The University of New Brunswick boasts a number of varsity sport teams and one can easily say that athletics is one part of the university community that almost seems larger than life. When it comes to the players, they themselves also appear as if they are larger than life, whether it is on or off the court or under the pressures of academics. Without knowing Jacob Kilpatrick (Saint John, NB) you could easily assume that he is an athlete of some sort, as he himself towers over anyone around him, but the real story is to know Jacob outside of the athletic community.

Aside from being an athletic force to be reckoned with, Jacob is the embodiment of what it means to be a Varsity REDS athlete. Jacob is in his 5^th year of university, having already completed a Civil Engineering degree he is now working on a Technology Management and Entrepreneurship (TME) Diploma. Throughout his education, Jacob has not only become a star on the UNB volleyball team while studying to become an engineer, he has also played an integral role within the greater university community.

For the past three years, Jacob has been the acing president for the Athletes Council at UNB, which represents varsity athletes by providing support and acting as a liaison between various external organizations. Since beginning university Jacob has also been a part of the Heads-Up and Read with the Reds programs led by the Varsity REDS. The programs, integrate varsity athletes through a partnership with School District 18 where the athletes give presentations on what it means to be and be a part of the REDS teams.

The Heads-Up program focuses on children whom are in the 4^th and 5^th grade by relating personal and athletic experiences to the acronym R.E.D.S, which is broken down into Respect, Esteem, Dedication, and Strategy. For Jacob, Heads-Up has been an experience where the kids “take the message to heart” and this is monumental because Jacob also sees the program as being able to “influence future generations by changing how they look at the world.” Read with the Reds is another program that focuses on children that are either in kindergarten or in the 1^st grade, where athletes read to specified classes. The latest books by Garth Wade of School District 18 have been specifically created for the REDS program to explain what it means to be a part of the REDS by expressing fair play, academic success and a healthy lifestyle.

Jacob is a true Varsity REDS athlete, he has been able to maintain a rigorous academic discipline whist competing in a CIS recognized sport, and all the while still devoting the time and energy to the Athletics Council, Read with the Reds and Heads-Up programs.  It is apparent that Jacob has applied himself in all realms of his life and he simply lives by one simple rule, “if you are going to do something, put the best effort forward, do the best you job you possibly can, or it’s simply not worth it.”