Santa Fe College, Alumni, Employee, and Mentor, RaSheba Jones

May 6, 2016

RaSheba graduated from Santa Fe College with her A.A. degree in 2014. While at Santa Fe College, she followed the journalism track and transferred to UF Fall of 2014 where she is currently enrolled in the College of Journalism and Communications pursing a degree in public relations.

"Gainesville is so tiny," RaSheba said about her first impression of the city. "I realized that my main purpose was not to shop and have fun, but to attend school," she said.

Rasheba chose Santa Fe College because she felt that she needed a change that would allow her to grow more. She saw that her peers were remaining somewhat stagnant in Miami where she was born and raised. Since then, she has learned a lot about herself and her life by being away from home.

When asked about her activities RaSheba replied, "I was highly involved as a student here at Santa Fe in Student Government as the Fund Raising Director as well as being involved in various clubs, and the Student Ambassador Program".

RaSheba's mentor Kimberly Buchholz, who used to be over OCES, Office of Civic Engagement and Service, suggested that she take a closer look at Public Relations. She had not realized that although she didn't know what PR was, this was exactly where she needed to go with her career once she was able to attend events with other PR professionals.

She started working at the Office of Admissions in the summer of 2014 and transitioned the beginning of 2015 to International Student Services as a Program Specialist where she has worked for the last year and a half.

"A lot of people knew who I was," RaSheba said. "I have been transitioning on to being an employee here, but I think people were a bit confused when they saw me. They still thought I was a student".

RaSheba felt that she needed to be seen as a professional so that she could be an equal in the eyes of her colleagues even though she may have been younger and was initially known as a student at Santa Fe College. Being taken seriously was very important to her.

Having been a student at Santa Fe College enabled RaSheba to see things from a student's point of view. She could therefore not only build and work on ideas for new projects or projects already in place as a professional, but to empathize with the students as well.

Because RaSheba is at or near the age of many of the International Students, she is also now a mentor for many of them.

A program called "Road to Success", started by RaSheba, her supervisor Christine Frank, and colleague Janet Todd, requires that she reach out to students in support of them in their studies at the college, and assists preparing them for their next steps after Santa Fe.

Her greatest accomplishment since having graduated from Santa Fe is that it has allowed her to grow up and mature much more than had she stayed in Miami.

RaSheba plans to take a year off after graduating with her undergrad degree. She still has her mother pushing her and is looking into possibly getting her Master's in Higher Education. Post receiving her Master's, she would like to travel overseas, to Spain, Brazil, and/or France with the idea in mind to be immersed in the language so that she can learn a second language fluently.

RaSheba said, "Things may change, but that's fine! No goals are ever set in stone for me."

You may contact Rasheba Jones at the following address: rasheba.jones@sfcollege.edu