When Jake Corvino enrolled at St. Ed’s in sixth grade he was completely undecided about which sports might interest him. By the time he reached high school it was a more a matter of which academic courses to take and non-sports related extracurricular activities to pursue.
Now he’s left with one more enormous choice to make as a senior with graduation rapidly approaching: Harvard or Princeton?
“Since sixth grade I’ve had the opportunity to experience just about every sport St. Edward’s has to offer,” Jake said. “In eighth grade I joined the varsity golf team and that became my major sport throughout my four years of high school. I also played varsity baseball in ninth and tenth grade.”
He would become quite an accomplished golfer and was captain of the team as a senior. Twice he was All-Area Honorable Mention and took particular pride in leading the team back to the regionals this year after a four-year absence. He was also a pretty good baseball player but found it necessary to give that up in favor of a variety of other interests.
“My whole family was always very involved with music and the arts. At school I definitely made those things an integral part of my experience. I took music classes in middle school, and in high school I got involved with the theater department.
“I’ve really had such a great time in theater. I enjoy developing a character and telling a story through the lines of a script. Integrating that with sports was sometimes hard because of the scheduling conflicts, but the faculty in all areas was very accommodating. They really made everything work.”
While the sound backing helped tremendously, Jake certainly had the lead role in making everything work. And all it took was a little bit of magic.
“The enjoyment of getting in front of people definitely started with magic. When I was five years old I started performing magic in front of people. As the years went by I got more and more comfortable. That led me into theater and I was able to excel because I was really comfortable with crowds.”
Jake found his high school comfort zones not even remotely limited to the stage and golf course. He was a vocalist for the men’s ensemble, concert choir and chamber choir. He played French horn for St. Ed’s concert band and for the Four County Honor Band.
Model UN conferences took him to Canada, Russia and Scotland. He served as President and Secretary of National Honor Societies. This is his second year as Vice-President of the International Thespian Society.
Among a host of other honors, Jake was the recipient of the Norman Miller Memorial Persuasive Speech Award, Darby Gibbons Top Academic Award and Laurel Bowron Humanitarian Award.
The Peter Benedict Scholar Award is considered the most prestigious honor St. Ed’s bestows. Given annually to a senior, this scholarship covers tuition, books and fees. Jake was chosen after years of demonstrating exemplary leadership, scholarship and citizenship. He will close with a 4.5 GPA.
“The education at St. Edward’s is fantastic,” Jake said. “You are prepared so well for the future in college and beyond. Specifically for me I feel that the A/P classes not only prepared me for tests, but gave me confidence that I can go out into the real word and practically apply the skills that I’ve learned.
“A lot of people here shaped my career and it’s really hard to single anyone out. All of them were amazing in their own aspects of making it a great experience for me. I can’t tell you how much I really appreciate that.
“This summer I plan to relax a little bit. I will also try to get involved in another type of theater experience at either Riverside or the Vero Beach Theater Guild.” Last year Jake had a lead role in producing The Mikado which raised $22,000 for expansion of the Theater Guild’s facility.
“All I really want is to have some fun time with my friends and make some lasting memories until we all go off into our little areas of the world.
“Moving on is going to be hard because St. Edward’s has been such a large part of my life. The school was involved somehow in every aspect of what I do. It’s definitely going to be a sad time when we actually leave, but I think I’ll be able to take everything I’ve learned here and make something out of it. I will leave with a sense of satisfaction.”
With the May 1 deadline looming, last week Jake decided on Harvard, his first choice all along. He couldn’t pass up a last-minute visit to Princeton just in case.
At Harvard another decision awaits a young man barely 18 years old. He admits to being “undecided right now and kind of all over the place with different fields of study.”
While Jake entertains his many options at Harvard, he can look back at his early days at St. Ed’s and see a solid track record in decision-making.