Jack Rothacker is a third-year studying business administration and Spanish, but his entrepreneurship endeavors extend far beyond the NC State community. 

Rothacker recently started Perseverancia, a nonprofit organization currently dedicated to raising $21,000 to fund further infrastructure and educational resources of the Juan Calvino School in Soyapango, El Salvador.

“It all started in June,” Rothacker said. “I went on a mission trip with [Highland Presbyterian Church] in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I went for seven days to El Salvador, where I stayed with this church called Reformed Calvinist Church of El Salvador.”

It was through this trip and a Spanish class Rothacker took at the University that he noticed a disparity between the resources available to South American countries and the United States.

“The United States wastes so much money on McDonald’s and stupid stuff, and it’s like, why can’t we donate 20 bucks to help change a kid’s life?” Rothacker said. “[The people I met] work so much harder than us, and they have so much less. I mean, I get riled up about this stuff. It’s like we just don’t allocate our funds, and we have so many resources, and it’s almost about being grateful — but it’s also about giving back.”

Rothacker said he was able to learn about the struggles affecting the Soyapango community during the trip. 

“The main issue in El Salvador right now is they have the highest incarceration rate, but that goes back to them having the highest murder rate [due to gang violence] in 2015,” Rothacker said. “[Schools] only kind of go through sixth grade. Kids will leave the school when it’s time for seventh grade. And it’s like, ‘Where are these kids going?’”

With this in mind, Rothacker said Highland Presbyterian and its partner churches, and now his own organization, aim to help enhance the education infrastructure in El Salvador. 

“[The kids] were talking about, ‘I wanna be a biomedical engineer;’ ‘I wanna be a graphic designer,’” Rothacker said. “They have dreams, and they’re driven, and they’re so smart. But it’s like, ‘When are they gonna get that platform to do this?’ That’s almost what I want to be.”

Rothacker said $16,000 of the goal is estimated to cover building materials for an additional classroom for the Juan Calvino School. The remaining $5,000 is dedicated to educational materials like projectors, whiteboards and laptops.

Rothacker said Jada Wyatt, a fifth-year studying business administration, has been especially helpful in the development and success of the nonprofit. Wyatt said Rothacker is currently figuring out the statement he wants to make through Perseverancia.

“I would honestly say that his nonprofit itself is on a path currently of finding its own identity because it’s obviously very interwoven with [the Juan Calvino School],” Wyatt said. “But now that he has a more expansive view of what he could do for this community, … I think he’s starting to look up and see that his mission is sort of separate from the school itself and more around uplifting the community.”

Wyatt said it’s important for Rothacker to build and maintain relationships with those in the local community who would be benefiting from his fundraising efforts.

“Especially coming from a place of privilege in general, if you’re not minding the experiences of people, you’ll disrespect their culture — and if you want to support them, the last thing you want to do is disrespect their culture,” Wyatt said. 

Rothacker said the American Marketing Association, Student Legal Services, the Latino fraternity Lambda Theta Phi and the student organization Students for Immigrant Rights and Equality have also been helpful assets throughout the process.

So far, Rothacker has raised over $3,000 through a grant from his local church in Charlotte, a blood drive and various individual donations. His next step in fundraising is a soccer tournament set to take place Oct. 21.

“Anyone can sign up, but it’s mostly going to be fraternities,” Rothacker said. “There’s going to be one bracket of all fraternities, and there’s one Latin fraternity playing in it. And then there’s a general ticket, and that’s the one that’s gonna be open to the public.” 

To participate in the tournament, entry is $10 per player and $8 for a general ticket, which includes a food voucher, live music and viewing of the tournament. Rothacker aims to raise another $4,000 through the event.

Ultimately, Rothacker said he wants to be a resource for the children he met in El Salvador by doing his part to give them opportunities to further their education through Perseverancia.

“I want to be a resource, and I want to be an opportunity giver for the people that deserve it,” Rothacker said.

Perseverancia’s soccer tournament will take place Oct. 21 at 2600 Stewardship Park. More information on Perseverancia can be found on its website.