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Proving them wrong: Eric Jones' journey to graduation

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Eric Jones proves his peers wrong and makes his family proud by going to college
Eric Jones makes his family proud by being the first in his family to go to college.

Eric Jones makes his family proud by being the first in his family to go to college. /Believe 2 Become

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“When people don’t believe in you, you don’t believe in yourself.”

Eric Jones was a just sophomore in high school when he made a big life decision one day. As a varsity soccer player, he had traveled to a rural school for a game and was sitting in the stands while the JV teams played. He overheard people near him talking in very negative terms about Creston, their team, their players, GRPS, and how “nothing good ever comes out of there.”

“I decided then and there I was going to prove them wrong,” Eric says. “It gave me huge motivation to show them that I could do what they could do, even if I didn’t have the resources they had. I had the same potential.”

And prove them wrong he did. The National Honor Society member, Key Club volunteer, and Ignite mentor will attend the University of Michigan in the fall to study business and engineering. “When I got the U of M acceptance email, my mom cried,” he says. “Neither of my parents finished college. I’m definitely looking to do something that’s pretty new in my family.”

 

*Contribution from Joe Jones/Believe 2 Become

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