Category: Press Release

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.