U Magazine, Fall 1987

need to sati sfy," he explained before he left fo r the East Coast. "And I think there's a sense of accompli sh– ment that I'll be go ing to one of the best schoo ls in the world and making it. " After he made hi s dec ision to leave San Diego - at least temporarily – J ones felt the need to leave something behind, a legacy . "It's difficult, " he says , "j ust to stop g iving. " As he searched out different poss ibiliti es, he refl ected on the mentors who had influenced hi s li fe . . .the people who had helped him develop from a poor high school student in an under– pri vileged area to a city councilman . H e visited several schools in hi s di str ict, incl uding Kennedy E lemen– tary where he had attended fourth and fifth g rade. H e di scovered the drop-out rate in some U.S . inner city schools ap proac hes 50 per cent. At Kennedy, a magnet school located in gang- plagued Southeast San Diego, 35 per cent of the students do not complete hi gh school. H e reali zed that many of the child ren in hi s di stri ct , one of the most underpri v ileged areas of the ci ty, don't receive enough encourage– ment to persevere . They don't have a mentor to encourage them th roug h school. Finally, he made hi s deci sion. At a Kennedy school assembl y in June, J ones made an astoni shing pledge to the sixth g rade class. H e promi sed to stay in to uch with each of the 72 students during the next six years of their educati on . He vowed to raise $300 ,000 in contributi ons to fund a scholarship to pay the costs of their college or vocati onal educa– tions. J ones christened the campaig n "Project I Beli eve." "I was lucky enoug h to have a mentor, " J ones says. "I was lucky enoug h to have someone take me under hi s wings and encourage me to ac hi eve. There are many children who have talent, and if they start at an earl y age and be the best inside and outside of class, they may have an opportunity to perhaps become a city coun cilman or a lawye r or a doctor or a nurse or a teacher. But they need to beli eve in themselves . They need to believe in their abilities and beli eve it's all possible. Too many of our

someone who goes to work eve ryday and doesn't understand the situati on . I'll be in school ; they' ll be in school. I'll he!p them get th roug h school and they'll help me get through school." J ones is well on hi s way to attract– ing the fin ancial support necessary fo r the scholarship fund . P rudent investing and admini strati on by the San Diego Community Foundati on will help it grow . The first contribu– tions came from a testimoni al dinner held for J ones. Starting out as an unpaid hi g h school intern, J ones wo rked hi s way up to the pos iti on of chi ef aide to fourth di stri ct city councilman Leon Willi ams. O ve r the yea rs, W illiams served as a mentor to J ones . W ith hi s g uidance J ones earned a reputati on as a smooth , diplomati c medi ator . When it came time to dec ide on college, J ones gave up a UCLA sc holarshi p and, with Willi ams' promi se of a job, enroll ed at U SD . Between classes and campaig ns, J ones didn 't have much time to hang around campus. He made rare appearances at Copley Library during fin als wee k but that's about all. H e studied for hi s bachelor's degree in economics in hi s City H all educati on he was recei ving at USD influenced hi s council work and v ice versa . "The theme of leaving thi s wo rld a better place, of leaving thi s commu– nity a bette r place as a result of our acti vities was a dominant theme at U SD ," J ones recalls. "That theme even ran th roug h our debates in economi cs classes. " Business, he learned, shouldn't be conce rned with only the bottom line. "It's important to have businesses that are profitable, but it's also important to have businesses whi ch are soc iall y responsible . "I think the uni versity env iron– ment is a very human one; it treats the human spirit very well. I didn 't feel like a number ; I didn 't feel lost in the crowd . I felt that what I had to say and what I had to offer was being noticed , that someone was li stening ." Before long Dr . Charli e H olt , a p ro fesso r in the business school, became yet another mentor . Dr . office after hours and between appointments. The classroom

"I suppose Project I Believe was partly born out ofmy struggles to get city hall to reach out to the youth community ."

young people feel that it's not possible .

"When they d rop out of schoo l they become enslaved in a life of pove rty and , in some cases, a li fe of crime and welfa re because they lac k the means to be self-suffi cient. " By enouraging the students to sti ck it out throug h hi g h sc hool and go on to college, J ones hopes to break that cycl e of pove rty. "The money is important but creating a ri ch reservoir of experi– ences for the young peopl e is more important . We'll visit people who are successful in their ca ree rs, whether it's corporate offi ces , a hosp ital , doctor's offi ce or judge's chamber ." J ones also promi sed to take hi s group camping and on toui-s of City H all , Sea World and museums. O ver the next six yea rs, the students also will attend seminars on subjects ranging from job interv iews to college entrance exams. "Thi s is a good time fo r me," J ones says. "I have a wonderful opportunity since I am going to schoo l myself. I can talk to the young people as a fell ow student - not as