Phillip Jones can remember driving past the Dunwoody campus while on the freeway wondering what went on inside, but it wasn\u2019t until a few years ago that he acted on his curiosity and decided to look into what the College had to offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It had been some time since he had set foot inside of a classroom. After graduating high school in 2006, Jones spent a semester at a local community college, ultimately deciding not to continue there. He had been working for FedEx for well over a decade and was ready for a change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI decided I wanted to pursue something that would be future proof \u2014 something that would be hands-on and interesting and allow for better opportunities for the future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a non-traditional student with a family and a full-time job, flexibility was extremely important. That\u2019s why the Electrical Construction Design & Project Management program stood out to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was a high flex program that allowed me to go to college full-time while also continuing to work full-time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not an insignificant change, but Jones took the challenge head on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He thrived in the hands-on environment and enjoyed working on residential and commercial electrical design projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s fun to be creative and help design spaces,\u201d he said. \u201cI have enjoyed learning new things under great and patient teachers that put themselves out there to make sure you succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also took on projects that pushed him out of his comfort zone, like when he stepped up to help co-manage the capstone project in his last semester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur scope was to design the lighting and power system for Ermco, a multi-level medical innovation building in Indiana,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the project Jones helped with everything from lighting design and coordinating the team, helping to write the proposal and speaking with industry partners, to creating construction schedules and going to public speaking events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPerseverance and hard work are just some of the qualities that Phillip has demonstrated in his career here at Dunwoody,\u201d said Polly Friendshuh, Construction Sciences Associate Professor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe may not realize this, but he is a natural born leader. As a non-traditional student with both a full-time job and family, he has made it all seem easy \u2014 even though I know he would have told me it wasn\u2019t,\u201d she said. \u201cHe always had the courage to answer a question, even when he wasn\u2019t sure of the answer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was through the support of instructors like Friendshuh and his wife and family that Jones was able to push through. He will be graduating in May and has received the Academic Excellence award from his department for the work he has put in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cReceiving this award made me feel seen and validated all of the times that I worked seven days a week between work and school, often pulling 16-hour days, trying to become a different and better version of myself,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jones is excited to continue working at Hunt Electric as a Commercial Estimator after graduation, a position he has held since this past fall.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Phillip Jones can remember driving past the Dunwoody campus while on the freeway wondering what went on inside, but it wasn\u2019t until a few years ago that he acted on his curiosity and decided to look into what the College had to offer. It had been some time since he had set foot inside of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7647,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[363],"tags":[300],"class_list":["post-7638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-excellence-award","tag-electrical-construction-design-management"],"yoast_head":"\n