By Steven Jellen
Graduation day at US Army Ranger School at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Jake Lazich, a recent UC Santa Barbara Linguistics alumnus, is now serving in the US Army as an infantry officer, aspiring to make a difference in the world by using his knowledge of linguistics to help him serve his country.
After joining the army as a second lieutenant through UCSB Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) in 2020, Lazich tackled Ranger School at Fort Benning, Georgia, a rigorous tactics and leadership course. He is now a platoon leader stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado.
Having grown up in Thailand, Lazich, 23, is no stranger to different cultures and languages. The son of an army officer, he spent his childhood moving around like any other ‘military kid.’ He has lived in 10 different states and has traveled to 40 different countries, including Peru, Israel, Indonesia, and Austria.
It was in Thailand where Lazich realized the importance of linguistics. “Growing up in Thailand, I went to a high school with people from over 50 different countries,” he said. “Everyone spoke English, but there were so many different languages being spoken around me. Being surrounded by different cultures and languages made me realize the importance of linguistics.”
Lazich says he enjoyed the linguistics classes he took at UCSB. “The courses were excellent. Some standouts were morphology, as well as the first and second language acquisition courses,” he says.
Linguistics alum Jake Lazich teaching an introductory Spanish lesson at Peabody Charger School in Santa Barbara County.
Lazich graduated with a Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) minor, and appreciates having studied sociolinguistics and also having had the opportunity to learn new languages. He is now proficient in Spanish, Hebrew, and Arabic.
Lazich hopes his knowledge of linguistics will assist him in becoming a military translator or analyst. He taught Spanish while attending UCSB, and he hopes to become a Spanish teacher when he retires from the US Army.
The infantry officer says the linguistics courses at UCSB have taught him “how language is used in different societies,” and the key role it plays in people's lives.
“The courses helped me become more knowledgeable about social cues,” he said. “Language plays such an important role in everyday life. How it is used and needed, and how people and culture are represented through language.”
Steven Jellen is a fourth-year political science major at UC Santa Barbara. He wrote this profile for his Writing Program class, Digital Journalism.