Class of 2020 graduate Jack Nelson excelled as a Scituate High School student and continues to shine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)–especially as a sports journalist for the campus newspaper, the Daily Bruin. Although Nelson is pursuing a degree in environmental science, he has made a name for himself in journalism while covering UCLA sports teams.
A former staff writer for The Scituation, Nelson enjoyed covering arts and school activities while he was in high school. In addition, he regularly wrote opinion essays highlighting issues related to professional sports. As a college journalist, he has focused on sports reporting. Nelson said, “I’m no athlete, but I always loved writing, and my addiction to the drama of sports made the Bruin a natural fit.”
When asked about his reporting experiences, Nelson commented, “One day, I’m traveling to Tucson, Arizona, to cover a bigtime matchup for UCLA football, and on another, I’m sitting down with UCLA men’s basketball’s star point guard for a feature interview.” Noting that sports journalists have “the kind of access you can’t get anywhere else,” Nelson said he enjoys seeing “an entirely new side of sports while being on the forefront of coverage.”
From football to basketball, softball, and tennis, Nelson has covered sports in various ways while moving up the ranks at the newspaper. Writing and editing recaps, notebooks, columns, features, scouting reports, and beyond, Nelson said, “Serving as an assistant sports editor for the paper that won a first-place Pinnacle Award for 2022-23 Best Web Sports Section, awarded by the College Media Association, was an unbelievable honor.”
Nelson also co-hosts UCLA’s sports podcast, Out Of Bounds, with colleagues Gavin Carlson and Zoë Busenberg. “Out of Bounds existed even before my time at UCLA, but this year, it’s become something new entirely, and we’re extremely excited about it,” he explained. Weekly episodes are posted discussing UCLA football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball, as well as occasional episodes for smaller sports. Nelson remarked, “We strive to package debates and personalities into a quality product.” The podcast is available on the Daily Bruin’s YouTube, Spotify, SoundCloud, and Apple Music.
When he is not reporting on sports, Nelson is still on the field: As a member of UCLA’s marching band, Nelson plays the trumpet during half-time performances. Growing up in Scituate, he started playing trumpet in the fourth grade and continued through his senior year of high school. Acknowledging the benefits of the UCLA music program, Nelson said playing the trumpet has been a “gateway” to some of the most special people in his life: “The marching band is unequivocally the best musical group I ever joined, and without a doubt, the best I ever will.” Nelson has performed in venues ranging from the Rose Bowl to SoFi Stadium and the Hollywood Bowl. Outside of California, Nelson has traveled to South Carolina, Las Vegas, and Taiwan with the marching band.
SHS music teacher Adam Gruschow, co-director of the symphonic band, still recalls how dependable and committed Nelson was in class: “When the best leader of your band is a trumpet player, the band is going to be good. Period.” Gruschow added, “One of my favorite memories of Jack was during audition season. He had missed being accepted into the previous festival. He worked so hard to improve over the following year that he then earned the highest score and seat when he auditioned again. I was so proud of him that I had to call him personally to give him the news.”
Nelson’s father, Matthew Nelson, echoed similar pride in Nelson’s work ethic, emphasizing that his son’s freshman year of college was remote since UCLA closed its campus during the pandemic. Nevertheless, Jack got involved with writing for the Daily Bruin, covering men’s and women’s tennis matches from his laptop. Commenting that he “could see a real passion for journalism building” in his son, Nelson’s father, who attended UCLA in the 1990s, believes his son is “ten times the Bruin” he ever was, remarking that Jack “loves the school and has given back more than most students.”
Nelson’s younger brother, Evan Nelson, who is a sophomore at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, praised his older brother’s journalistic writing skills: “He’d always been a great writer, and I’d always tell him to go through with it, but he didn’t think he could.” Evan has looked up to Jack’s work ethic his whole life, emphasizing how “he’s a great role model and works really well with others.” Evan added, ”He’s someone that always gets his work done before anything.” In particular, Evan admires his brother’s articles about the UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team and mentioned how his family is always the first to know when a new article is published.
In addition to keeping in touch with his family, Nelson updates his high school teachers on his academic achievements. “He takes every opportunity that he can to stop in and see his old teachers and talk to the students at The Scituation or in the band about opportunities after high school,” according to Matthew Nelson. Last December, Nelson shared his college journalism experiences with Introduction and Advanced Journalism students at SHS while he was home for his winter break.
As (Jack) Nelson reminisced about his high school years at SHS, he emphasized the importance of taking the time to “cherish the people around you and the experiences that come your way above all else.” When asked to share some advice for graduating seniors, he said, “Be your authentic self, and if people would have it otherwise, kindly shove them out of the way.”