By Jessica Nguyen, Staff Writer
While the lights of classroom remained constant, the sun was beginning to set in the distance. Seated on a stool, goggles resting over his eyes, all of his concentration went towards pouring the solution into the graduated cylinder. He was doing a lab for Advanced Placement chemistry at 8 o’clock on a Friday night. Even though he was exhausted, Jerome Dovan never stopped trying his hardest.
Jerome Dovan’s willingness to help others, his compassion and determination led him to become September senior of the month. He impacts the lives of everyone around him in school and his community, trying to help them in every possible way that he can. His whole life and the lessons he has learn all contribute to his supportive character.
Dovan demonstrates his ability to take control, lead and participate in his community. As co-president of National Honors Society (NHS), he plans all the events and meetings, a challenging but fun experience that is different from just being apart of the club. While he has tried to become more active member with other clubs like California Scholarship Federation or Red Cross, his devotion to NHS cannot be surpassed. He is also a Link Crew leader that helps to introduce the new freshmen to the Fountain Valley High School campus and gets them acquainted with other students.
“As a leader, you have to not really know what you are doing, but if you hesitate at any moment, it’s not going to work. You got to be strong in your decisions and not be afraid to take risks,” said Dovan.
For sports, soccer has always been a huge passion for Dovan. Dovan was apart of the FVHS’s freshmen sophomore team for two years, although he says that he was not the best player. Even after leaving, he started refereeing at Mile Square Park for American Youth Soccer Organization that lets him still be connected to a game that he loves.
“Small failures shaped me as it served as motivation. If one day I can’t do something then the next day, I’m like try harder or rethink it and do it better. Failures, like not getting into a program I wanted or trying out for something and not succeeding, you can be sad and depressed after but for me, I choose to keep going,” said Dovan. “There’s no point in looking on those setbacks and just giving up. You got to keep going and moving forward.”
This year, Dovan decided to join choir.
“You just have to say yes when these opportunities come. For choir, there was a time that I could have said no and that I didn’t want to do it. In that moment, it felt like something I wanted to do and never thought about it. Same with other activities, you have to say yes,” said Dovan.
Dovan is always eager to help other people, trying to see what they need and understanding the problems that they are experiencing. Within the past year, he started volunteering at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital. Talking and developing relationships with the patients there have revealed important stories and lessons to Dovan that influence him to keep assisting the people around him.
“I’ve always tried to do stuff and participate in activities that benefit others and would allow me to help others or have an effect on others. As a result, this has helped me to better see my role in the community and with others,” said Dovan. “At the hospital, I meet these patients, I hear their stories, how broken they are. I want to do something, be their hope and hopefully help them and people like them.”
While Jerome does plenty of activities and extracurriculars, he only does things that are important to him and makes him find time to do them. His motivation that drives him to do these numerous activities also come from his need to improve upon himself and to keep pushing on.
“It’s a lot; but for me, there is always stuff that you are doing that you don’t have to do. It just comes down to what is your priority, what is important to you. If you can remove those stuff from your life, you always find time,” says Dovan. “Entering high school, I knew what I could handle and what would be enough, but I always wanted to keep going, to keep challenging myself. That is the motivation to doing all this stuff but what motivates me to keep going is to just be the best that I can-how far I can go as a person.”
His family is also a source of inspiration and influence that supports him, giving him the resources to do what he loves.
“My family is a big part in my life and I’ve seen what they’ve done, what opportunities they have, what hardships they’ve had to overcome. It’s my responsibility to be a good son and be the son that they want. It’s not really pressure; it’s more love,” said Dovan.
All of his life experiences have molded him, allowing him to grow and develop into who he is today.
“Freshmen year I came to Fountain Valley knowing exactly what I wanted to do-I set my four years, I chose my classes and I never really was open to changes. Then as high school progressed, there was no point in being afraid, just try it,” said Dovan. “I was faced with new activities-extra stuff that I could do. I was less afraid of trying to do them. [Now] I always try to do anything I can. I barely step down from any challenge.”
In the future, Dovan is interested in medicine and becoming a doctor at Washington University, St. Louis for his passion of helping and talking to people. His perseverance and selflessness will take him far and the world is excited to see what he can do.
