{"id":2285,"date":"2022-05-09T13:51:17","date_gmt":"2022-05-09T13:51:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/?p=2285"},"modified":"2022-12-01T19:27:14","modified_gmt":"2022-12-01T19:27:14","slug":"professor-student-bond-inspires-memorial-scholarship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/?p=2285","title":{"rendered":"Remembering John Jones: Scholarship endowed, degree awarded"},"content":{"rendered":"

Professor-student bond inspires fundraising effort<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Black
Image of John Jones.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Jeff Wilson<\/strong><\/p>\n

When John Jones entered his first class with professor Brad Hagy he made an immediate impression.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe sat in the front row,\u201d said Hagy, a senior lecturer of information sciences and technology at SIU. \u201cHe was a model student and was going to do anything to further his future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones, who worked in IT for the SIU Foundation, passed away suddenly on Tuesday, April 27, 2021. \u00a0In Jones\u2019 memory, Hagy donated $10,000 to establish the John E. Jones Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship will benefit non-traditional students who are majoring in Information Technology (ITEC).<\/p>\n

With the large donation from Hagy and support from numerous donors through the SIU Foundation\u2019s crowdfunding platform, SalukiFunder, the scholarship was recently endowed with $25,000. The scholarship will produce a $1,000 scholarship each year.<\/p>\n

During the 2022 Spring Commencement, Jones was honored with a posthumous Bachelor of Science from the College of Engineering, Computing, Technology, and Mathematics. Members of Jones\u2019 family attended the ceremony to receive his degree.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe offer our sincere condolences to the family and share your pride in his accomplishments,\u201d Chancellor Austin Lane said.<\/p>\n

To make a gift to the John E. Jones Memorial Scholarship, visit salukifunder.siu.edu\/johnjones<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2018He wasn\u2019t just a student\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 37-year-old Jones was one semester away from earning his bachelor\u2019s degree in information technology. He made straight A\u2019s and was on the Dean\u2019s List every semester.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to promote what John loved,\u201d Hagy said. \u201cHe was working to better his life. I want to help students like John.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones had started his college career in 2002, but he left school after his father passed away. He returned to SIU more than 14 years later determined to get his degree. In an email to Hagy after the Spring 2020 semester, Jones shared his appreciation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe one thing that we all lose is time, and there is not a way to get that back,\u201d Jones said in the email. \u201cSo, in my journey, I was fortunate enough to meet people at SIU that reminded me of myself as a young man fresh out of high school living carefree and people that are willing to help anyone who gives their time to learn. Mr. Hagy you have made this transition from working full-time to full-time student one of the best experiences I have ever had.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reading that message, in which Jones goes on to express his hopes for the future, Hagy can\u2019t help but become a bit choked up.<\/p>\n

\u201cJohn understood time,\u201d he said. \u201cHe knew he had lost time, but he was still willing to go back and get his degree. In that email, he was speaking from his heart and for his future.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hagy spoke at Jones\u2019 memorial service and has remained close to Jones family, to the point that Jones\u2019 mother gifted a pair of blue and white Air Jordan from his shoe collection that matched the color of Jones\u2019 motorcycle. They were both members of the Carbondale Eagles 2569 Eagle Riders motorcycle club that has an annual charity ride for the Southern Illinois Special Olympics.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose shoes are now on the shelf in my office,\u201d Hagy said. \u201cHe wasn\u2019t just a student. He was a great person, a friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

John Jones, 1983-2021<\/strong><\/p>\n

Born and raised in Carbondale, Jones exceled in math and information technology. More than anything, Jones is remembered as a family man.<\/p>\n

He is survived by his son, Jerald Cameron Jones; and fianc\u00e9, Tamara Buchannan-Boens; and her sons, Christopher Buchannan, Warren Eanes, and Dominique Boens. He is also survived by his mother, Debra Johnson-Jones; sister, Raven-Iman Jones; grandmother, Barbara Sanders; and a host of aunts, uncles, and cousins.<\/p>\n

Jones enjoyed participating in American Poolplayers Association competitions, riding his motorcycle with his fellow Eagle Riders, shooting targets at the gun range, and working on and building computer\/robotics systems.<\/p>\n

After his planned graduation, the SIU Foundation was set to make Jones a full-time member of the IT staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe thought the world of John,\u201d said Matt Kupec, CEO of the SIU Foundation. \u201cHe was liked by all. His words and his actions were always consistent. Everyone at the Foundation was deeply saddened by his untimely passing. Professor Hagy\u2019s inspiring gift is a testament to their connection and the impact they had on one another.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Pictured left to right: Brad Hagy and Matt Kupec<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Engage with us on\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>,\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Professor-student bond inspires fundraising effort By Jeff Wilson When John Jones entered his first class with professor Brad Hagy he made an immediate impression. \u201cHe sat in the front row,\u201d said Hagy, a senior lecturer of information sciences and technology at SIU. \u201cHe was a model student and was going to do anything to further … Continue reading Remembering John Jones: Scholarship endowed, degree awarded<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,7,3,4,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-crowdfunding","category-donor-stories","category-higher-education","category-illinois-higher-education","category-siu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2285"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3039,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2285\/revisions\/3039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}