Ellisville, MS – For LaTrece Evans, the heart of Jones College has always been its students.
On any given day, it isn’t unusual to find students gathered around Evans’ desk in the Jones College Administration Building. Some arrive with questions, while others need help solving a problem. And some simply stop by just to talk.
No matter the reason, Evans wants them to leave knowing one thing: they matter.
“I want them, whenever they come in, to make sure they were heard,”, Evans said. “They were made to feel important, and I guess that they just matter, because you don’t always get that everywhere.”
Her ability to connect with students comes, in part, from knowing what it feels like to need a little reassurance herself.
Evans didn’t follow the traditional path to college. At 46, she returned to the classroom at Jones as a nontraditional student, admittedly terrified about starting over. She was navigating real-life responsibilities and challenges while also wondering whether she could still succeed academically.
She quickly proved to herself that she could.
Evans remembers comparing grades with her then 17-year-old son after their first semester. When he proudly announced his 3.97 GPA, she celebrated his accomplishment before revealing one of her own.
“Mom is so proud,” she recalled telling him. “But Mama got a 4.0!”
Behind the humor was an accomplishment that meant much more than a number.
“I think that’s what I’m most proud of, is that I was finally able to overcome the, ‘Oh my goodness, I can’t do this’,” Evans said. “I am going to do it, and I’m going to do it well.”
The experience now allows Evans to recognize the same uncertainty in students who come through her door. Some are fresh out of high school and learning to navigate college for the first time, while others are returning years later, wondering whether they waited too long. Some have strong support systems waiting for them at home, while others may be trying to figure out everything on their own.
Evans wants all of them to know there is a place for them at Jones.
“Your road doesn’t have to be the same as others,” she said. “It’s just never too late. If it’s truly a dream, then one day it’s obtainable.”
And for anyone convinced they are simply too old or that their opportunity has passed, Evans has an even shorter answer.
“The devil is a lie,” she said.
Her own experience as a student ultimately inspired the kind of employee she wanted to become.
“My experience was so great that it just inspired me to make sure that I wanted to give the same, no matter if it was the traditional student coming out or the nontraditional student,” Evans said. “I wanted to make sure every student that came through there got that same experience and knew that they were cared for.”
Sometimes that care means answering a simple question about a student ID and making sure the student leaves with answers to questions they didn’t even know they had. Other times, the need is much greater.
Evans has helped connect students with scholarships when finances threatened to end their semester. She has helped students struggling in class find the support they needed to keep going. She has connected students with counseling, jobs, and opportunities to become involved on campus.
She has even encountered students facing homelessness and stepped in to help them find stability while they continued their education.
For Evans, those moments are what define a successful day.
“That’s the success – literally knowing that I helped somebody through their day,” she said. “Regardless if it’s getting them in counseling, if it’s getting them a scholarship, if it’s getting them in Bobcat Brigade or just getting them a job.”
Her commitment to others has not gone unnoticed. From beginning her Jones journey as a student to later being named Jones College Employee of the Year, Evans has experienced firsthand how one decision to keep moving forward can lead somewhere she never expected.
But when asked what makes her want to continue showing up and giving so much of herself to Jones, her answer has little to do with awards or recognition.
“The students,” Evans said. “It is 1,000 percent the students.”
For the student who walks onto campus confident and ready, Evans is there to cheer them on. For the student who arrives unsure, overwhelmed or afraid to ask for help, she is there for them, too.
Because Evans knows firsthand that everyone’s road looks a little different. And while all roads may lead to Jones, it’s people like Evans who help students believe in where their road can take them next.