Jake and Sue Holshuh Support Scholarship Through Planned Giving 

Though Jake Holshuh ’62 doesn’t describe himself as a “jock,” some of his best memories of Reserve are all about the athletics—particularly his time as the Varsity Basketball manager.

“Being the manager was what I remembered the most from my time at Reserve,” he recollected. “That was probably the biggest thrill I had because that team did really well! I really enjoyed the sports parts of my time at Reserve and just participated as much as I could.”

And while he denies his status as a dedicated athlete, he neither describes himself as a scholar—in fact, he was surprised to hear he had been named to the Honor Roll in the 1962 issue of Hardscrabble.

“Really?” he said in astonishment. “I don’t remember that! Though I can remember one assignment on which I did do pretty well. I think it was either junior or senior year in English, with a faculty member named Bucky Harris. He was a real tough teacher. He had us do some improvisations, and I took apart the Jabberwocky song and made it into a kind of a tutorial. He thought that was cool and gave me a good grade. So maybe that was the year I actually made the honor roll!”

Holshuh can also remember passing the time with his classmates, whom he remembers getting along with quite well, and his first year living away from home in Wood House. The independence he found at Reserve later helped him adjust quickly to life at college. “Because of the time I spent at Reserve, I found my first few years at Cornell were relatively easy for me,” he said.

His path to Western Reserve Academy began with his parents, both of whom made education a priority for Jake and his brother, Don ’67.

“We would have gone to Akron South from junior high school and at that time, Akron South had never had a college graduate,” explained Holshuh. “My dad was very aware of that. He and my mother are really the reason I went to Reserve. I’d have never known anything about it, but he was very insistent that we get a good education. He prided himself on his education, and my mother did as well. She was very supportive.”

Holshuh and his wife Sue have generously included Western Reserve Academy in their planned giving and are inspired by his time at Reserve, which carried such a strong impact on his life.

“Reserve really set up my life for me,” he said. “I wouldn’t have achieved what I was able to do if it hadn’t been for that. That’s why Sue and I are participating in a scholarship for students that otherwise wouldn’t have had a chance at all. We hope to specifically help kids from Northeastern Ohio who live below the poverty line and who would become first-generation college graduates in their family. To me, Reserve always seemed to be a place where people could do well—and now that it has more outreach and diversity, I think I can really support that. And I’m proud to support that. I think it’s really important. It’s something I never would want to see Reserve lose.”