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ELLISVILLE –Four Jones College sophomore music students are inviting the public to hear their last solo performances before graduation.  Sophomores expected to perform are Logan Miller of Ellisville, Trey Daverson of Stringer, Johnna Nail of Morton and Zoe Payne of Quitman.

On Monday, April 7, at 7 p.m. in the M.P. Bush Fine Arts Auditorium, percussionist Logan Miller will take the stage performing on various instruments. He will be performing on the drum set, marimba, snare drum, timpani, vibraphone and xylophone. The JC Percussion Ensemble, JC Jazz Band with vocalist and JC grad, Emma Grantham will be assisting Miller during his sophomore recital.

The following Monday, April 14, at 7 p.m. in the Foote Chapel, trumpet players, Trey Daverson and Johnna Nail will join clarinetist, Zoe Payne.  Performing with Daverson will be the Trumpet Quartet consisting of Nathan Bower of Ellisville, Jonathan Roney of Ellisville and Johnna Nail of Morton. Additionally, Daverson will be using his Eb and Bb trumpets, and Flugelhorn for his recital. The Northwest Rankin High School graduate, Nail, will be joining Daverson during her recital for a duet performance with her Bb and Eb trumpet. She has been assisted by adjunct high brass instructor, Kyle Matthees while at Jones College.

Quitman’s Zoe Payne will be performing a duet with her JC woodwinds instructor, Susan Schuman during her portion of the sophomore recital. All three JC students will be accompanied by piano faculty, Dr. Theresa Sanchez.

The recitals are free and open to the public. These performances are a part of the sophomore music student’s degree requirements for Jones College. For more information about the JC music program or the sophomore recitals call the College of Arts, Music and Performance at 601-477-4203.

ELLISVILLE –Jones College art students filled the Eula Bass Lewis Art Gallery for Nathan Mullins “Art Talk” as he shared his journey that led to his niche of sports portrait painting. The University of Southern Mississippi painting professor’s exhibit, “Play Ball” features images of Baseball’s superstars and interesting memories from Mullins youth, including images from Baseball Cards to live action images he remembers watching on TV. The recent exhibit on display on the college campus and his art talk is one avenue of showing students various forms of art. Also, it allows artists like Mullins the opportunity to help students explore ideas for creating art and learning about the different things that can be inspiring, like live sports action.

In April, Sophomore Art students at Jones College will have their work on display for the last art show in the Eula Bass Lewis Art Gallery. The Annual Sophomore Art Exhibition will be open to the public beginning on Monday, April 7, through May 2.

For more information about upcoming JC art shows or to arrange a visit to the gallery call 601-477-8401. The Eula Bass Lewis Art Gallery is open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m., and by appointment only on Fridays. The gallery is closed during the holidays. To learn more about the Jones College Art Department, https://www.jcjc.edu/programs/finearts/ or the JC Art Department’s social media: Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/JCJCFineArts/ and on Instagram @artatjonescollege.

ELLISVILLE – Jones College students won 16 awards at the 2024 Better News/Media Contest held in conjunction with the 27^th annual O.C. McDavid Journalism Summit on March 20, in Ridgeland. Both community college and university newspapers competed in their respective categories, while in some categories, the two-year colleges had to compete against universities. Jones College once again received the General Excellence Award in the community college division which is based on the number of awards earned throughout the competition

“I am very impressed with our student’s success especially since we competed against university students who may have more experience than our freshman and sophomore students,” said Journalism instructor and advisor of JC’s student publications, Kelly Atwood.  “Our staff took home the most awards and won the overall award which is a testament to their hard work.”

The Jones newspaper, the Radionian, swept the Best General News Story category, with Haidyn Houston of Raleigh winning third place for her story on the HomeTown remodeling of the President’s House on campus. The second-place award went to Destiny Velasco of Ellisville for her story on the tennis team helping with hurricane relief, and the first-place award went to Jaylynn Conner of Waynesboro for her story on AI technology in education.

Additionally, the Radionian came home with all three awards in the Best Feature Story, with Jayla Jones of Stonewall placing third for her story on a NICU fundraiser in memory of a JC faculty members’ infant, Myles Jaxon Jones. Jayla Jones also received second place for her story about a JC student who lost her eyesight. First place went to Jacarious Roberts of Hattiesburg, who wrote a story about a homeless student who found refuge at Jones.

“Receiving an award for my story was a very validating moment for me,” said JC sophomore Jacarious Roberts. “I was nervous but excited about the conference, but when the Radionian started winning awards I couldn’t help but be proud of us. The Radionian has helped boost my confidence every time I write a story. Throughout this experience I have also learned the importance of being vocal with my peers and accepting constructive criticism.”

All colleges competed in the Best Website category, with the Radionian winning first place. The judge’s remarks included, “Overall the best design with nice uses of photography. In a category where many contenders looked similar, this one stood out. Strong content seals the win.”

In Best Feature Photo, the Radionian took all three spots with Sami Jordan of Ocean Springs taking third place for her photo “Cozy by the Fireplace,” which looked like a professionally created sellable stock photo. Jordan also received second place for her photo of Philosophy instructor John Stockstill. Gabriela Moncivais of Laurel received first place for her photo of a cosmetology student working in the lab.

While competing against all colleges In the Best General News Photo category, Reagan McLeod of Waynesboro received third place for her photos of men’s basketball, and Ella Thomas of Laurel received first place for her action shots of men’s soccer.

The following students competed against both university and community college students and received accolades. In the Best Sports Feature category, Boo Mills of Laughton England placed third for her story on soccer player Hilary Jaen. In the Best General Interest Column category, Rylee Burks of Picayune placed third for her column on Cheap College Eats for students. Haley Shepherd of Petal received third place for her Color Run photo in the Best Sports Photo competition and in the Best Use of Video category, Jayla Jones received third place for the NICU memorial fundraiser.

