Jacob Pratt is all that
Monday, May 4, 2009
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Jacob Pratt takes pride in making the LBCC campus beautiful.
Pratt was recognized for his years of volunteer work during LBCC’s spring in-service day. Pratt has been working as a volunteer at LBCC since 1997. Pratt works approximately 16 to 24 hours every week at LBCC as a groundskeeper.
George van Keulen, head of groundskeeping at LBCC, says Pratt is very capable, and he can be trusted with any job. According to van Keulen, Pratt was nervous when he first came to LBCC, but now he can use all the equipment and is a lot more confident. Now it is Pratt that points out when someone missed a spot when mowing, according to van Keulen.
Pratt says his favorite job is mowing. He really enjoys the job. According to his mother, Pam Pratt, “he really likes it.” He has really enjoyed working with the groundskeepers.” Van Keulen says summer is a good time for Pratt because a lot of students come in to work on the grounds and he gets to meet a lot of new people.
He likes a lot of things. When asked what he does not like, he says “I don’t know.” According to van Keulen he likes everything. Van Keulen joked about the fact that Pratt likes the Lakers and the Blazers and does not choose one over the other. Pratt also competes in many sports during the Special Olympics. He plays basketball, softball, and volleyball. Van Keulen says he is very good at those sports.
Pratt got started at LBCC after high school when he took horticulture classes and started to work on the grounds over the summer, and that is when he met van Keulen. Pratt was enjoying groundskeeping so much that van Keulen and his mother talked it over to see if he could work there more often.
Pratt may be moving soon though. His mother says they want to move to a warmer climate now that they are retired. They plan to move back to Arizona, where Jacob was born. She says he is happy about the move because they have lots of family down there and he will enjoy the better weather.
Pratt says he will miss everything about Oregon, but he is also looking forward to moving. When he does move he plans to work at landscaping, maybe for another college. Van Keulen says Pratt will be missed.
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