Emory Magazine | In Brief: Truman Scholar Amos Jones

AMOS N. JONES ’00C has been named a 1999 Truman Scholar by the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation. A senior pursuing a political science degree, Jones is one of seventy-nine scholars selected from 657 candidates at 332 U.S. colleges and universities. He is the third Emory student to receive the honor in this decade.


				Amos N. Jones ’00C

“[This is] an opportunity, I think, to change the world,” says Jones, clearly energized after experiencing Leadership Week, a meeting of this year’s Truman Scholars held in Kansas City, Missouri. “It’s really something when you can be inspired by people your age. These are students who don’t wait.”

During discussions with fellow scholars at Leadership Week, Jones was struck by an idea: he decided to found a nonprofit organization geared toward expanding the ranks of capable and committed church pipe organists by subsidizing private piano and organ instruction for middle and high school students. He has pledged $500 of his own savings to do it.

Pipe organs aren’t the only thing on Jones’ mind. The $30,000 scholarship—$3,000 for his senior year at Emory and $27,000 for graduate study—is given to students who aspire to work for the public good. Jones plans to use the funds to pursue another passion: law, or more specifically, fair housing enforcement.

A native of Lexington, Kentucky, Jones writes a column for the Emory Wheel and is editor-in-chief of The Fire This Time, a monthly student news magazine dedicated to African-American awareness. To refine his writing skills and learn about public interests and policy matters, he has interned at the Detroit Free Press, Charlotte Observer, Lexington Herald-Leader, and New York Times and freelances for the Atlanta Business Chronicle and the National Herald, a daily Greek-American newspaper based in New York.

“[Amos’] résumé demonstrates his commitment to others,” says Priscilla Echols, assistant dean of Emory College. “The real source of combustion behind all this talent and ability is a large and generous heart. Amos’ passion for what he believes in is intense and focused and action oriented.”—S.P.