STEPHENVILLE, Texas — As a member of the Tarleton State University rodeo team, Jacob Perkey was issued a purple vest to wear when the team was competing. It meant the world to him.

Still does.

Jacob will talk about the significance of his favorite apparel when he makes the commencement address at the 9 a.m. graduation exercises Saturday.

“That vest carried me through college and has been training wheels for me,” he said. “As I was sometimes wondering about my next steps, I always had that purple vest with me. 

“I’ll always have my experiences with my teammates at Tarleton and that purple vest. It helped take me from what I was when I got here to what I want to be.”

Jacob will graduate Saturday with a master’s in agriculture and consumer resources with a concentration in leadership. He already holds a bachelor’s degree, also from Tarleton, in agriculture industries and agencies.

He’s the latest in a line of Tarleton grads in his family. His father, two cousins, even his godfather — they all studied here. Though he’d always wanted to go to Texas A&M, a family trip to Stephenville to work on his roping led him to pick Tarleton instead.

“I said, ‘This is where I want to go.’ I fell in love with the area, the rodeo team, the history and what Tarleton had to offer for somebody in my shoes.”

 Now after being on campus for six years, he has developed a love for Tarleton that makes him emotional about graduating.

“I’m excited, but I’m sad, too. At our last rodeo, the Tarleton Stampede, I had a moment realizing that I was finished with school and with the rodeo team. I cried. It was surreal at that moment that I’m done at Tarleton.”

Jacob grew up in Burleson and attended the private Nazarene Christian Academy where he was on the National Honor Society and a standout baseball player — all-state catcher. He played a little basketball and football, too.

“The rodeo thing stated when I was in the eighth or ninth grade,” he said. “I helped start a rodeo team at the school. My dad, who was the baseball coach, volunteered to be the rodeo coach, too.”

That was a turning point. Rodeo became his passion.

Even though his time as a collegiate team roper and tie-down roper are behind him, Jacob still anticipates plenty of days in the arena. After graduation, he’ll gather all he learned at Tarleton and head to Dodge City Community College in Kansas, where he will be the new assistant rodeo coach. 

He gained experience working alongside Tarleton coaches tutoring ropers as a graduate assistant.

“Being a college rodeo coach is my dream job. I got that from being here at Tarleton,” he said. “You come to college thinking, ‘I have no idea what I want to do.’ That was me, freshman year. With the guidance of (rodeo) coach Mark Eakin and all the other leaders on the rodeo team, I realized that’s what I wanted.”

Eakin gives his graduating students a handwritten letter at the end of their Tarleton career. Jacob’s said, “You’re going to be an amazing coach. Good luck in Dodge. Send us all your good ones.”

“This is what I’m supposed to be doing,” Jacob said. “I’m ready to hit it head on.”

A founding member of The Texas A&M System, Tarleton State is breaking records — in enrollment, research, scholarship, athletics, philanthropy and engagement — while transforming the lives of nearly 17,000 students in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Bryan and online. True to Tarleton’s values of excellence, integrity and respect, academic programs emphasize real world learning and address regional, state and national needs.