Bianca Jones has a unique perspective when it comes to education, and she’s using her time at Millsaps College to become a force of change in the system.
Jones, a rising junior at Millsaps, grew up in New Roads, Louisiana. As a child, she was gifted but didn’t enter a gifted program until she was in high school. It was there that Jones noticed that while her gifted peers did well academically, they sometimes struggled in other areas.
Jones has also witnessed the challenges experienced by individuals with differing abilities. Her mother has struggled to find a suitable educational environment for her brother, who has autism. The local school was unable to meet his needs, so Jones’ mother had to make the difficult financial decision to place her brother in private school.
These experiences ignited Jones’ passion to fight for all students.
“Educational disparities are ridiculous to me because it is something that should be intrinsic to the idea of education within itself,” Jones said.
“I try to remind myself that I have to support all children, not just the ones that are ‘good in school.’ With the change I want to make, I don’t even want ‘being good at school’ to be a metric.”
While at Millsaps, Jones has taken every opportunity to become involved on campus to support her peers and community. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., serves on the executive board for Lighthouse-Black Girls Projects and is the secretary of the Pan-African Student Alliance. She works as a consultant for the Writing Center and is the vice president of public relations and community engagement for the Millsaps chapter of the National Pan-Hellenic Council. She also welcomed new students to Millsaps as a summer orientation and welcome week leader in 2022 and 2023.
Jones has found that connecting with new Millsaps students during orientation and welcome week has provided her with the skills to connect with her future students.
“For some people, college is the opportunity to take charge over their life,” Jones said. “For others, it’s something not to take too seriously.”
“I can see the sentiment in both, but being a leader isn’t about changing people but rather helping them find their own potential.”
She has found meeting people where they are to be a key aspect in leading and educating.
“The approaches I take to education, leadership and understanding all boil down to me trying to reach out to someone else to see where their head is at, and thus putting myself in that mindset,” Jones said.
This summer, Jones is working as an intern at the CARES School with Canopy Children’s Services in Jackson, Mississippi. The opportunity is providing insightful, first-hand experience in the classroom.
“Working with the kids at Canopy has really opened my eyes to the truth about the education system and how to support them within it,” she said.
Jones, who is pursuing a degree in English and creative writing with a minor in education, has found support and inspiration from her professors at Millsaps. Some of her favorite professors include Dr. Michael Pickard, assistant professor of English and E.B. Stewart Family Professor in Language and Literature; Dr. Eric Griffin, Janice B. Trimble Professor, chair of the English department and director of the Latin American studies program; Dr. Laura Franey, associate professor of English; and Liz Egan, assistant professor of creative writing and director of the Centers of Academic Success and Excellence. She also looks to Dr. Stacy DeZutter, associate professor of education, for career guidance and opportunities.
“Dr. DeZutter has afforded me many opportunities to be in the classroom through her classes, and I think those opportunities have birthed my true love of being in the classroom,” Jones said.
While Jones is appreciative of how her professors have encouraged her in and outside of the classroom, her professors appreciate her willingness to explore, discuss and challenge ideas.
“Bianca is a terrific young writer, but what I most enjoy about having her in class is her innate curiosity,” Griffin said.
“She reads attentively, loves to explore ideas and is not shy about taking the lead in our classroom discussions, nor is she shy about challenging her peers or even her professors.”
While Jones still has two more years at Millsaps, she already knows where she wants to go after graduation. She plans to join the public school system as a teacher and finish her master’s degree through Millsaps’ partnership with William Carey University. Eventually, she will pursue a doctorate in education.
“My goal is to erect change within education, so I want to travel to different school districts to see what works best for students and what doesn’t. I’m not sure whether I want to pursue a career in educational policy, move on to being a school board member or superintendent or stay in classroom. Whatever I choose, I just want to make sure that I maintain my original goal of making education better for all.”