in Ireland (2012) and Chicago (2011). The trip to Ireland last year forced him to miss the postseason weightlifting tournaments.
No such conflict this time.
“Jad is an intelligent, cerebral lifter,” head coach Les Rogers said. “He visualizes himself doing a successful lift, considering all the important points of technique before he steps on the platform. Jad also pays close attention to the competition. He knows the weights they have lifted, how much they need to catch him or how much he needs to surpass them.”
Jad initially entered the weight room to cross-train for football, but through the years he came to enjoy the sport apart from the good it did for him on the field.
Jad was a freshman on head coach Bill Motta’s undefeated Sunshine State Athletic Conference championship team in 2010.
The ironman offensive and defensive lineman capped off his junior season last fall with two awards.
He was an all-area honorable mention and received Class 2A second-team all-state honors.
“I started playing football in middle school and it has become my main sport,” Jad said. “The life lessons learned were attractive to me and that’s why I fell in love with football. The magnitude of difficulty yields certain camaraderie between the players and that’s really what I like the most.”
Soccer fits in neatly after football in the fall and before weightlifting in the spring.
Admittedly not the most skilled player on the field, Jad expressed appreciation for the way head coach Bill Keating mentored him in the sport and gave him a chance to play.
“Soccer had always interested me because it’s very artistic with a lot of creativity, thinking and strategy,” says Jad. “I’ve always enjoyed watching it and seeing the finesse involved.”
That knowledgeable view of soccer may have enabled Jad to jump with ease from sports to, let’s say, the Men’s Ensemble and Chamber Choir, or the Mu Alpha Theta math honor society.
Jad has been a member of those clubs for three years.
Earlier this year Jad and classmate Nicki Puskar performed with some of the best student singers in the state before the All-State Florida Music Educators Association in Tampa.
At various times since entering high school Jad has performed in theater productions, won silver and bronze medals in national Spanish exams, participated in the Guardian Ad Litem program, and done a considerable amount of hard work at St. Ed’s summer water camp.
“I like to represent myself and the school well, especially in competition,” Jad revealed. “I think I’m able to do it and that’s what I like about all of the clubs and teams I’ve joined.”
The main inspiration for his headlong thrust into school life comes from an unexpected source.
Of course Jad mentioned his coaches and teachers, but he had something special to say of his peers.
“The school means a lot to me. When I think of all the various perks at St. Edward’s, one of them is definitely the student body. I look at the students and there is something about them that is respectable. One thing that drives me in all the things I do is that I see other students succeeding in them.
“In each field that I look into someone has been my mentor. I can look up to students who are diligent in their school work and able to master extracurricular activities. Anyone can do what I have done. I have a good idea of what my strengths and weaknesses are. I’d like to think that nothing is really holding me back.”
