Woman's altruistic goals earn her full college scholarship

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

One of those little ads on the MSN home page, something she would usually ignore, just caught the eye of Erin Jones of Leonardtown as she worked at her computer one day. She clicked on a Project Working Mom ad that asked, "Are you a working mom? Do you want to go back to college?"

"It was really just the right moment," Jones said last week.

She was a working mom, and she did want to go back to college to complete her degree.

The ad was from Ashford University in Clinton, Iowa, a university that offers graduate and undergraduate degree programs online and at its campus. Jones took about 45 minutes to write a one-page essay on why she wanted to return to college and sent it in.

Jones' story won her a full scholarship to Ashford, an award worth approximately $48,000 that pays for the two years of online classes that Jones needs to complete her degree. There were more than 6,000 applicants to Ashford's Project Working Mom program; Jones was one of only 10 who were selected to receive the full scholarship.

The scholarships were awarded to applicants who program administrators felt were the most deserving, a spokesperson for Ashford said.

Jones, 33, is the mother of two young girls and she always has worked with people with developmental disabilities. Her attraction to this kind of work began, she said, when she was very young and a neighbor had a stroke. Jones found she enjoyed helping out by reading to the neighbor and playing Elvis Presley music for her, she said. And as she got older, she held a series of jobs in the field, including direct care staff, house supervisor and residential coordinator for people with developmental disabilities. She loved the work and helping the residents, she said. However, she was appalled by the pay generally offered and was depleted by the 24-hour-a-day demands placed on workers, she said.

She now works as the director of residential services at the Spring Dell Center in La Plata. But she hopes to do more, both to improve the lives of and perception about people with developmental disabilities and to improve the professional benefits for those who work with them.

The scholarship "has just given me a new incentive to keep going, keep fighting," she said. "Having my degree will give me that ability" to have a bigger impact in the field.

Jones plans to earn a degree in public administration.

"I want to change the way society perceives people with disabilities. I want the caregivers that provide direct support to people with disabilities to be viewed as valuable members of the workforce and earn a livable wage," Jones wrote in her essay.

Jones' scholarship will cover everything she needs for her online classes, all tuition and all books.

"It is very exciting," she said, laughing. "I'm waiting for someone to pinch me."

Applications now are being accepted for Ashford University's final round of Project Working Mom 2010; the deadline is Sept. 15. Applicants must complete a short application at www.projectworkingmom.com and write an essay describing how they will benefit from a college education.

Winning applicants will be notified in October.

Community impact awards revealed soon

The Southern Maryland Chain Chapter of The Links Inc. will hold its 2010 Civic Luncheon on June 26 at noon at the J.T. Daugherty Conference Center in Lexington Park.

The organization will honor recipients of the community impact award and leadership excellence award. The 2010 scholarship recipients also will be recognized.

The community impact award will be presented to a service organization from each county (Charles, Calvert, St. Mary's) whose collective contributions have served to promote and enhance the quality of life for a broad segment of the community.

The leadership excellence award will be presented to a high-school student from each county whose exceptional leadership and service to the community has shaped and influenced positive change.

For information about tickets for the event, call 301-863-6674.

Several events planned to mark Independence Day

The Independence Day holiday weekend will start for many on July 2 at the River Concert Series at St. Mary's College of Maryland. The July 2 concert will showcase the Chesapeake Orchestra and conclude with fireworks. On July 3 the Hollywood Volunteer Fire Department has an event-filled day planned and will launch fireworks after dusk. The annual Independence Day celebration and concert will be held on July 4 at Sotterley Plantation from 1 to 4 p.m.

The weekend will begin by "Summoning the Heroes" on the lawn of St. Mary's College of Maryland on July 2. Jeffrey Silberschlag and the Chesapeake Orchestra welcome the Fourth of July weekend with music by John Williams, George Gershwin and John Philip Sousa marches, featuring Brian Ganz, piano, the saxophone quartet from "The President's Own" Marine Band in P. Goldstein's "Abundant Air" and Ian Chaava, Young Artist Concerto Competition runner-up, plus fireworks. Additional information about the River Concert Series can be found at www.smcm.edu/rcs.

An old-fashioned Independence Day celebration on July 3 is being staged at the Hollywood Volunteer Fire Department, with live music by No Green Jelly Beenz from 7 to 11 p.m., carnival food and games in the evening and a car, truck and bike show during the day. A fireworks display is planned for dusk. For more information, call 240-925-7863 or visit www.hvdf7.com.

The Independence Day concert at Sotterley on July 4 will feature the Concert on the Lawn. Food and drinks will be available for purchase. Members of Sotterley and military families will be admitted for free; other visitors will be charged one fee per car. See www.sotterley.org.

Classmates sought

Members of Gwynn Park High School, Class of l960, are looking for people interested in having a 50th class reunion. Members of that class are asked to contact Danny Dyer at 301-848-1312, David Smoot at 301-372-8085 or Sandie Newman at 301-934-4325 or sewgood4@yahoo.com.

Camp Invention set

Camp Invention will be offered at the Chesapeake Public Charter School this summer to emphasize imaginative play that reinforces and supplements school-year learning through activities in science, technology, engineering and math, as well as history and the arts.

Activities that children will be involved in at Camp Invention include problem solving on Planet ZAK, where children learn how to survive on a strange planet, Saving Sludge City, where they learn how to build a cleaner, more eco-friendly city, creating amusement park rides during the Imagination Point: Ride Physics module, and participating in the I Can Invent III module where younger children take apart discarded household appliances and create fantasy inventions, while older children use the pieces and parts to build Rube Goldberg machines. This year, there also will be a Global Games module where children will be able to explore ancient cultures and sports like lacrosse and soccer from civilizations around the world.

This summer, Chesapeake Charter School is hosting the Camp Invention CREATE program from June 28 to July 2 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. To learn more, visit www.campinvention.org or call 800-968-4332.

Museum fundraiser mixes jazz, seafood

The Potomac Jazz & Seafood Festival will be held July 10 at St. Clement's Island Museum. The event is designed to showcase fine jazz artists and Maryland seafood specialties.

This riverside event is presented by the Friends of the St. Clement's Island and Piney Point museums and takes place on the lawn of the museum that overlooks historic St. Clement's Island, Maryland's birthplace. Proceeds from this annual fundraiser will benefit museum education programs, projects, exhibits and more.

The gate opens at 1 p.m. and the first jazz artist, Matt Marshak, takes to the stage at 3 p.m. He will be followed by Plunky & Oneness at 5 p.m. and Jackiem Joyner will conclude the evening with a performance beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets are $50 per person by advance sale only. Ticket price includes free parking, admission to the museum and an optional boat excursion to St. Clement's Island from noon to 5 p.m. where the reconstructed Blackistone Lighthouse will be open for tours.

For tickets, call the St. Clement's Island Museum at 301-769-2222 or go to www.stmarysmd.com/recreate/museums.

scraton@somdnews.com