Jordan Caples

NLCP Class of 2018
BA in Criminal Justice, Grand Valley State University 2022
BA in Spanish, Grand Valley State University 2022
Youth Specialist, Ottawa County Juvenile Detention Center, West Olive, Michigan

“As a Youth Specialist, I help at-risk youth turn their lives around through the development of emotional and connection skills.”

“Throughout my college career the most impactful moments came with the support of  the Phoenix Pact. While I did put in a lot of work to achieve my degrees, it would not have been possible without support from the Pact. Anytime I had personal hardships that would distract me from my education (financial issues, deaths in the family, personal trauma) Pact was always there to offer encouragement and support in a times where life was already hard enough from school on its own.”

Advice for future Pact Scholars
“However, even with all of their support college is something that the individual needs to actually want to do; otherwise he/she will fail because they lack purpose and motivation. My advice to future students is to put your heart in your education and find something that you are passionate about, so that it’s not so easy to give up once things get hard (and they will get hard). Instead you will be able to dig deep down and find motivation when you feel like giving up. Double-majoring in Spanish was the hardest thing I ever had to learn, but after four and half years I can say with confidence that I’m fluent in the language, because of my passion to continue when I wanted to quit.”