Drew Jones was born in Long Beach, California near the turn of the century into a large, loving family. She considered her childhood almost perfect, despite her young parents’ on-and-off relationship, and her mother having to financially support her two children practically alone. The earliest memories Drew has of her father are him rarely being around, and only for a couple of days at a time because he had other families and children outside of California. One thing her father did manage to instill in his daughter was that a quality education would be vital to her success.
By the time Drew turned fifteen, and without warning, both of her parents were completely absent from her life. She has strived to avoid this obstacle and still accomplish great things. She has maintained a 4.4 GPA while working two jobs to help support herself and her sister.
Despite the many adversities she faced, Drew has managed to play a pivotal role in her school and community. With an obvious love for helping children, she has volunteered at youth holiday festivals, cheer camps and tutoring sessions. As an officer of One World Humanitarian Club, Drew has also been able to organize projects aimed to help those that are less fortunate, including one to gather blankets and clothing for the homeless in Long Beach, and another to raise money for schools in Africa. She participated in Merit Scholars Club, Book Club, and Academic Decathlon at Lakewood High, and most importantly was elected Student Government President during her senior year. This put Drew in charge of virtually every event taking place at her school, and gave her the opportunity to serve as a student board member on her district’s Board of Education.
Since the beginning of her childhood, Drew’s grandmother made it her mission to teach her granddaughter about where she had come from and the values of African culture. As a freshman in high school, Drew founded her school’s chapter of Black Student Union, which still provides a safe haven for black students to discuss obstacles blocking their success, and how they might be able to improve the condition of the African American people in today’s society. For Drew specifically, a principal concern has been finding a way to close the achievement gap between black students and those from other races. She has teamed up with one teacher and one assistant principal at her school to find ways to improve the grades and involvement of black students, including tutoring, activities and conferences.
Drew Jones plans to continue to find new ways to help her community in the future. She will major in both English and Political Science; she hopes to soon be published and someday become a teacher. Her goal in life is to help other people, especially children, to become leaders and accomplish their goals. Drew knows what it is like to go through life without a support system, and hopes to prevent others from having to do the same.
