For Jacob Calderone, setting goals and following through on them has always been second nature. “I think that comes from my mother,” he says. “My mother uses her dedication and hard work to accomplish goals in her life. Her success motivates me to work as hard as I can for what I want.”
Although he is far from the Fort Nelson community in British Columbia, where many generations of his family lived, his closeness to his immediate family — and their support — has helped him discover and follow his passions. “I’m thankful that they allowed me to be my own person and choose what I wanted to do,” he says.
Calderone grew up in Toronto, where the urban environment, with its many diverse and vibrant communities, gave him lots of opportunities to explore. He went to Forest Hills Collegiate Institute, and found that its numerous class offerings actually made it more difficult for him to choose a path. “I took a wide range of classes, from French to music to history to physics,” he says. “I felt like I could only make a decision if I gave each course an honest and fair shot.”
He eventually fell in love with chemistry, math, and physics. The connections he drew between what he was learning
in chemistry classes and the real world helped fuel that passion. He found that he was constantly looking for different ways to approach problems, and soon realized that he wants to be an engineer. “I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of combining health care and innovation in engineering,” Calderone says. Biochemical engineering felt like the right path.
Last fall he enrolled at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, but his transition from home to university hasn’t been entirely smooth. His course load has been challenging, and adjusting to the social aspects of university life has been difficult as well. “Everything was new and foreign, and sometimes I just felt lost and overwhelmed,” Calderone says. Having to meet new people, and find those with the same interests, has meant taking a big step out of his comfort zone.
“During the few monthly meetings with the regional and national representatives everyone was so welcoming, and they made it abundantly clear that they will always be there to help me in any capacity necessary.”
Overcoming these difficulties was a matter of hard work and a positive attitude. The academic problems he tackled by putting in long hours studying. By dedicating himself to the task, he was able to excel. Addressing the social situation required approaching the issue from a different angle. Realizing, for instance, that everyone else around him was also feeling that overwhelming sensation of newness helped him move past it.
Joining AISES also helped him find support. He was one of only two first-year students on the executive team in the Queen’s chapter of .caISES, and this summer he was elected the Canadian Junior National Representative. The support he’s received since has been overwhelming. “During the few monthly meetings with the regional and national representatives everyone was so welcoming, and they made it abundantly clear that they will always be there to help me in any capacity necessary,” he says. “I am so appreciative of it, and it makes me want to do the same for others.”
His goal-seeking hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down. Calderone’s career aspirations lie within medicine, and he says he could see himself loving any part of that field where he’s able to keep learning and creating, whether that’s coming up with new drugs in the pharmaceutical industry or improving and replacing biological tissues in tissue engineering. “My ultimate career goal is to become a biochemical engineer who wakes up every day yearning to help others and make people smile and feel valued,” Calderone says. “I hope I can do just that in the very near future.”
