Camron Jakovac

A Knoch graduate now serves in the Navy aboard one of the world’s largest warships.

Camron Jakovac, who graduated from Knoch High School in 2024, has been assigned to USS Theodore Roosevelt, an aircraft carrier operating out of San Diego, Calif.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt is 1,092 feet long, 252 feet wide and weighs more than 100,000 tons. More than 5,000 sailors serve aboard these self-contained mobile airports, according to the Navy’s website.

“This aircraft carrier is one of the most powerful warships in the world, but it is our sailors that give the U.S. Navy our warfighting advantage,” said Captain Will Mathis, commanding officer of USS Theodore Roosevelt.

The skills and values needed to succeed in the Navy are similar to those found in Saxonburg, said Jakovac, who serves as an aviation machinist’s mate.

“Some of the lessons that I learned from my hometown is to respect those that have come before you,” Jakovac said. “When I worked different trades in my hometown, there were plenty of men in different leadership positions that knew what they were doing. This has carried over to the Navy and the leadership aboard. ”

Jakovac said he wants to provide words of encouragement to sailors coming behind him.

“Never be afraid to take risks,” Jakovac said. “Always take a step in a direction that feels unknown or unexplored.”