Jacob Shapero, a cadet lieutenant in the University of Virginia’s Army ROTC program, says that every day, he wants to “add a little value” to a team, whether it be the Army, an economics class, or a comedy club.
The Navy Federal Credit Union has selected Shapero, who graduated as an economics major in May and is currently a second-year graduate student at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, as one of four Army ROTC All-Americans nationwide.
The ROTC All-American Award Program, created in 2018, honors the best and brightest ROTC seniors across the nation for their leadership, military excellence, scholarship and service.
“In my first two years at UVA, I was very focused on individual accolades and accomplishments,” Shapero said, “and while I was pretty successful at doing that, I never felt more satisfied or proud than when I extended my influence beyond myself to other members of the team. It took me a while to recognize this, but that’s why it’s so important to me that I bring a positive attitude every day.
Shapero believes this is particularly necessary in the U.S. Army, which he said requires soldiers to achieve the difficult.
“The Army gives me an opportunity to challenge myself to smile and make a few jokes, despite the elements or adversity,” he said. “And by doing so, I can foster an environment where we ‘embrace the suck’ and get through the toughest situations together.”
Lt. Col. Geraldo Peralta, commander of the Cavalier Battalion, described Shapero as a scholar-athlete-leader who consistently excels through hard work in his classes, while also seeking to help others with their work.
Lt. Col. Geraldo Peralta, above, commander of the Cavalier Battalion, described Shapero as “highly mature, professional and dependable, an excellent leader and consistently high performer.” (Contributed photo)
“He is always ready to lead, follow or actively assist, making him an excellent member of any team,” Peralta said. “When I interact with him, he is eager to complete assignments and assist with Cavalier [Battalion] operations. He is highly mature, professional and dependable, an excellent leader and consistently high performer who is also in peak physical shape.”
Shapero was an undergraduate economics major and said he “absolutely loved it.”
“It was my regular attendance in my teaching assistant’s office hours that sparked my interest in teaching economics,” he said. “I was constantly reframing new ideas in terms of intuition, asking myself ‘why does this make sense?’ Whenever I would study with friends from class, I enjoyed breaking down complicated concepts. And by the time we finished studying, we would more than memorize formulas and processes. At every step, we would understand the purpose behind what we were doing and check if our results were aligned with economic intuition.”
Adam Leive, an assistant professor of public policy and economics at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, taught Shapero in a course on social insurance programs and described him as an exceptional student.
“Jacob’s work is thorough and of consistently high-quality,” Leive said. “He is thoughtful and approaches challenging questions with an open mind, which allows him to comprehensively weigh evidence to develop an informed perspective. Moreover, his positivity and enthusiasm help to bring out the best in any group he is a part of.”
His attitude and energy helped Shapero become a good teacher. As a third-year student, he served as an undergraduate teaching fellow for economics professors Kenneth Elzinga and Lee Coppock. This was a learning experience for him that he was able to apply as a graduate teaching assistant for Batten’s “Economics of Public Policy I” course.
“Teaching is great because it combines two things that I love to do: explain difficult subjects and make people laugh,” Shapero said. “These things make for a really rewarding experience. Whenever I hear that I’ve helped my students understand something or that I’ve made them laugh, it makes me feel like I made a valuable contribution, especially because Batten’s students tend to be hard-working and service-oriented. They’ve also supported me through the many times when I’ve made lame jokes or when I’ve crashed and burned explaining an economic concept. I’m proud to be a part of this community.”
Isaac Mbiti, an associate professor of public policy and economics at the Batten School, said Shapero is very deserving of the award. Shapero served as Mbiti’s teaching assistant for the “Economics of Public Policy I.”
“Jacob was a great teaching assistant during one of the most challenging semesters we’ve ever had,” Mbiti said. “The students really appreciated his empathy, availability, enthusiasm and sense of humor. His efforts really made this semester a lot easier for everyone.”
