蓝天学者热爱法律

When Tazanna Jones says she wants to be a lawyer, she makes a compelling case.

“我喜欢争论. 我喜欢写作. 我喜欢帮助别人,琼斯说。, 来自巴萨姆的一年级学生, a small mountain community roughly four hours southwest of Chapel Hill in Jackson County.

A sampling of her extracurriculars serves as evidence: Debate club. 写社区通讯的零工. 透过全国荣誉协会的服务计划.

At Carolina, Jones is looking for more opportunities to pursue her passions. 在参加 项目提升 as a high schooler, she knew she wanted to be a Tar Heel. When she received her acceptance months later, it came with a bonus: a 蓝天奖学金.

这个奖项, given to exceptionally qualified students from middle-income North Carolina families, made UNC-Chapel Hill not only Jones’ top choice but also her most affordable.

“I looked into UNC and their programs — literally everything they had to offer was just so much more than pretty much any school I was looking at,琼斯说。, who’s already earned an associate degree and compiled enough college credits to be considered a junior.

Before trading the mountains for Chapel Hill, Jones got a head start on legal life. While attending Jackson County Early College, she worked a pair of legal internships. 第一个是Zeb Smathers的08 (J).D.他是一名私人律师，也是附近广州的市长. She prepared legal files, answered phone calls and went to civil court.

Jones says Smathers influenced her to pursue a career in public service, citing the way he worked for the community when a longtime mill abruptly closed, 使许多人失去生计.

“I got to see the political side of law because of that,琼斯说。, a proud Native American with Cherokee and Pee Dee heritage. “那是我真正知道我想学法律的时候. I wanted to be an advocate for my peers and anyone who needed a voice.”

Tazanna Jones与导师Zeb Smathers (2008).D.)(提交图片)

She also got a glimpse of criminal law through her work with attorneys Nathan Earwood and Hayley Twing. The opportunity taught Jones lessons on communicating in court and exposed her to everything from a murder trial and Tribal Court to cases involving domestic violence and juveniles.

“I’ve met so many judges, so many other lawyers,” Jones says. “I’ve gotten to see so many cases taken care of in an amazing manner. But I’ve also seen the bad part where sometimes justice isn’t always served.”

Unserved justice is the driving force behind Jones’ goal to one day work for the Innocence Project, the national organization that tries to exonerate people believed to be wrongfully convicted in court.

“I feel like there aren’t enough people in the world who think that no matter the crime, our country is built on this idea that you’re innocent until proven guilty,琼斯说。, 注意到她有兴趣和 太阳城娱乐法律无罪项目.

Jones, an Honors Carolina student, knows law school is in her future. 与此同时, she’s looking forward to studying media and journalism — the writing and re太阳城娱乐城 skills will serve her well in law, 她相信——并拓宽了她的世界观.

“I want to be able to get to know as many people as I can, help as many people as I can and be connected with them so we can build a better world together,她说。.

For a while now, Jones and those closest to her have known the way she would go about doing that.

“When I was little, even 5 or 6, my parents were like, ‘You need to be a lawyer. 你可以和一堵墙争论，’”琼斯说.

这案子早就结了.