Thomas Jones made a big mistake as a young man which derailed his life. Decades later he's back on the right track.
At age 20 he was arrested with a hand gun and sentenced to 3 years in prison. Like so many others Thomas criminal behavior was enhanced by his stay in prison. He tried to "fly straight" when he got out but the pressure of his girlfriend announcing she was pregnant with his child compounded with the news a few months later that she was going to deliver a preemie which would have lots of costs associated with hit, sent him back down the wrong path. Thomas was arrested a short time later and this time sentenced to 7 years.
That was in 2012 and usually means a lifetime in and out of the penal system as a twice convicted person is rarely going to be considered a great job applicant. But Thomas dug deep.
Thomas says that he adopted a new mindset and was determined to focus on bettering his future. “I just really wanted to do better by my child and as a person overall. I told myself that I had five years to build myself back up, and I didn’t care if I didn’t sleep or eat. I had to make up for lost time.”
During his transition from prison, Jones earned an associate's degree from community college and then attended Rutgers University, earning a bachelor's degree in human resources management in 2022. He went on to be accepted to Cornell for graduate school and earned his master's degree this year.
Thomas now has a great job as a researcher for the Criminal Justice Employment Initiative and wants to help others. “I’m not trying to put myself on a pedestal, but I want to create a pathway for people in the community I come from, a pathway to aspire beyond what they think is possible.”