Newport Harbor High’s Jack Kiesecker seeks a cure for dementia
With the insight of a seasoned soul and the vigor and optimism of youth, Jack Kiesecker believes the core of any individual is his or her memory — and the soon-to-be graduate of Newport Harbor High School wants to preserve that by finding a cure for dementias like Alzheimer’s disease.
Kiesecker, 18, is bound for the University of Colorado Boulder, where he will study psychology and neuroscience. He’s not sure if he wants to be a physician, but he does want to research a cure for the diseases that rob people of what makes them unique.
“I truly believe the change I can bring in the world for helping others is through neurology,” he said.
The fascination with neuroscience came to him precociously young. Kiesecker attended Davis Magnet School in Costa Mesa for elementary school, where he said he enjoyed a diverse student body and hands-on experience in the sciences.
Honoring this year’s graduating seniors from high schools in Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Laguna Beach and other parts of Orange County.
A visiting neurosurgeon showed the children a virtual surgery, and for a project Kiesecker built a model of the brain.
He was hooked.
“I figured out what I wanted to major in in college in sixth grade,” he said.
Experiences that come with emotions and become memories are what shape people, he said. Without those memories, “life becomes unimportant.” He can’t fathom what it would be like to forget what life’s most impactful moments felt like.
But if he can’t put himself into someone else’s head, he can recognize their challenges and pain. He’s driven to study the brain and mind because he intuitively grasps the tragedy of memory loss. More recently, he’s attended local anti-racism protests. He said he can’t understand first-hand the struggle of people of color, but he can stand with them and support them.
He credits his empathy to his mother, Bel, who helped him make that model of the brain years ago that helped put him on his life’s path.
Kiesecker is the son of Bel and Peter Kiesecker and the older brother of Nic. Jack Kiesecker will graduate from Newport Harbor during the school’s virtual ceremony on Friday.
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