Greg Jaskot ’00 closed his remarks on Wednesday during Freshman Leadership Day with a message that former Xavier quarterback and now Green Bay Packers backup quarterback Tim Boyle told players at a football camp here at Xavier.
Jaskot said he’ll never forget it: “Spread love and positivity every day. It’s infectious, and think of the impact we can have on the world every day.”
After the event we posted a story on Facebook, someone commenting in part … “Along with the Kohs family, the Jaskot family just keeps on impacting this great school. Great work guys! A lot of men will make huge impacts in this world simply from lessons learned from a single family. Tough to wrap my head around.”
How true. Dan Jaskot ’98, the general manager at Empower Leadership, presented the program. Each year a faculty or staff member gives remarks. Greg Jaskot did it this year for the first time. His father, now the retired former athletic director, had done it many times. They all speak from the heart. They all went to Xavier. They all know what the school can mean to someone’s life.
Very few Xavier freshmen arrive here as leaders. But many will leave here with those qualities. Certainly the Jaskots did.
It’s a journey. It takes time.
“The road to becoming a leader is one not many realize they are on,” senior Aaron Perna told the freshmen gathered in the gym.
It took some time for Perna to become a leader. But here he was as a senior talking to freshmen with words that would resonate whether you’re 14 or 44. Each year a student is asked to speak.
“Leadership is fluid and always requires adaptability,” Perna said. “There are many uncertainties about the future, where I will be, what I will be doing, who will I know? But I can say one thing with absolute certainty. The appreciation that I have for all the knowledge and life lessons that Xavier has taught me will never be forgotten.”
Greg Jaskot, a former teacher and current Associate Director of Advancement as well as a football coach, also told the freshmen: “There are so many different ways to look at leadership, but the three things that kept coming back to me were learning, loving and serving.
It’s about challenging yourself, getting out of your comfort zone, loving your work, loving others, helping others. It’s also about this:
“Be you,” Jaskot said, “but be the best version of yourself every day.”
The freshmen also were part of goal setting and freshmen reflections as well as the popular ropes challenge. Two at a time had to cross under the rope, timing it so the rope would not hit them. It takes teamwork, maybe something as simple as a head nod so they cross under at the same time.
First, a handful of groups made it, then 15, then 20.
This challenge takes time, just as it does to become a leader. The beauty of high school: You’ve got the time. Take advantage of it.