Jakob is a musician and a student of language, literature, and culture. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Spanish from Texas State University. After teaching English in Spain for two years, he returned to Texas State University and completed a Master of Arts program in Spanish. His master's thesis examined the concept of nationalism in two novels by 19th century Mexican writer José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi. He has taught Spanish in secondary schools and at the university level. Jakob is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is primarily interested in studying how songwriters from the mid 20th century were essential to the social and political changes of the era.