Lakeside’s Mitchell tackled college courses while staying active in school sports

Jubal Mitchell has a head start on college.

The Lakeside High graduate has spent his senior year at the Plummer, Idaho, school taking classes at North Idaho College.

“I’ve been able to take care most of those general requirement classes you have to take the first year of college – the stuff every school makes you take,” Mitchell said. “They haven’t been the most exciting classes to take, but I’m glad I’ve been able to get them out of the way.”

The college experience has been solitary for Mitchell.

“I take my classes online so I don’t need to go on the campus,” he said. “You have to stay on top of your classes because it’s really easy to fall behind. I learned that the hard way. Taking classes like this isn’t for everybody.

“I’m kind of a procrastinator, myself. But I learned how to keep up and get my work done. It’s something that will help me down the road.”

Mitchell kept up his profile at Lakeside by playing sports.

“I play basketball and track and I enjoy both sports quite a bit,” Mitchell said. “We didn’t have a great season in basketball this year. Last year, though, we went to state.”

After Mitchell’s junior season, Lakeside graduated all five starters and started his senior season with a new coach, Butch Nomee.

In the spring, Mitchell ran track.

“I started running long distances in middle school,” he said. “In track I run the 400 meters, the 800, the 1600, the 3200 – whatever they need me to run.

“I like running distance races. I kind of take the race lap by lap and concentrate.”

With track now finished, Mitchell said he’s enjoyed relaxing his way through the final weeks of his high school career.

Mitchell plans to attend the University of Idaho beginning in the fall, where he plans to study computer engineering.

“That’s something that I got interested in a while ago,” he said. “I’ve never actually built my own computer or anything like that, but I’ve learned to do some coding by watching my brother do it and I like it.

“Coding is a lot like learning a whole new language. I like it. I’m going to enjoy digging into the whole area of computer science.”

Leaving home to attend school is going to be a new experience, he said. But he’s looking forward to getting on campus and starting his studies.

“My brother is already there and I am going to enjoy being around him again,” he said. “I haven’t been away from home for an extended period before – maybe a week for summer camp or something like that. But I’m looking forward to it.”