Public Application of Jacob Reynolds
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COMMISSION ON JUDICIAL SELECTION APPLICATION EIGHTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT DEPARTMENT 29 By _Jacob A. Reynolds_ (Insert applicant name) Application Deadline: 5:00 p.m. September 23, 2016 1 Reynolds App 001 SECTION I: PUBLIC INFORMATION (QUESTIONS 1 THROUGH 47) Personal Information 1. Full Name: JACOB ALVIN REYNOLDS 2. Have you ever used or been known by any other legal name (including a maiden name)? NO If so, state name and reason for the name change and years used. 3. Work Address: HUTCHISON & STEFFEN, LLC, 10080 W ALTA DR, SUITE 200, LAS VEGAS, NV 89145 4. How long have you been a continuous resident of Nevada? 10 years 5. Age: 37 (NRS 3.060 states that a district judge must be at least 25 years old.) Employment History 6. Using the format provided in Attachment “A” please start with your current employment or most recent employment, self-employment, and periods of unemployment for the 20 years immediately preceding the filing of this Application. Educational Background 7. List names and addresses of high schools, colleges and graduate schools (other than law school) attended; dates of attendance; certificates or degrees awarded; reason for leaving. Name and Address of School Attended Certificate or Reason for Leaving Degree Lakeridge Junior High School 1993-1994 None. Attended 9th In Utah, Jr. High has 951 South 400 W grade here. 7th – 9th grade. I Orem, UT, 84058 completed 9th grade so it was time to go to the High School. Orem High School 1994-1997 High School Graduated 175 S. 400 E. Diploma Orem, UT 84097 Brigham Young University 1997-98; Bachelors Degree Graduated D-155 ASB 2000-2003 Double Major Provo, UT 84604 Philosophy & (Admissions office address) Economics Application Deadline: 5:00 p.m. September 23, 2016 3 Reynolds App 003 8. Describe significant high school and college activities including extracurricular activities, positions of leadership, special projects that contributed to the learning experience. High School Activities: President, National Honor Society – The National Honor Society required its members to maintain a minimum 3.85 GPA with a rigorous class schedule containing multiple Honors and AP courses. The Society also required its members to attend at least 3 sponsored service projects, and a requirement to do 10 hours of service outside of those 3 sponsored projects. I was responsible in part to plan the required service projects. It was also a goal of mine, to raise the level of integrity in the society. It had come to my attention that there had been several people cheating who were members of the National Honor Society. Sadly one of our “brightest” students, in that he had some of the best grades in his class and was on his way to becoming valedictorian, was caught cheating. The issue of cheating reached a climax when it was discovered this particular high achieving student was caught cheating again on his AP test despite our warnings to stop cheating. It was sad to see someone with whom I was a personal friend, whose family I knew, and who was obviously capable, not be conscious of how his lack of integrity was hurting him. As a club President I only had authority to revoke a membership after a vote of the board. Obviously a great number of people have done amazing things to benefit the world without being a member of the National Honor Society. However, as my friend learned, not living by honorable principles will eventually catch up with you and cost you more than membership in a club. My friend casually dismissed being dismissed from NHS, thinking he did not need the NHS anyway. He obviously missed the point, his cheating did not hurt me at all. It eventually hurt him though as it affected his ability to become valedictorian, he didn’t pass his AP test (because he got caught cheating), and all his other successes were eventually questioned because he had continued cheating, which also affected his ability to enter a university and career commensurate with his actual abilities. Key Club, Liaison –This is another service oriented club, essentially the student version of Kiwanis Club. We were sponsored by a local adult chapter of Kiwanis Club. My primary role was to keep the student and adult chapters connected with news, event dates, achievements, etc. It was a pleasure to attend the adult meetings and be involved with an organization dedicated to service. It was great to see professionals, who had no family relation and no legal obligation to support us, regularly take time out of their busy days to care about student progress. It made me want to be such an adult and it was great to have a support group to fund our service projects. To this day I try to be consistently involved in a community/youth support group. Varsity/Club Soccer team – I worked hard to be good at soccer and was anticipating, based on my success in club soccer, to play soccer in college. However, my senior year I suffered a season ending injury after the first game of the season. Being young and strong it was a good opportunity to be confronted with my own mortality and weakness. It taught me an important lesson as it really made me think about what I wanted to do with my life: i.e. did I want to be in the situation where my livelihood and “what I did” could be taken away so simply as a foot injury? I have always enjoyed sports and continued to enjoy competing in intramurals throughout college at a high level. But I decided after my injury to focus on what I wanted to do with my life and that would be academics, not sports. I still value sports, and lessons learned about competition, sportsmanship, discipline, etc. But this was a great opportunity to prioritize its place in my life. Application Deadline: 5:00 p.m. September 23, 2016 4 Reynolds App 004 Wind Symphony/Acapella Choir/Marching Band/Pep Band – I enjoyed music growing up and I enjoyed supporting my friends in high school sports. I enjoyed touring and participating in competitions with both choirs and instrumental groups, or supporting the team as a member of the marching or pep band. The most important thing I believe I learned in these activities was the importance of “playing your part.” In instrumental groups I played the tuba. In choirs I am a bass to tenor II. It was great to learn music, music theory, and appreciation for others with true musical gifts. It has also been helpful to my education and career to learn how to play a role amongst other very talented individuals who are great at playing their roles, and bring about a desired end. Shakespeare School Play – Taming of the Shrew – playing a role in a Shakespeare play at an impressionable age was interesting. Wearing tights and a Shakespearean costume on stage and speaking “thusly” was simply not my thing. But I learned to get over myself, and do what I was supposed to do, and to get into the role. It is an important lesson. I now have the Complete Works of Shakespeare in my home library and have read multiple plays with my wife. Getting into and participating in a Shakespeare play taught me not to be afraid to try new things. Just like “Sam I am” from Dr. Seuss, I learned that I actually loved Shakespeare. Shakespeare also ended up playing a notable role in me being able to successfully court my wife, for which I am eternally grateful. But learning to try new things has blessed me throughout my education to see new ways to solve problems and pursue new career paths. For example, my High School did not offer philosophy or economics courses and as such I thought when I went to college I would be doing something in science or history. But I ended up trying new things in college and ended up with a double major in philosophy and economics. Powder Puff Football Referee – In High School it seems there is an overabundant amount of people willing to support the boys football team and other male sports, and ample money to pay any referees needed, etc. Even our male intramural sports had paid referees. Not so with the women’s intramural sports at my school. However, there were a number of women that wanted to play flag football in their own league – called by their own choice “Powder Puff Football.” My recollection was there were just four teams. I volunteered to support the league and worked as a referee. I thought it was important then and still do to encourage an equal support for the women’s activities. It was a fun experience and I made good friends helping those games happen and working with some people I still consider friends today. Now that I have three daughters, and one son, I look forward to all of them being treated fairly in their educational and extracurricular pursuits. University of Utah Summer Chemistry Camp, Brigham Young University Summer Computer Programming Camp – These were college level courses that I was invited to participate in during high school summers. I was invited based on my successful performance in similar high school subjects. I received college credit for these “camps.” One great thing I learned was that I was capable of succeeding in college. I learned that there were other young students in the world that didn’t mind giving up their summer to study instead of play. I learned that raising the bar to college level work did not scare me, but to the contrary, the increased complexity excited me.