Complete Interview with Jacob Gaba '22

HAVERFORD, Pa. – Customs is always an exciting time around Haverford College as a new class of first-years begin the Haverford experience. This year, men's cross country/track & field athlete Jacob Gaba '22 served as the co-head of Haverford's Customs program along with Lia Hermosilla-Rojas '22.

Customs is Haverford College's First-Year Experience program, which includes a five-day orientation immediately preceding the fall semester. Customs is a time to learn from and about each other's differences, backgrounds, and experiences. The week together serves as a foundation for learning to live in community with one another. Customs helps first-year students figure out what they want to do and how they can get there.

"The program historically has been based on a lot of in-person activities," explained Gaba. "You're meeting new people and you're connecting with them for the first time. There's something really personal about the program."

Although the schedule on campus lasts just five days, the planning for this event began back in February. The planning was perhaps even more demanding this year as Haverford's campus had been engaged in remote learning to close the spring semester and the Customs team had to figure out a way to make the first-year experience memorable with a combination of both remote and on-campus (but distanced) learning taking place this semester.

"I accepted the position in February and we hit the ground running from there. I sat in on dozens of interviews to pick the people who are going to be on the ground with the first-years. That was really the biggest time chunk. Just talking thoroughly with all of those people to make sure we picked the best people to be in those positions because it is a really important responsibility."

With an exceptional team working with him, Customs certainly had its differences but nonetheless it was another successful orientation for the Class of 2024. "I am proud of what we did to adjust. Once we dropped the expectation that it was going to be like other years it formed something entirely new."

Although the orientation process to campus never ceases, Gaba will also turn his attention to athletics even though there will be no competitions during the fall semester. "I think everything blends really well together here. I really try not to cordon off Customs into one box, running into another box, and academics into another box. They're all part of my experience here. I am here to get a degree, but obviously my experience here would be profoundly different without running and without Customs."

Perhaps no example was more telling of this combination of experiences than Gaba being able to run with other first-years during Customs. "That to me exemplifies how you approach all of these different things you do on campus as all a part of your experience. I really try to integrate it all together in order to just always be organized."

With a group of athletes all training with the team's goals in mind, that team-first mentality has helped the Fords become a nationally-renowned program under USTFCCCA Hall of Fame Coach Tom Donnelly. "We really feed off of each other and keep each other accountable, not just with running but with school and everything else. That really helps us builds up that healthy team spirit to try to push each other to be our best. We know that when, as individuals, we're at our best the team is at its best."

As for the fall semester, the Fords are not approaching this year any differently even if competitions will not take place in the fall. "We're just going to keep running and stay ready for when it does come. As soon as they let us race other teams, we are going to be ready. I have seen it already being back on campus with our guys that are here and those that are off-campus. We've stayed focused this whole time."

You can listen to the full interview with Jacob Gaba regarding his Customs experience in the video below.