Alumni Stories: Jacob Holden

When Lauren (Taylor) Sprinkle walked into PCA as a new fifth grader, she had no idea just how much the school would shape her life. From eighth grade Bible lessons that laid a spiritual foundation, to friendships that carried all the way to her wedding day, to the teachers and coaches who became lifelong influences, her years at PCA were filled with moments that mattered. Today, she’s living in North Carolina with her husband, working in clinical research, and still leaning on the grounding she gained at PCA. In this conversation, she reflects on her journey, from moving across the country as a child, to navigating faith in college, to finding purpose in her career, and shares advice for current students as they look ahead to life after graduation.

How many years did you go to PCA and are there specific memories that stand out to you?

I just went for high school, freshman to senior year. Just talking religion with Dr. Pleticha is a memory I’d say that is what led to pretty much everything I’ve done. I was always interested in religion. I was an atheist in high school and just constantly running her through all my questions, like exercised it all, and that’s what made me study religion in college and teach religion now. It’s a blanket of good memories. I’m still close with the people I went to high school with. My girlfriend and I went to high school together. I would say, it definitely taught me how to learn and PCA laid that foundation for that. I owe a lot to the school. I could list on forever and ever.

Tell me more about your Spiritual journey as a believer.

I was agnostic when I was in high school. I grew up Catholic Christian and my family’s not super religious, so when I came to high school here and I was really starting to look into it more, I just had questions, just things weren’t clicking for me personally. And every single time, like I would come up to her with some questions. She loved it and we would just like sit after class and talk about it. So the ability to actually exercise those ideas was important to me, so very grateful to her for that.

So what brought you to PCA? Do you remember that decision for your parents?

Yeah, it was weird. So I went to St. Mary’s for most of my life and then in like middle school, I went to Newmarket and then one of my buddies from Newmarket was going to come here and I really wanted to come here with him. He actually didn’t even end up staying throughout high school, but I remember that process of like, oh, I want to go there trying to figure out if we could afford it or not. And then we ended up getting exchange students all throughout high school, so we were able to, and that’s how we were able to make it work.

What was that like growing up and living with exchange students?

We had a couple of different kids throughout the years. But they’re all awesome. I mean, just learning more about Korean culture and different things was awesome!

You have such a positive attitude about everything. Where does that come from?

My mother. 100%. Yeah. And then, uh. God. Of course.

What was Graduation Day like, and where did life take you after?

Graduation day went by so fast. Honestly, I didn’t have much of a plan at that point. A lot of my classmates already knew exactly where they were headed — they had their colleges lined up and everything. I, on the other hand, hadn’t even applied anywhere by graduation day. I was sort of in this limbo.

My senior year had been tough — I got into some trouble and didn’t have the best reputation by the end. So, while everyone else seemed confident and prepared, I just felt a bit lost. By the end of that summer, I decided to enroll at Great Bay, but at the time I really wasn’t sure what direction I wanted to go.

I went to Great Bay for one semester and then dropped out. Not long after that, I bought a one-way ticket to Asia and spent about a year traveling through Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Nepal. I wanted to immerse myself in different cultures and study Eastern philosophies like Taoism and Buddhism, which I had been reading about even in high school. That experience really shaped me and made me want to study religion more seriously.

When I came back, I went to the University of Wyoming and majored in Religious Studies with a concentration in Islam. I also studied Hebrew and graduated in 2020 through the honors program. Because of COVID, I finished my degree back home in Newmarket.

After graduation, I worked a few different jobs — at a pizzeria, a marina, and later at TD Bank, mostly in management roles. Around that time, I reconnected with my high school girlfriend, which was great. Eventually, I got a job in medical device sales, working with surgeons in orthopedic procedures. I absolutely loved it — being in the operating room, learning how surgeries worked, and helping surgeons during procedures. It really felt like a dream job.

But after about eight months, I tore my meniscus, needed surgery, and had to be out for a few months. Since I was still pretty new, the company had to let me go. It was disappointing, but one of my favorite sayings is, “You want to make God laugh? Make a plan.” That definitely applied there. This was a bad time for me. One of my best friends that I went to school with here, died two months before, then I blew my knee, then I lost my job, and I was at my lowest. And then, I mean, everything great came after that. It just took a push.

What happened after your recovery? How did that trial take a turn for the better?

After I recovered, I went back to TD Bank, but I quickly realized it wasn’t fulfilling. I’d always had an entrepreneurial spirit — back in Wyoming; my friends and I even tried to start a bamboo straw company before COVID shut things down. So, while I was working at TD, I started thinking about doing something more meaningful.

I’d seen a movie called Life of a King about a man who taught chess to kids after getting out of prison, and it really inspired me. I cold-called the Strafford County Department of Corrections and offered to start a chess program. They agreed, and that’s where it all began.

Over time, the focus of my work there shifted from chess to teaching religion, which I love. I still study the Bible every day, and through conversations with the chaplain, I started leading classes and doing one-on-one counseling. From there, I expanded my teaching to local schools — starting in Newmarket, then St. Mary’s, and now PCA.

When I decided to expand the Chess Kids program, I thought, I want to bring this everywhere I’ve been — back to the communities that shaped me. That’s how I reconnected with PCA.

Tell me about your girlfriend. What is her name?

Asja James. We both graduated in 2015. Smartest, most beautiful person I know. She’s a PA down in Boston, and she’s been doing that forever. It’s funny because she was one of the golden children. She’s up there in the ranks with the valedictorian. And I was not. I graduated here with a 2.0. Totally different. I was totally different out of high school than I am now. She’s still amazing and the same.

If you could give any sort of advice to the PCA Upper School students, what would that be?

Trust God. It’s going to work out. Don’t just bet on yourself — double down, because I mean, it took me a long time to get to this point. I love where I’m at. I love the whole process, too. I went from PCA to dropping out of community college. You just have to keep going. It works out. I think college is very important. That’s why I went back, but trust yourself, because there are a ton of different options and you should exercise all those different things. If doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out. Try something else. Definitely, definitely just trust God. That’s what I’ll leave it with.