A Lake Braddock Secondary School art teacher spent 30 years sharing her passion for painting, photography, and pottery with students — a legacy that her family has carried on for nearly a decade through whimsical, often high-tech educational creations.
When Theresa Jacobs passed away from a fast-growing cancer in 2017, her son Eric Jacobs, a Fairfax County native, wanted to honor her love for learning and ignite that same spark in others.
That year, Jacobs and his wife, Ruba, created the Theresa Sondra Jacobs Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing immersive educational experiences in science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM).
“My mom’s passion for always continuing learning was something that really impressed me when I was a kid … She always had her books,” said Jacobs, who’s now a resident of Loudoun County. “… She did what she loved.”
Over the past nine years, engineers, designers, and educators have contributed to a number of projects for the foundation — perhaps none more visible than the “Death Star Hummer H1” occasionally spotted on Northern Virginia roads. Equipped with night vision cameras, lighting effects, and a squad of stormtroopers gazing out the back, the vehicle has been a hit during visits to local schools.
Other mobile exhibits in the foundation’s collection include a red and white DeLorean inspired by Eddie Van Halen’s “Frankenstrat” guitar, and a Cadillac Eldorado that evokes the Star Wars “Star Destroyer” ships.
The foundation has also created a large “FutureQuest” mobile lab that gives children, and people of all ages, a personalized opportunity to explore different careers.
“We want to motivate them to find their passion, and today, there’s so much technology and other things like our phones and other things that are distractions,” said Jacobs. “We have to be more exciting.”
The foundation has a five- to seven-year plan to create a media series aimed at helping students in the region get a realistic view of what local jobs are like and obtain mentoring opportunities.
The ultimate goal is to create a “FutureQuest Discovery Museum” where students can explore different careers in an immersive way that Jacobs envisions as comparative to exploring a Holodeck in Star Trek.
“Let’s say it’s an HVAC company. They can learn ‘Okay, show me what it’s like to work at this facility … Take me there and show me the pathways to get there,'” Jacobs said. “What are the job internships? What are the opportunities available? What certifications do I need?”
That focus on careers may well draw some inspiration from his own mother — whose art and teaching “was her outlet,” Jacobs said.
“It’s not work if you love what you do,” he said. “It’s part of you, who you are, like my mom. She loved what she did.”
Jacobs feels the same way about the foundation’s work.
“I know she’s with us, and she’s helping us…and it’s my life, it’s my passion,” he said.
