Jack Powers, senior, has been a mainstay on the football team for the last four years. The 6’4, 285 pound offensive lineman who has found a passion terrorizing opposing defensive lines was recently a third team All-State selection this year for class five.

Jack’s successful career came to an end this past fall, culminating with him signing to play for the prestigious Cornell “Big Red.”

While many athletes struggle to balance the school workload with athletic competition, Powers has thrived in the world of academia, holding a cumulative 4.5 grade point average. These grades have not come easily either; he has taken some of the hardest classes Westminster has to offer. From Dr. Shaws AP Chemistry and AP Physics course to BC Calculus, Jack has consistently tested himself in the classroom and performed exceptionally well.

“Especially early on in high school, I devoted myself entirely to academics and this has really given me a strong position when looking at higher academic schools,” said Powers.

One of the biggest reasons Powers has worked so hard from an early age is because his dream, becoming a college football player, was contrived at the beginning of his high school career.

“I always knew from the start that this sport was the one that perfectly fit me. At the start of High school when I first realized that my time was becoming limited, I realized that there was no way I was going to be able to stop playing after my senior year,” said Powers.

Likewise, while so much success doesn’t come easily, as he admits that he has “had to miss out on a lot of social events mainly because football workouts or practices have overlapped,” Jack would not have gotten this far if he didn’t have fun while on the journey to achieving his dream.

“One main life lesson I have learned is to always enjoy what you are doing. Football and life as a whole can really drag on unless you completely invest your mind and soul into what you are doing,” said Powers.

When asked why Powers chose such an academically rigorous school like Cornell that does not offer athletic scholarships like other Division 1 schools, Powers admits that he fell in love with the school, the football program, and their academic opportunities.

“Cornell as a school is incredible. They are large for an Ivy League school, at 16,000 undergrad, and this was attractive to me because I have always been in smaller private schools. Their college of agriculture and sciences is also number one in the nation. Their football coaches also showed extreme interest in me for a long time and I really felt loved up there,” said Powers.

This has been the second consecutive year that the football team has produced an Ivy League signee as the 2020 graduate, Benny Anderson, is a football player at Yale.