[033]HENDERSONVILLE’S JONES TAKES LONG ROUTE TO GRADUATE FROM MTSU AUG. 9

Release date: Aug. 1, 2008


News & Public Affairs contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-2919



HENDERSONVILLE’S JONES TAKES LONG ROUTE TO GRADUATE FROM MTSU AUG. 9


(MURFREESBORO) — Cancer survivor Gayle Jones has taken the road more frequently traveled to reach her next destination – graduating from MTSU Saturday, Aug. 9, in Murphy Center with 831 other degree candidates.
A nontraditional student, Jones, 50, is a Hendersonville resident who has majored in liberal studies with a concentration in business and communication (3.67 GPA at MTSU since enrolling here full time in the summer of 2007 and 4.0 in her last 21 hours).
“I thought about quitting, but I kept chugging along,” Jones said.
“I’m the first person in my family ever to graduate college,” said Jones, whose son, Jordan, 22, is a junior business administration major at MTSU. “During the Christmas 2006 holidays, he questioned me. He challenged me to go to college. I felt hypocritical. I thought, ‘How can I have high expectations for my kids when I never had any for myself.’”
Mother and son even talked about graduating together, but Jordan switched from music business to his current major. “I will graduate with some of Jordan’s Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity brothers,” she said.
En route to graduating from MTSU, Jones’ stops have included the University of Texas (“where I majored in partying”) in 1976-77, San Jacinto (Texas) College (associate’s degree), Volunteer State Community College (12 hours in spring 2007) and MTSU.
Her detours have included 25 years in the human resources field (many as an HR director and, more recently, as a consultant) and thyroid cancer and radiation treatments in the middle of her fall 2007 semester at MTSU.
“The very same week I started fall classes at MTSU is when I started having (health) problems,” she said. “I went to the doctor. He said it was a thyroid problem, but he did not know if it was malignant because the tests were inconclusive. I had surgery Oct. 9 – in the middle of fall break and midterms. They tested it, and it was malignant so they removed the entire thyroid.”
Doctors recently told Jones that she is cancer free.
“I got the green light two weeks ago (mid-July),” she said. “This has been a great summer for me. I will get my degree and I am cancer free.”
Added blessings for the summer terms came separately from friends Johnny and Patsy Shook of Lamesa, Texas, and an MTSU benefactor, she said.
“Johnny called,” she said. “He wanted to know how school was going. I was evasive. With not having had a job since November, I wasn’t sure how I was going to pay for these classes. Several weeks later, I received a card from Johnny and Patsy. There was a check inside the card. In the subject line, it said, ‘Investment.’ I called to thank them, and Johnny said, ‘I felt like I wanted to make an investment in you.’”
Then, Jones’ MTSU financial aid adviser, Suzanne Beller, an assistant director, helped further by finding her an additional $2,500 in a low-interest loan from the Stark Loan from the MTSU Foundation.
“It all fell into place,” Jones said. “Almost to the penny, it’s like the $3,500 I needed for books and fees dropped out of the sky.”
Jones’ nearly 80-year-old mother, LaVerne Greer of Magnolia, Texas, plans to attend her daughter’s graduation.
Also attending will be her husband Kyle and daughter Lauren, the Shooks and girls from the 11th grade Sunday school class Jones teaches at First Baptist Church in Hendersonville.
Jordan Jones and other family members hope to watch via streaming video (http://frank.mtsu.edu/~proffice/gradlist/grad_video_streaming.htm). His summer job as merchandise manager for country group Lonestar takes him to Bethlehem, Pa., Aug. 9.
Later in August, Gayle Jones will resume her academic career, pursuing a master’s in profession studies/organizational leadership. Her goal is “to have the ability to teach at the community college level.”

For MTSU news and information, go to mtsunews.com.

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To interview or obtain/take a photo of Gayle Jones, call her at 615-495-5442.