Life after graduation can feel overwhelming, but for Jake Danahoo, it’s been a time of learning, exploring, and moving toward a career that means something to him. I recently caught up with Jake to talk about where he’s headed and what life looks like after leaving Core Butte High School.
Back in high school, Jake already had a clear vision—he wanted to become a police officer. “I was bullied a lot and there’s a lot of crime and unrest in the world, that’s why I wanna be a cop,” he told me. Right now, though, he’s focused on working in the healthcare field as a stepping stone. “I feel like I’m making good progress in becoming involved in health care, because that’s what I’m doing before being a cop.”
He’s currently working in a hospital setting, getting hands-on experience with patients and medical staff. It’s giving him useful insight and helping him build skills that will definitely come in handy when he eventually enters law enforcement.
Jake said his biggest motivator is his will to help people. “My will to help people is my motivator,” he said, and it’s easy to see how that purpose is driving both his career and the way he lives day-to-day.
Outside of work, Jake has a lot of hobbies that keep him busy and balanced. He’s really into Dungeons & Dragons, boxing, gaming, and lifting weights. “Boxing helps me stay grounded,” he said. “It teaches discipline and gives me a release.” He also talked about how he and his friends spend time working on cars or using their blue-collar skills just for fun. “We do a lot of dumb stuff, but in a good way—like building things, fixing up cars, just learning by doing.”
When we talked about Core Butte, Jake had some positive things to say. “Core is very good at making sure you are taken care of to the point of your PLT being almost annoyingly helpful at times,” he joked. He also pointed out that he wishes he’d taken Sports Med and Medical Terminology. “It would be very useful in my hospital or EMS career,” he said.
He told me he appreciated how different Core is from other schools. “They don’t treat you like just another student. They actually check in, and that makes a difference.”
To current students, Jake had a solid piece of advice: “You are the most easy to grow physically and mentally right now. Download Duolingo and learn some languages, lift more, and learn about your after-high-school job as much as you can.”
Whether he’s in the hospital, the boxing ring, or under the hood of a car, Jake Danahoo is putting in the work and making the most of life after high school—and doing it his own way.
