Jacobsen, David 1977-

PERSONAL:

Born June 20, 1977, in Pasadena, CA; married; wife's name Christine; children: Nicholas. Education: Westmont College, B.A., 1999, Regent College, M.C.S., 2006.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Santa Barbara, CA. E-mail—rookiedad@gmail.com; djacobsen@westmont.edu.

CAREER:

Educator. Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes, Santa Barbara, CA, tutor, 1999-2001; VCS School, Vienna, Austria, teacher, 2001-03; Westmont College, Santa Barbara, instructor of English, 2007—.

WRITINGS:

Rookie Dad: Thoughts on First-Time Fatherhood, Zondervan (Grand Rapids, MI), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

David Jacobsen is an American educator. Born in Pasadena, California, on June 20, 1977, Jacobsen completed a bachelor of arts degree in English in 1999 from Westmont College in Santa Barbara. Upon completing his undergraduate studies, Jacobsen began tutoring younger students at Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes private tuition center in Santa Barbara. He remained there until 2001, when he accepted a teaching position at the VCS School in Vienna. Jacobsen taught in Austria until 2003. He later relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, to pursue a master of Christian studies degree at Regents College, affiliated with the University of British Columbia. He completed this program in 2006 and subsequently returned to California. He later began working as an instructor of English at his alma mater, Westmont College.

In 2007 Jacobsen published his first book, a memoir called Rookie Dad: Thoughts on First-Time Fatherhood. Published by Zondervan, the memoir retells Jacobsen's experiences in becoming a father for the first time. Jacobsen, like many men, had many questions about pregnancy and becoming a father but felt as if he did not have a place to turn to get the answer he sought. He went into a period where he felt he could simply ignore the upcoming changes that would affect his life, but noted that as his wife's belly swelled, he needed to face his new reality. Jacobsen's wife, Christine, would discuss the pregnancy and newborn with her girlfriends. Jacobsen, left feeling unsure what he should be thinking and feeling about the upcoming arrival of his son, Nicholas, began documenting his thoughts on the matter. His records of his thoughts, questions, and actions through the pregnancy and after the birth were rewritten and published as this memoir. In the various stories, Jacobsen shares his concerns, joy, and tears, passing along his experience to other to-be fathers.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Jacobsen, David, Rookie Dad: Thoughts on First-Time Fatherhood, Zondervan (Grand Rapids, MI), 2007.

ONLINE

David Jacobsen Home Page,http://www.davidjacobsen.net (January 10, 2008), author biography.

Westmont College Web site,http://www.westmont.edu/ (January 10, 2008), author profile.