Jacob Le (26), born and raised in Corona, California, made the plunge to go to college further away from home than he expected, with the encouragement of a family friend who had gone to Point Loma. After a campus visit during his senior year of high school, Jacob found a welcoming community, a home, and a new passion for underwater technology at PLNU.
“I’d never been to Point Loma or even heard about the campus or anything,” Jacob said. “So just driving on the campus for the first time and going surfing and seeing how close it was to the water, it was awesome.”
After entering the university as a nursing student, Jacob transferred to the mechanical engineering program. He described how it was hard to start over in a completely new major but that it was ultimately the right transition for his career and what his passions are.
In a major like mechanical engineering, the class sizes were often very small, and Jacob was able to connect with other students on a personal and professional level. Jacob mentioned although there isn’t a lot of student-run tutoring available for the upper division mechanical engineering classes, he has been able to go directly to professors for anything from homework help to studying for exams.
Jacob is currently interning with Saab, a company within the maritime industry that specializes in artificial intelligence and autonomous boats. As their engineering intern, Jacob helps with different testing protocols as well as general maintenance. This is definitely a job that Jacob could see himself doing professionally.
“I want to stick with maritime autonomy,” Jacob said. “Any kind of water tech and robotics is what I’m drawn to. I also want to live by the water and surf, so that works out.”
As a Christian, Jacob approaches every aspect of his life with kindness and patience, striving to display the attitude of Jesus towards others. Even through frustrating situations and difficult times in the world, Jacob works hard to maintain his optimism and to focus on the positive moments in life. He reminds himself to work hard to impact his own circles in positive ways and to not try to take on more than he can carry.
One of the ways Jacob wants to carry his faith and love for Jesus into his future career is to be consistent in his words and his actions. He wants to be able to enter into new professional spaces with the mindset of listening more than he is speaking. As a future engineer, Jacob is seeking to soak up as much information and advice as he can.
During his time at PLNU, Jacob has been heavily involved in different leadership spaces, like ASB. Jacob served as the assistant to the marketing director of the Campus Activity Board (CAB). As a CAB member, Jacob was able to be involved with the Sunset Clips Surf Classic film festival. He was a team leader for the project, and described it as one of his “passion projects.”
As one of the main people leading the film festival for the last couple of years, Jacob has been involved in growing the festival to reach more students and increasing funding. Jacob said it was rewarding to be able to turn one of his hobbies into an event he was able to share with so many people.
“I’m really happy with the work I did there,” Jacob said. “For me, it was just something fun that I really like to do. I was really passionate about it. I like surf history, surf culture, and all those things. And I surf regularly with Dr. [Ben] Cater.”
Jacob’s interest in surf history also drove his passion for the Sunset Clips event. His intensive knowledge on 1960s and 70s surf culture is something that he is very proud of and will gladly take any old surfboards off someone’s hands.
Another event that Jacob has been involved in is the Giving Back Campaign during Christmas time. Volunteers went to Washington Elementary School in downtown San Diego and decorated for a Christmas party, wrapped presents, and helped the kids meet Santa Claus. Jacob talked about how impactful it was to see children so excited about something as simple as a pair of shoes.
In addition to CAB and the film festival, Jacob has also been heavily involved in Residential Life. He has served as a resident assistant (RA) in Young Hall for three school years and three summers; he hasn’t moved out of the dorm since his sophomore year.
“You know in Harry Potter where he stays on campus when everyone goes home, or over break or something like that?” Jacob asked. “That’s kind of like me; I just always lived in Young throughout the school year and when no one’s here.”
Jacob described how residence life has created opportunities for him to interact with people that he would not normally in his day-to-day life. One of those opportunities was within the family of Chip Pitkin, the Resident Director (RD) of Young Hall. Jacob talked about how he has had the privilege of watching Chip’s kids grow up and how they have embraced him as part of their family.
“It really is like my family because I’ve been around them so long,” Jacob said. “Just babysitting or watching the kids learn to walk and talk has been really special.”
One of the highlights of being an RA came with the mentorship opportunities that Jacob found himself in. He has been able to learn from other RD’s across campus and work closely with RA’s in other residence halls. The one-on-one mentorship that comes with being an RA has been specifically one of the things that Jacob has appreciated the most.
As he approaches different leadership roles, Jacob draws from a mindset of servitude in order to step into those spaces. As an RA, he has a myriad of responsibilities, from setting up a barbeque to mediating roommate conflict conversations. Through it all, he has kept his mind set on putting his own needs below the needs of others.
Jacob’s faith and his interactions with other Christians in leadership spaces have greatly impacted the way he approaches leadership positions as well. Being able to work with others that might have a different faith background than his own or different opinions from his, Jacob has developed a deeper understanding and respect for others.
For Jacob, though, being a leader on campus is also just pure fun. One of the highlights of his time as an RA has been organizing the Top Gun beach volleyball tournament at the sand volleyball courts outside of Young Hall. Cultivating spaces where people can enjoy the nature around them and the company of others has been extremely rewarding for Jacob.
“Those are just great experiences to have. It makes me think, ‘Wow, I can’t believe we get to do this. I can’t believe we are paid to do this.’ Not everyone gets to experience this and I’m really grateful for this space and the time to put on those events.”
“Those are just great experiences to have,” Jacob said. “It makes me think, ‘Wow, I can’t believe we get to do this. I can’t believe we are paid to do this.’ Not everyone gets to experience this and I’m really grateful for this space and the time to put on those events.”
Point Loma as a community has been influential in Jacob’s life and in the way he wants to step into post-grad life. He spoke about how the friendliness of others and the genuine way people ask how he is doing on Caf Lane is something that he is going to take with him after college.
As he has moved through his college years, Jacob has made many connections with professors, noting their patience and intentionality with students.
“The faculty has shown a lot of patience in taking the time to break things down for you in a more simple method,” Jacob said. “They never put you down or make you feel dumb for not understanding something on the first try.”
The patience that his professors have shown him is something that Jacob has implemented into his current leadership positions and wants to implement into future ones as well. He talked about how there is a general sense of superiority amongst engineers because of the advanced nature of their profession; Jacob hopes that he can maintain his patience with others and remember God’s patience during stressful situations.
Jacob has recently been honored with the Rising Alumni Award during Homecoming Weekend 2026. The Alumni Engagement Office, as Jacob described, made sure that everything was organized for him and his family; they were met with free tickets to every event, a dedicated parking space for the chapel service, and anything else to make their weekend go as smoothly as possible.
During this weekend, Jacob was able to connect with past alumni that came into town for the celebration. He was able to meet alumni from Pasadena College who transitioned to the Point Loma location and was specifically inspired by listening to the perspective of the recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Awards. Being able to hear from them and learn about how they have passionately pursued their own callings was very inspiring.
In addition to being a leader on the Point Loma campus, Jacob has also branched out to find a home church and volunteers with the Children & Youth Ministry team. Jacob always makes it a point to encourage his residents to get involved in leadership opportunities in local churches because of the community he has found in his own local church which has helped him find his passion for investing in the lives of young people.
“For me, when I’m helping out with the Children’s Ministry, I’m reminded that guys can be in the space too,” Jacob said. “I feel like I saw a lot of that growing up with my local church where men and families would get involved in different ministries.”
As a male leader on campus, Jacob hopes that he will inspire his residents and other young men on campus to step out of their comfort zone and show their love of Christ through service toward younger generations.
