Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
JACKSON LISLE SPRINGDALE HAR-BER
Jackson Lisle is an adaptable young man with a wide range of options.
Lisle considered chemical engineering, finance and biochemistry as his college major. He settled on the pre-med major of food science.
“I was bouncing between a lot of choices,” said Lisle, a left-handed pitcher for the Class 7A state champion Springdale HarBer Wildcats. “And food science involves a little bit of everything. It has a lot of chemistry and biology in it. After I graduate, there are a
multitude of jobs open that I can choose between. It’s a very versatile degree.”
Lisle will attend the University of Arkansas Honors College, which happens to be leader in the field of food science.
“I didn’t apply anywhere else but I probably should have,” Lisle said. “When I was first considering colleges I thought about MIT [Massachusetts Institute of Technology] or Yale. A lot of people don’t realize this but Arkansas is one of the top five schools in the country in food science because of what Tyson and Walmart do for the area.”
Another plus for Lisle is that he enjoys attending sporting events.
“I’ll probably go to every baseball game possible,” Lisle said. “And I’ll go to a lot of football and basketball games too. For what I’m doing now, the U of A is the perfect choice for me.”
A two-year varsity letterman, Lisle made 11 appearances for the Wildcats, compiling a 0.50 earned run average in 14 innings. He did not pitch in the state tournament, but was ready to go to the mound if asked.
“Winning a state championship was awesome,” Lisle said. “I went down to the bullpen five or six times but I watched as much of the games as I could.
“It was so cool to watch my teammates come back. We may have been behind in the semifinals, but I knew we weren’t going to lose.”
Despite a substantial school schedule, Lisle said the experience was worth it.
“I was proud I was able to balance school, work and baseball,” Lisle said. “Obviously I did better in the classroom than I did in baseball, but being able to stick with everything really helped me be a well-rounded individual.”