Jake was three when he started to play piano, eventually expanding his curiosity to other instruments such as guitar, bass, saxophone, trumpet, and percussion. Throughout his life, he has loved music. It started with listening to music in his parents car when he was very young, to later growing up with a love of music and participating in concert band and choir in high school, and most recently deciding to concentrate in music technology at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ).

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Creating music has been Jake's calm, both at home and in school, for most of his life. Through research, Jake learned that music releases dopamine and activates both the left and right brain at the same time. Activating both hemispheres can maximize learning and improve memory. A profound memory related to music is from looking out into a sea of Veterans, and their families, during his high school music department's performance in the 80th Memorial of Pearl Harbor in Waikiki. You could see the painful, yet proud, memories in their eyes while they performed, “America the Beautiful” to the rhythmic flapping of flags in the wind.

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Music has enabled Jake to bring people together in creative ways and bring joy to others. He has found that helping others through doing the things that he loves (whether it's performing for our Veterans, leading and guiding young athletes, creating a small business to meet a need, or participating in community service events with his family and friends), is the best gift of all.