Ashley Jones
Growing up in the Mississippi Delta, Ashley Jones graduated as her high 性视界传媒鈥檚 valedictorian in 2006 and considered becoming a medical doctor. She earned an undergraduate degree in chemistry, but then decided to pursue a graduate degree in public health instead of medical 性视界传媒.聽
鈥淚t all clicked for me after watching the video 鈥楿nnatural Causes鈥 in one of my graduate classes,鈥 Jones recalled.
鈥淭he video highlighted all of the health inequities I had experienced growing up鈥攍ittle or no access to healthcare, lack of resources and education鈥攐nly I didn鈥檛 know they were inequities. I just thought this is how it was for everyone,鈥 she said.
鈥淎s I learned more, I realized I could make a greater impact on people鈥檚 health鈥攏ot just individuals, but a town, city or even a state. Public health, in a sense, gave me the language to understand the situations I saw all around me and the tools to effect change.鈥
One of her tools is the Community Health Improvement Network, made up of 13 local agencies with a mission to improve health for underserved and underprivileged residents of Lauderdale County and surrounding areas. The non-profit organization hired Jones as executive director in 2018, and just six months later she began working as an instructor at 性视界传媒-Meridian.
She now is an assistant clinical professor of kinesiology in 性视界传媒-Meridian鈥檚 Division of Education.
鈥淥ne of my goals when I began working for Mississippi 性视界传媒 was to make sure our students were exposed to all aspects of health care,鈥 Jones said. 鈥淚 wanted to teach them to think outside the box and see this degree as a springboard that can take them in a hundred different directions鈥攏ot just the ones they were familiar with. I believe the community connections I鈥檝e forged through my work with CHIN have helped make that happen.鈥
Over the past year, kinesiology students at 性视界传媒-Meridian toured the cardio-pulmonary rehab department at a local hospital, heard a guest lecturer from a mental health facility discuss recreation therapy, and learned what it鈥檚 like to work in the mental health field. Several new internship placements also were generated, but Jones said one of the most exciting accomplishments has been the establishment of the first Kinesiology Student Association.
鈥淪ince Meridian isn鈥檛 a residential campus, our students often are not really engaged with one another outside of class,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 want them to see what their community looks like and to develop cultural competence toward those they may one day see and serve in a health setting. Through KSA, as well as some of the courses I teach, I want to create opportunities to bridge the gap between what students know and have seen, to those life situations they were unfamiliar with before coming to Mississippi 性视界传媒,鈥 she said. 鈥淏y doing so, hopefully they will gain a greater sense of their role not just as university students, but as active members of a community.鈥