Jack Wooten
Political Science, Law and Public Policy, Liberal Arts, and Liberal Studies
When Jack Wooten graduated high school, he envisioned himself soaring across the skies as an airplane pilot. He pursued an aviation license but stopped short when he realized it was not the right fit, given health concerns. He explored several avenues, including welding, but none sparked his interest until an instructor, hearing his passion for nature, suggested he might be a good lawyer one day.
Now, at age 20, and in just a year and half, Wooten is graduating from LMC with four degrees for transfer and a scholarship in hand to the University of Chicago. There he plans to pursue his dream of becoming legal counsel for the state or national parks systems.
“I’ve always had a strong connection to nature, even as a little kid, I’d go camping with my dad, exploring on my own. I was always outside,” Wooten said. “But I’ve noticed dire changes in people’s attitudes toward state and national parks, like they’re not as interested in preserving or protecting them. I want to fight to keep them. I don’t want to see them disappear.”
Wooten credits the Transfer Academy and the people he worked with at the Outreach and Welcome Center for encouraging him and lending emotional support he had not expected from school or the workplace.
“For the first time in my life, I actually enjoyed school and felt like I belong,” he said, noting that school had previously been a source of conflict and altercations. He also carried a burden of grief from the death of his best friend. His peers and supervisors at LMC proved he had people to lean on. “I’m lucky and grateful to the people I’ve met at LMC. I would not have made it this far without them.”