Growing up in the Morrisania neighborhood in the South Bronx, Rehva D. Jones always saw the value of education as the great equalizer for underserved communities.
“I could see the difference that education made. It determined which side of the customer service window you ended up on — as a service provider or a service recipient,” says Jones, who is director of the MBA program in the School of Business and Graduate Studies at Trinity Washington University, a Catholic college located in the nation’s capital.
“Education levels the playing field in a permanent way.”
Now Jones, who cut her teeth in the non-profit and government sectors before transitioning to academia, is actively working to ensure that adult students — particularly women — have access to a high quality graduate education so that they too can be competitive in the workforce.
“Growing up in one of the poorest neighborhoods in the South Bronx, I was fortunate enough to have teachers who were caring and passionate,” says Jones, adding that she remains in touch with her pre-kindergarten teacher, Evelyn Tapp. “My teachers instilled in me a love for education, they gave me the confidence that I was academically versatile. They believed in me, which made me believe in myself. I have never shied away from an academic goal or challenge.”
After high school, Jones says she was lost and unsure about her next steps. Still, her parents knew the importance of a college education and encouraged her to pursue college, despite not going themselves.
She worked to earn her undergraduate degree over a 10-year span, finishing at Mercy College while balancing work and family. After graduation, Jones was drawn toward the non-profit and youth development sector, holding prominent positions in both New York and later in Washington, D.C.
