ELLISVILLE 鈥� 糖心直播鈥檚 faculty and student representatives for Higher Education Appreciation Day, Working for Academic Excellence are being honored for their self-determination and drive to push the 鈥渢echnological鈥� envelope. Electro-mechanical instructor, Cody Robertson of Ellisville and his best student, Donavan Hinton of Petal were selected to represent the college in Jackson for a special day of recognition. They will join 70 outstanding students and faculty members from 34 Mississippi public and private universities and community colleges in Jackson to receive special recognition from the Mississippi Legislature on March 2, at the 33rd annual HEADWAE event as a reward for their excellence in education.
鈥淚鈥檓 incredibly honored. The administration and my peers here at Jones have been so generous to give me room to help bring Jones to new levels and to be recognized for that is unbelievable. I鈥檓 extremely appreciative. I鈥檓 incredibly grateful and I don鈥檛 take it for granted,鈥� said Robertson.
Through pancreatic cancer and a surgical attempt to literally save his life and reverse its devastating effects, Robertson rose like a Phoenix with a new purpose. He dismissed a career in education until he returned to Jones to major in industrial electronics technology.聽 His experience in computer networking combined with his love of wiring things opened new doors of opportunity for him with a new career.
鈥淚 told my mom (Sharla Mann) I would never be a teacher because I saw some things she had to deal with. But I knew I loved electronics and I wanted to be like my mom, so I taught the computer classes for workforce college at Jones,鈥� said Robertson. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a moment when you鈥檙e teaching someone and that light bulb kicks on; It鈥檚 addictive.鈥�
His drive to succeed was insatiable. Realizing he needed to beef up his robotics and programming skills to apply for his retiring college electronics instructor鈥檚 job, Robertson taught himself by finding an old Mitsubishi robot and fixing it. Much to his amazement, the now 25-year-old landed his dream job teaching electro-mechanical technology.
鈥淭hrough his own initiative, Cody has become the Jones expert in Virtual Reality, a tool being used more to enhance the educational experience. Higher education is transforming, requiring forward-thinking faculty like Cody Robertson for institutions to remain relevant in the future,鈥� said Rick Youngblood, JC Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer & Chief Academic Officer.
Robertson explained, 鈥淏eing able to incorporate Virtual Reality in Career & Technical Education, along with workforce training and academia is unique. We are one of the few colleges to do this in the U.S. There are few colleges offering VR for video gaming development and even fewer educational institutions attempt to use VR within the sphere of industrial training.鈥�
Robertson鈥檚 most 鈥渃hallenging鈥� student is the Jones student representative for HEADWAE, Donavan Hinton.
鈥淒onavan is one of the best students I鈥檝e ever met. I haven鈥檛 been here long, but Donavan is one of the reasons why I have to be on the ball. He鈥檚 going to ask questions. He鈥檚 going to ask every aspect of what we鈥檙e discussing that day. If there鈥檚 any chance I might be blind-sided, it will be by Donavan. That鈥檚 OK because that鈥檚 what keeps teachers good, people like Donavan. He is an absolute pleasure to work with,鈥� said Robertson.
While working a full-time job at Green Bay Converting in Hattiesburg, Hinton is also a full-time student, majoring in electro-mechanical technology. The 27-year old鈥檚 immediate goal is to be an industrial electrician, pursue a management position and eventually earn a bachelor鈥檚 degree in business management. He shared, being selected for the HEADWAE honor seems unreal.
鈥淚 never thought anything like this would happen to me. I鈥檓 just a regular working guy. I try to stay humble,鈥� said Hinton. 鈥淭his (honor) is inspiring to me and it could be for others who, like me, might have made some bad decisions as a teenager, but with hard work and dedication, turned their life around. My family never gave up on me; that鈥檚 why I really take this to heart,鈥� said Hinton.
After earning his GED and a welding certificate at Jones in 2011, Hinton worked for two local companies. Layoffs at those Hattiesburg companies and working for the railroad throughout the country, inspired him to pursue another line of work and return to Petal. While working as a machine operator at Green Bay Converting, an opportunity in electrical and mechanical maintenance came open.
鈥淎nything that breaks down, I am the only guy there to fix it. I was getting a little bit of knowledge on the job, but I didn鈥檛 have a good grasp on the electrical side, which inspired me to come to Jones. I work the swing shift but my maintenance manager, Don Graham, and the company work with me where I can get off early if needed. They pushed me and encouraged me to come back to school,鈥� said Hinton.
Initially, Hinton signed up for the one-year career certificate program, but he decided to push for the three-year, A.A.S. degree and maintained a 3.9 GPA. Now, the honoree is making plans for graduation in May and a future with his fianc茅, Taylor McKenzie.
鈥淚 strive to be the best I can be. On my job, I would have to ask the electrician questions all the time to try to learn from him, which I still do, but I wanted to know if for myself,鈥� Hinton explained.
After making the President鈥檚 List on the Honor Roll and the Letter 鈥淛鈥� academic honor, Robertson鈥檚 most 鈥渃hallenging鈥� student said he is confident the next step in his career is becoming the maintenance manager or general manager.
鈥淭he faculty at Jones are willing to bend over backward to help you succeed,鈥� said Hinton. 鈥淭hey may not be able to teach everything in two or three years, especially in my field because it鈥檚 always changing. However, they teach us how to find the information when we need it.鈥