EDITOR'S NOTE: This article originally appeared on July 5, 2024.
Remember the name Christian Jacques - there's a good chance you’ll be seeing it again someday, possibly on a designer clothing label.
As the school year wound down at the end of May, the busy local teen sat down with FlamboroughToday to talk about his involvement in student life at Waterdown District High School (WDHS), his passion for fashion and his plans for the future.
Jacques will be attending Toronto Metropolitan University in the fall, where he plans to study fashion and business. He hopes to live on campus to make it easier to focus on his schoolwork, but was waiting to hear if he’ll be selected. First, though, he had to get ready for final exams.
“I’m kind of nervous, but I think it will be okay,” he said.
For Jacques, commencement and moving on to post-secondary education is an especially sweet milestone.
“Before high school, I was always told that I was never going to go to university, because I was very, very behind academically,” he said.
In Grade 6, he notes, he was about two grades behind; it took years of hard work to catch up. He’s quick to credit his tutor, Tricia Stenekes, with helping him get on track. “I think I just needed the extra time and extra help and more of a one-on-one. We all have to find what works.”
Finding his passion
Jacques signed up for the WDHS Fashion program in Grade 10, and found his passion. Each year in the program led him to new skills.
“I found I've taken something new each time, and I've really seen my art and my creativity grow as creative, through fashion,” he said. He was involved in this year’s fashion show right before winter break (the first at the school since the pandemic), not only providing pieces, but also as part of the team that organized the event alongside teacher Julie Buckle.
“Miss Buckle did allow all the students to have input, so it was very nice that we could all kind of help organize it,” he said. That included choosing who would wear the clothes and working with the cosmetology class to make hair and makeup decisions. “It was very collaborative and artistic in the sense that we got to work with other creatives.”
Jacques also challenged himself outside of class this year, making a pattern from scratch using a dress form. The finished product was a denim top.
“I used a difficult fabric,” he said. “In some parts of it, there's like three layers of denim that I had to stitch on the machine, it was very slow. I definitely like to challenge myself.”
Taking on leadership roles
Outside of class, Jacques became involved in student life starting in Grade 9, taking on more leadership roles as he headed into his senior year. He’s been involved in an advisory role with student government, and this year worked on the grad book with friend Myra Thomas. He also took part in the school’s DECA business club.
Jacques has also been active in the What’s Your Path group organized by Healthy Youth Network, attending meetings every two weeks and providing a student perspective on programming.
“One of their assignments or tasks that they've been working on for the last couple of months has been to create events to bring more awareness to the many pathways after education,” he explained. “So, the first one was the arts and I got to help support them through that process.”
Jacques was also tapped by WDHS head of student services Derek Zucccolo to be part of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board’s iThink team, which gives students a voice in creating a strategic plan.
“They grabbed a bunch of students from different parts of the school and different grades and different groups, and they're basically asked to come up with ideas to solve problems,” he said. “Through that, we did lots of work and lots of problem solving, and we had many opportunities to present in front of the staff.”
Jacques is especially proud of his involvement with the new WDHS Affinity club, aimed at giving Black students a voice at the school.
“We haven't had that for a while at Waterdown, because there hasn't really been a need for it,” he said. “But over the last few years, the school has seen that there has been a need.”
The group numbered about half a dozen people, and is poised to grow next year. The club organized a festival, which was something new for Jacques.
“We got to host a Caribbean food fest, culture fest,” he said. “That was probably one of the biggest highlights. It was challenging, but it was also really interesting. It was great, because I feel like it really taught me leadership.”
Over the summer, Jacques will be working at Hickory Dickory Decks. He’s had different summer jobs in the past, but this will be his first time working in the family business – Christian is the second youngest of owners Tom and Sue Jacques’s seven children – and he’s looking forward to adding it to his resume.
“One thing I definitely wanted to do is kind of branch out and work with a variety of places, just to introduce myself to different employers, different work environments. That's just one thing that I’m really glad that I've done, just to really have that experience to take into the world one day.”
