It’s been a long journey to a college degree, but TaDasha Jones feels not just accomplished but worthy.
“This was something I had to do, and I did it,” she said.
Six months ago, Jones, 38, of Tyler, was released from prison after a long struggle with mental illness, drugs and crime.
On Friday, she will graduate magna cum laude from Tyler Junior College, earning a business degree.
She first enrolled at TJC in 2009 and always made good grades, but bad decisions kept getting in the way of her success. She took college classes during her three incarcerations but was always intent on returning to TJC to finish her studies.
“I didn’t have the support I needed at home, and I was looking for validation in the wrong places,” she admits. “And the people who I thought were my friends were really not my friends at all.”
She credits a promise she made to her late grandmother, Clydie B. McGee, as her catalyst for change.
“When I was in prison the third time, my Granny was really sick and I would talk to her on the phone when I could,” she said. “The last words I said to her were, ‘I love you and I’m going to make you proud.' And she said, ‘I know you will.’ She passed two days later, on Thanksgiving Day.”
With her grandmother’s encouraging words ringing in her ears, Jones vowed to stay on the straight and narrow, returning to TJC with a renewed sense of purpose.
“I’m keeping that promise to her. I’m drug free, I’m not on the streets or in the clubs — I’m at home doing my work,” she said. “When I first came to TJC and joined Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Honor Society, I didn’t feel like I fit in because I have dreadlocks, gold [teeth] and tattoos. I felt different, which made me isolate myself, so I put up a wall.”
With some time and support, Jones began chipping away at the wall that was holding her back.
“Mr. Douglas Clark, who was over the Perkins Grant at the time, really took me under his wing,” she said. “[PTK advisor] Ms. Gigi Gelk showed me tough love — which was what I needed. That lady really cares about me.”
In May, Jones will earn her second diploma from TJC, an associate degree in general studies. After that, she plans to pursue a degree in graphic design and start her own clothing line, TaDie4’s Legacy.
“TJC did an awesome job of preparing me,” she said. “What I needed to do was change my perspective and how I saw things because of how people had looked at me all my life. So, this last time, I came to TJC with an open mind and everything was different.”
It’s also a testament to fulfilling that promise she made years ago.
“It comes down to me doing what I told my Granny I would do,” she said. “I didn’t get to say goodbye to her. My family got to be with her and say goodbye, and I didn’t get to do that. So, I feel like this is my way of saying goodbye to her and fulfilling my promise to both of us.”