MICHAEL JONES
College of Arts & Science
Bachelor of Arts, May 2012
Major: Politics
Minor: Philosophy
Bio and Resume (.pdf)
Michael Jones is currently studying Politics and plans to minor in Philosophy. His academic interests reflect part of a much larger education that he has already begun to craft outside of his classes.
In 2007, Michael played an essential role in the development and launch of The Stepping Stones program, a halfway house for young adults aging out of placement at The Crossnore School, a group home in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. Working closely with the administrative team, Michael worked to raise the funds for the privately-funded program and became one of six young people to first move in to the home. While a resident of Stepping Stones himself, Michael advocated for its continued funding and expansion and continues to speak on its behalf whenever possible. At the end of his placement at The Crossnore School, Michael received the National Student of the Year Award through the Coalition of Residential Educators foundation (CORE) for his work with Stepping Stones.
Shortly after graduating from High School, Michael arrived in Chicago and began interning for then candidate, President Barack Obama, in the uncertain first few months of his campaign. For the next year and a half the campaign took Michael to Las Vegas, where he organized extensively in the rural desert region of southern Nevada before becoming a paid staff member. His new position led him to several states including Mississippi and Texas. In Houston, Texas he became one of the youngest regional get-out-the-voteā directors in the campaign. Michael has been recognized for his work with the campaign in The Nation magazine and through an appearance on AirAmerica's The Laura Flanders Show.
After taking a Freshman Honors Seminar in Documentary Theater, Michael became interested in the concepts of documentation, narrative, and historiography which he found uniquely applicable to his own life and those who have shared similar experiences. In 2009, Michael received a research grant through NYU's Dean of Undergraduates Research Fund to study biographical narrative construction and the future perceptions of young adults who have lived in the U.S. Child Welfare System. His on-going research has taken him to multiple group homes across the country where he has collected in-depth interviews with a diverse sample of compelling young people. He plans to use verbatim analysis to understand the consequences of narrative disruption in those who have experienced periods of crisis. Michael hopes to continue his work with young adults in alternative placement where he believes his unique insight and past experiences will be of value.