Jack Tagget was off to the best start of his collegiate career this spring before the COVID-19 pandemic put an abrupt halt to the season. The senior pitcher from Frankenmuth, Michigan (Frankenmuth HS) was 2-0, had a 1.50 ERA, and struck out 12 batters while walking four. He was building on a junior campaign where he led the team in innings pitched and wins and was second in strikeouts and complete games.
Jack built a solid foundation academically and experientially and began his professional career with PNC Bank as a treasury analyst in their Corporate and Institutional Banking Rotational Development Program in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Jack described his study away experience as the defining moment of his time as an undergrad student. While living in Chicago during the fall of 2018, he worked as the head financial planning intern for Lincoln Financial Advisors.
"Living in the lovely city of Chicago afforded me the luxury of exploration and self-sufficiency, and with it came confidence and a thirst for knowledge and human experience," Jack said.
Subsequently, during the summer of 2019, Jack worked as a business systems analyst for Saginaw Bay Underwriters in Saginaw, Michigan.
His SIP (Senior Individualized Project), published in March of 2020, highlighted consumer debt from a millennial perspective. Titled "Debt and the Millennial Generation - An Analysis of Accumulation, Finance, and Impact", this SIP allied him to research the sources, reasons, solutions, and meaning of consumer debt among millennial Americans.
Jack credits Kalamazoo College for shaping him into who he is today.
"My education opened doors that I never thought possible," he said. "I am now a more well-rounded, educated, and emotionally-intelligent individual following my four years at Kalamazoo College. I find the skills I have learned while at K will prepare me for any future endeavor and bring with them the confidence to succeed in anything I do. My life would certainly be fundamentally different had I chosen to attend any other institution."
Jack is also grateful for the opportunity to play college baseball.
"Being a student-athlete allowed me to challenge myself above anything I thought was possible," he said. "The countless friendships, opportunities, and memories will last forever."
To potential student-athletes, Jack says, "Kalamazoo College professors, the campus environment, and athletic opportunities grant you the skills and tools to be successful in whatever you wish to do in the future. K provides a track to reach immeasurable personal milestones, both academically and professionally."