Young Alumnus of the Year Award

Jacob K. Daggett, Ed ’15
Shorewood, Wis.

Jacob Daggett’s passion for teaching reading — specifically the structured literacy practices — is contagious. Using skills from his double-major in education and theater, he joyfully engages young students with chants and whole-body movements to help them learn the sounds that set the stage for reading. Videos of his teaching have gone viral. In January, he even appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show to discuss literacy.

After nine years as a classroom teacher, Jake was hired as the foundational literacy director at Greater Holy Temple Christian Academy in Brown Deer, Wisconsin, where he is leading a team of 19 teachers to implement the research-based structured literacy practices. He also speaks at education conferences nationally on topics such as classroom engagement and phonics instruction.

He remembers vividly his first visit to Marquette as a high school junior. “That meeting sealed the deal,” he recalls. “I loved visiting the Hartman Center and hearing about the field experiences and learning that would take place there.”

Dr. Kathleen Clark, associate professor of education, was a particular influence on him. “Dr. Clark was always someone who held her undergrad students to high expectations in planning, classroom environment and instructional pacing,” he says. “She is a wealth of knowledge, and I am so thankful to have had her as a professor and that I can now call her a dear friend.”

He is honored by the award. “It feels incredible to … be recognized by Marquette,” he says, “particularly because the Hartman Center in Schroeder Complex is where all of that passion was born.”

Fun Facts:

What is one of your favorite Marquette memories?
My Reading 1 course with Dr. Clark. I was so excited that our field work was going to be completed at Bruce Guadalupe Community School. I remember being placed with a student, Leo, who was having difficulty in class. It was so wonderful to see the progress he made, and I loved that he felt successful as a first-grade reader during my lessons.

Name someone (past or present) with whom you'd like to have dinner.
Through the years of being an educator in Milwaukee, I became acquainted with Beth Erenberger, a faculty member of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in the School of Administrative Leadership. She is an inspirational leader and a staunch advocate for structured literacy. I would love to have dinner with her!