Jordon DeGroote had to learn to practice what he preached, just so he could preach it.
One of the more impressive things that DeGroote has done during his remarkable high school career was team up with High School South classmate Jaidev Phadke to start an Interactive Public Speaking course for students their age.
The idea came as a result of their time as officers on South’s Model United Nations Team, which included frequent debating and public speaking.
“We realized it was very hit or miss with kids who came to our club whether they could do public speaking,” DeGroote said. “They were all intelligent, they were all prepared with the information, but they never had to get up in front of people before and talk about it. So we wanted to provide kids an opportunity to learn public speaking.”
DeGroote, who was also a standout defensive end for South’s football team, noted that public speaking is listed as a person’s number one fear, even ahead of death — which prompted comedian Jerry Seinfeld to observe that at a funeral, more people would rather be in the casket than giving the eulogy.
So DeGroote felt it was important to teach young adults how to go about it. But first he and Phadke had to figure it out.
“At our first class, I’m sure all the kids were extremely nervous,” he said, adding with a laugh, “but no one was as nervous as Jaidev and myself. Our first time teaching, we didn’t figure out how to manage a classroom. We knew our tricks about public speaking and had a general curriculum, but when we got up there it was a little nerve wracking. Luckily we got our feet under ourselves.”
Did they ever.
What started as in the West Windsor public library the summer after their sophomore year moved to Princeton’s Tigerlabs on Nassau Street during their junior year. This past summer they went to Trenton to teach inner-city students in the Youth Scholars Institute.
DeGroote counts that as one of his proudest achievements in high school, just beneath running for the school board last fall and garnering 42 percent of the vote. Those endeavors, coupled with a weighted GPA of 4.3 and the fact he was an all-area defensive end for the Pirates’ football team, made him South’s slam dunk honoree at the 54th Annual George Wah Scholar-Leader-Athlete dinner on March 13 at the Princeton Hyatt.
DeGroote was one of 23 players from the Mercer County area to receive a $1,000 scholarship, along with CJ Markisz of High School North. Markisz also took home the night’s major prize, receiving the $5,000 Jack Stephan Scholarship.
DeGroote was unable to attend the dinner as he was on a senior trip in Florida. Pirates’ coach Skip Edwards, DeGroote’s dad Stan, a retired insurance worker, and mom Michelle were there representing him.
When contacted by phone later that evening, DeGroote wasn’t surprised that his sister school peer was the night’s big winner.
“CJ Markisz is a great example of an exceptional athlete and exceptional student,” DeGroote said. “I don’t know all the kids who got honored and what they did, but I can’t imagine any of them being better than CJ.”
And while DeGroote wasn’t about to complain about being at Disney World, he did admit to missing being able to attend the dinner.
“It’s a very humbling experience to be included in that group of guys who are so good on and off the field,” he said.
DeGroote belongs right in the heart of that group.
As a youth, he had no choice but to become a football player. He grew up in Dallas, where you either play football or play football.
“In Texas, everybody played football,” he said. “I didn’t experience high school football, but our youth league team shared a stadium with our sister high school, and it was a bit smaller than Princeton (University’s) stadium.”
The local athletic association did not let youngsters play until second grade, but DeGroote “had a lot of pent up energy” and was big for his size. His mom, now a substitute teacher in the WW-P district, lobbied to the association to let him play as a first-grader, saying “he needs to play football.”
Her persuasion worked, and DeGroote played center for his teams from first through sixth grade before the family moved to West Windsor.
“I loved it so much, it’s how I met kids and made friends,” he said. “I played other sports, but more than any other sport football translates into a way of thinking. I love just the fact no football game can be won by one player, you have to rely on every player around you. It’s just a team mentality that you have to put into it.”
Upon moving north, DeGroote immediately signed up for West Windsor Pop Warner. “Although fewer people may play football up here, the coaches and players are just as dedicated,” he said. “When I joined Pop Warner I felt right at home.”
In ninth grade at South DeGroote played on the freshman team and got to watch Brian Schoenauer — the former standout at quarterback and Jack Stephan Scholarship winner.
As a sophomore DeGroote played on varsity special teams. He pointed to Diego Cuitino, now a starting defensive end at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, as his role model that year.
DeGroote became the Pirates’ starting middle linebacker his junior year and moved to defensive end with three games left in the season. He remained there this past year and was West Windsor’s Most Improved Player in 2014 and Defensive Player of the Year in 2015. He was also second-team All-Conference two straight seasons.
“I’ve been willing to play wherever I needed to,” DeGrooote said. “I quickly learned to love the line. The linemen are a lot slower, you can step around them pretty quickly.”
Coach Edwards, who took over the Pirates program two years ago, says that DeGroote “is like having a coach playing. He brings a passion to the game that cannot be questioned.”
It might have been tough to keep that passion during the past two years, in which the Pirates went 1-19. With football in his blood, however, he found ways to remain motivated.
“It’s about the smaller successes,” he said. “There’s not just one definition of success or failure on a football field. The reality is, there are 80 of them because you have 80 plays. And really there are about 900 of them as each player has his own play to win.
“When you break it down, you’re always pushing for the next play. When you lose up on the scoreboard it doesn’t sum up how you define success at the end of the day. You look at the smaller successes and obviously the camaraderie of being on a team in that event. Win or lose, you’re still looking forward to being with your fellow team members. Maybe at end of some games you might be down and out, but you always come back the next day.”
With that kind of thinking, it’s not hard to see why DeGroote is in the National Honor Society and the German National Honor Society. With DeGroote as president, the Model UN team ranked third in the nation and Jordon was named outstanding delegate in six different functions. He is also the governor of American Legion Jersey Boys’ State, and that’s just the start of the activities and honors in his life.
“If you look at Jordon’s resume, you would assume he is about 25 years old,” said South guidance counselor Michelle Walsh. “I feel Jordon has always been a square peg in the round world of growing up due to his level of maturity, his interests, and his world views.”
DeGroote made national news last fall when he ran for the Board of Education, becoming the youngest candidate for public office in the country.
It was likely just the start for DeGroote, who has interned for State Assemblyman Reed Gusciora and served as a municipal prosecutor’s aide in Princeton and Hopewell Township municipal courts.
“I knew from the get go it would be an uphill battle considering my youth and inexperience,” DeGroote said of the race. “I’m really surprised some 1,600 people came out to say ‘I’ll support this 18-year-old with the bold ideas.’ It was incredible to see.”
But there was more to it than results.
“I didn’t want to walk away judging my success merely by the vote,” he said. “It helped me improve my people skills, getting my ideas out there. I don’t think I fully understood how much of a commitment you have to put into it. At a certain point I was running a business, going out and selling a product. In a normal capitalistic market you get five or 10 percent of the market share and you’re doing great. In politics, you need the majority share. But it was a lot of fun.”
DeGroote’s future is still undecided, other than the fact he has been introduced to rugby and plans on playing as much as possible. As for college, he has received scholarships to Washington University in St. Louis and to the Honors College at Rutgers. He is still waiting to hear from six more schools, including Princeton.
Asked if he had a favorite, DeGroote laughed and said “I can’t imagine applying to Princeton and not having that be your No. 1 choice.”
As for his career path, DeGroote is looking into politics, international affairs (his intended major) and community service.
“I’m not sure,” he said, “how they’ll converge yet.”
If anyone seems capable of making them all mesh, it’s Jordon DeGroote.
