Kendall Jacobs attended Marco Island Academy in 2021 and was immediately welcomed by the supportive staff and her peers from the beginning. She reminisced about enjoying her time at MIA. “The community there is so welcoming and the staff are so loving. I enjoyed walking through those doors daily knowing that I had constant support.”

While she was a student at MIA, Jacobs’s teacher Mr. Scalia pushed her to work harder and to do better. “Keith Scalia. The man, the myth, the legend.” Everyone at MIA can agree that Mr. Scalia is an intense man with tedious blogs, but he has helped students, especially in Kendall’s case. He was there for Kendall, both in terms of school work and emotional troubles. With his guidance, she was able to perfect her college essay, open up the door to great opportunities, and accomplish crafting the MIA yearbook.

Since graduating in 2021, she holds the knowledge and wisdom she gained close to her heart. “Believe. Build. Become.” was the theme of the yearbook the year that Emma Blankenship and Kendall Jacobs designed it. 

Kendall Jacobs wished she knew what the saying “Everything will work out in the end” meant. She heard this at MIA from her teachers repeatedly, yet still feared for what her future had in store for her. She misses MIA, but her life has never been better, as she is enjoying her next chapter at Florida State University (FSU), and likes the level of independence she now has.

Life has been fulfilling for Kendall since graduating from MIA as she has much more freedom. She has her Golden Doodle, Finn, and her roommate is Emma living with her. She has faced responsibilities since stepping into college such as, meeting deadlines, caring for her dog, grocery shopping, and getting to her classes on time. 

At FSU, she’s majoring in special education and is on the BS/MS track, a combined undergraduate-graduate pathway. “Next spring (2024), I will graduate with my Bachelor Degree, and in Spring 2025 I will graduate with my Masters Degree.” She felt drawn to this major because of a camp, Camp Able, she volunteers at every year. “It opened my eyes to individuals with disabilities and just how much I aspire to educate them.”

When she got accepted into the program, she had no idea how her major would play out and was a little nervous. “There are different cohorts depending on what year you are. In my junior cohort, there are 11 of us girls and we have all of the same classes together.” But in the end, she has made close friends in the process.

Due to her BS/MS program, she earns 16 credit hours a semester. For fun, she enjoys hanging out with her close friends at her apartment for game nights and movie nights. Between balancing straight A’s and making good friends at FSU, she says she’s managing following this path very well.

If Kendall could provide one piece of advice to current high school students, she would tell them to “take those AICE classes.” “I know that they can be stressful and tedious but it is totally worth it when you get to college.” Every single AICE class that Kendall took at MIA covered a course that was required by FSU and she is now a year ahead because of that.