Dean Jacobs, an alumni from WSC, is a world traveler, motivational speaker and so much more.

Jacobs is returning to his alma mater on Tuesday, Nov. 16 to share his life lessons with WSC and promote his Seven Wonders of Humanity: dignity, respect, humility, curiosity, generosity, gratitude and kindness.

This event, hosted by SAB, is a change of pace from their usual activities, such as bingo, craft nights and trivia. Kailey Jensen, the SAB annual events coordinator, said she’s excited to welcome Jacobs back to the WSC campus since he was last here in 2019.

“For SAB, bringing Jacobs back was important to cultivate inspiration among WSC students,” Jensen said.

Jacobs currently works with schools across the country as a visiting author, presenter and educator. His foundation’s mission is to inspire students to be engaged in life and follow their dreams. It addresses the social and emotional challenges of today. He is also a professional photographer, has written two books and has done some work as a freelance newspaper writer. Additionally, Jacobs is a certified high-performance coach.

He graduated from WSC in 1986 with a biology degree but didn’t have a very good plan for his future after college. He wanted to earn some money to pay off his school debt, but always had a dream to travel the world.

While at WSC, Paul Campbell was the first to plant a seed in Jacobs about traveling abroad.

“As a first-generation student, traveling abroad was not a conversation that ever happened in my home, Dr. Campbell helped me see a new possibility,” Jacobs said.

Jacobs’ talks have taken him all over the world. So far, they have taken him to Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Colorado, New Mexico, California, Washington, New York and Nebraska. Additionally, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Ecuador, Brazil, Uganda and the Semester at Sea ship.

Jacobs has plans to lead students back to the Amazon Rainforest and Africa again in the future. He plans to lead group trips for people wishing to have the type of transformation that comes from combining life coaching and traveling abroad. Jacobs is currently doing some work with the Omaha Nation Public School to help create and expand a positive climate for their students and staff.

Jacobs’ advice for young travelers is to do it while you are young, do it while you are middle-aged with your kids, do it when you grow old, it will change your life and make it rich.