A Spotlight on Jack Hightower '22

Congratulations to Jack Hightower '22 on being featured in The San Diego Union-Tribune! Jack is currently attending the Naval Academy and plays on the water polo team. Jack attributes reaching this goal of attending the Academy and playing his sport in college to the support he received from his teachers, coaches and other Cathedral Catholic employees:

"The support I received from Cathedral Catholic in helping me reach the Naval Academy is something that I will forever be grateful for. On the academic side, every one of the teachers I asked for a letter of recommendation was more than willing to provide one. It was very obvious from their willingness to help me that they genuinely wanted to see me succeed in my goal. This support not only came from those who wrote my letters of recommendation, but all of the employees who knew of my goal to attend the Academy. Athletically, Tommy Corcoran [Cathedral Catholic's Water Polo Head Coach] was probably the biggest supporter of my aspiration to attend the Academy. My sophomore year, when he heard about my goal, he immediately started helping me get there. He pushed me in practice and always expected me to give maximum effort because he knew that that is what it takes to get to the Academy. On top of that, he kept in contact with Navy's Head Coach, Luis, to let him know how I was doing."

Jack's commitment to attend the Naval Academy is about much more than playing on the water polo team. After graduating from the Academy in a few years, Jack will serve with the United States Navy. Jack shares why he pursued attending the Naval Academy:

"My decision to attend the Academy was grounded in the goals I had for myself after I graduated high school. First and most important was that I knew I wanted to serve my country after high school. Second, I wanted to attend a prestigious school that would challenge me academically. Third, I wanted to play Division I water polo. To me, the Naval Academy was the perfect opportunity for achieving all of these goals."

You are an inspiration, Jack! Thank you for your commitment to serve our country.

In addition to playing water polo and being team captain during his time at Cathedral Catholic, Jack was also involved in Dons For Life as a student leader, National Honor Society and California Scholarship Federation, and he played in the band.

Jack playing as goalkeeper for the Dons

Jack with his mom, Kim, and Father Martin at graduation

Jack being interviewed for the TV along with his Dons For Life student co-leaders at OneLife LA

Jack's Navy portrait (courtesy of the Naval Academy)

Jack playing water polo at the Academy this year

Jack in his Navy uniform