The awards competition and summit are funded by the McDavid Fund of the Mississippi Press Foundation. The Summit included guest speakers from the Roy Howard Center for Community Journalism, photojournalist Chris Todd and Mississippi Today’s Marshall Ramsey.

Students can apply for positions on the Radionian newspaper, broadcasting or yearbook classes by emailing Jones College student publications advisor, Kelly Atwood at Kelly.atwood@jcjc.edu

ELLISVILLE – Jones College’s Workforce College is now offering two courses to help fill the demand for fiber optic installers in the region. The Certified Fiber Optic Installer (Class 1) will begin on Monday, May 19, through May 29, and meet Monday through Thursday, at 8 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.  This short-term-class includes classroom instruction and the hands-on application of skills. The course costs $1,100 and will not meet on Memorial Day, Monday, May 26.

The next course in the program, Certified Fiber Optic Outside Plant Technician (Class 2) is designed for workers with fundamental fiber optic knowledge or Installer Certification. It focuses specifically on outside plant installations (OSP), such as building to building communications or long-haul telecommunications. Emphasis will be placed on the single mode fiber optic installation and the associated international standards, theory and practices. This course is offered Monday through Thursday, from 8 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. beginning on Monday, June 2, through June 12. The cost of the course is $1,450.

At the completion of the class, students will take the ETA (Electronics Technician Association) exam. If they pass the exam, they will receive an ETA certification. Students must complete Fiber Optic Installer class (Fiber 1) OR have 1 year of work experience in the fiber field to enroll in the Outside Plant Technician class (Fiber 2). For more information or to enroll, call 601-477-4114 or email, workforce@jcjc.edu.

ELLISVILLE – Jones College 2020 graduate, Jessie Cameron Chaney, a current Simpson County resident, is paying it forward by establishing an annual $1000 scholarship for a Jones College student. The 24-year-old wife and mother of two children said she isn’t “rich” or drawing from a Trust Fund to provide for the annual scholarship. The staff accountant at Hemphill Construction in Florence, said she is simply prioritizing her expenses and investing in someone like the Asbury Foundation Scholarship invested in her as a Jones College student.

“I’m generally a normal, average person. My kids are expensive, and daycare is expensive, but I truly put money towards what I believe in,” said Chaney. “I try not to focus too much on the material things, but the things that will continue even when I’m gone. Investing in someone else’s education will change their life, their children’s lives and it will change the lives of the people around them. I think that’s really more important than a $5 Starbucks coffee every morning.”

Going to work without the coffee is just one of the ways Chaney saves to provide funding for the scholarship. She is also motivated by her kids and her own experience while trying to get an education. After pausing her education for two years as Covid closed everything down, and online classes were not her preferred method of learning, she had her first child. That’s when Chaney decided she needed to continue her education at Mississippi State University. After exploring nursing and other majors, she focused on another avenue of helping people through accounting. In her last semester of classes last fall, Chaney learned her scholarship was withdrawn because of a situation with the donor.

“I think it showed me just how much I relied on a scholarship and how scary the thought of not being able to complete my last semester would be without that scholarship,” shared Chaney.

In fact, it pushed her harder to find a way to contribute to someone else’s education because she didn’t want someone to go through the same predicament she found herself in, especially when she was so close to graduation.

“I didn’t want someone to wonder how they are going to finish or how they can even start a degree if they don’t have the money for an education. So, being able to impact someone else’s life is important because I saw how truly impactful the scholarship that was pulled from me was. I relied on it and that fear and concern really impacted my studies as well. I wasn’t able to do as well because I was worried about how I was going to pay for college, so being able to contribute to another student so they can not only focus on their studies but also complete their studies is really important to me.”

While at Jones College, Chaney said she changed her major a few times, but she kept on track with the help of her aunt and Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Julie Atwood. Her guidance and support, Chaney said, enabled her to focus on her education, especially after she lost her grandfather and her father. Atwood emphasized that she’s proud of Chaney for being persistent in not only finding her pathway but to also help someone who may be struggling like herself.  

“I think it’s incredible and I hope that students really value this scholarship because it’s coming from someone who’s been in their shoes and it’s from someone that understands where they’re at,” said Atwood. “But also, she’s dealing with all the things involved with taking classes at the same time working full time and raising a family. I think that’s inspirational just to say you can do it, and I believe in you with a scholarship.”

Vice President of External Funding and Executive Director of the Jones College Alumni and Foundation, Sabrina Young said Chaney may be one of the youngest to establish a scholarship which will have a far-reaching impact.

“She sees how powerful education is and is giving back to others. Someone inspired and recognized her aspirations, and they gave her an opportunity to continue her education. That’s powerful. Giving to something that is bigger than all of us means you’re giving an opportunity to someone, and it is going to touch their life, their family’s lives, and their future family’s lives. I think it’s inspiring,” said Young.

Ironically, Chaney’s grandfather and father were cared for at the Asbury Hospice House, which is affiliated with the scholarship she was awarded at Jones. Chaney plans to name the annual scholarship she is establishing in honor of her father.

“He believed in me with all of his heart. I pray his kind and hardworking spirit is honored and has more meaning to impact others’ lives,” said Chaney. “When my grandfather and father passed away in the care of the Asbury Hospice House, I couldn’t have asked for better people to help my family during that time. Not only did they invest in my education, but they also provided exceptional care for our family.”

Current Jones College students have through April 15, to apply for Foundation scholarships like Chaney’s newly established scholarship on the Foundation website, https://www.jcjc.edu/alumni_foundation/scholarships/