‘I will never meet another Jacob’: Senior livens up classroom with anime, humor

By MATTHEW ALLEN 
The Tower 

When you walk through the campus of Manteca High, you may stumble upon a senior, headphones dangling from his ears, light blue phone case in his hand, majestic ponytail bouncing with his stride like a horse’s mane.  

Meet Jacob Manglinong, a beacon of entertainment with his odd personality and quirks. Manglinong can lighten up any classroom with his accents, pop culture references, dance moves and showman personality.

Teacher Anna Wooten has taught Manglinong all four years of high school.  

“Jacob is very witty,” she said. “He has an amazing sense of humor. He's extremely creative, and he keeps me on my toes.

“He has these sayings that are Jacob-isms, and they're funny, and phrases I have never heard before in my life. He's just very entertaining, and he's an extremely unique person, and I know throughout the course of my life, I will never meet another Jacob.” 

If you also have a class with Manglinong, or if you just see him around, you’ll always see him either looking at his phone or buried in a school computer. He enjoys watching anime, blooper videos, and Storage Wars.   

When asked about his phone and the videos he watches, Manglinong’s response was simple: “To relieve stress and stuff.” 

Manglinong loves anime. Whether he’s on his computer or just on his phone, Manglinong is surfing through the near endless amounts of anime characters or figures on the internet. When he sees a picture of an anime character he likes, he lets out a Jacob-ism

It’s a moan — or groan — that resembles Red Robin’s signature slogan: “Yummm!”

However, when he sees a photo he really, really likes, he flashes a sinister grin with the tip of his tongue pressed between his lips.  

The Tower sat with Manglinong during his Journalism class, observing the cat and mouse game with his instructor James Burns. During stretches in the class, Manglinong paced about the large room, spinning circles around the two islands in the back of the room. Every once in awhile, he stops at the mirror along the back wall, adjusting his ponytail and the curtain-like bangs that hide his eyes.

Burns spies him up and about asks him if he’s completed his assignment.

Manglinong lets out a sigh.

“No.”

After a few more laps, Manglinong grabs his computer and heads to the row of computers furthest from Burns. With his laptop open and a roster of anime characters queued up on the other computer, Manglinong laughed, smiled and grinned for the next 20 minutes, occasionally blessing the room with a Jacob-ism.

Manglinong may have his quirks, but his approach to life leaves a lasting impression on those who surround him: He enjoys his free time, loves to play games, and most of all, he inspires laughter and joy.