UUPer Dawn Jones knows how important scholarships are to a struggling college kid trying to work her way through school.

She used to be that kid.

Jones, an associate professor of mathematics at SUNY Brockport, relied on scholarships and other aid to help her earn her undergraduate degree from SUNY Fredonia. As an instructor, she’s watched her share of full-time students take jobs to help them stay in school.

She wanted to help.

So 18 months ago, she and her husband, Mike, established their own scholarship. But the Jones’ scholarship is different than most scholarships at Brockport—or just about anywhere else for that matter.

For starters, the scholarship is open to students who take part in the college’s Tae Kwon Do Club. The Joneses are very involved with the club, which they started 10 years ago, and with tae kwon do; Dawn is a fourth-degree black belt and her husband is a fifth-degree black belt.

But what’s really unique is that the two are using their own money to fund the 18-month-old scholarship until they can collect enough donations to build up a $20,000 endowment that will cover payments in perpetuity. Last year, they reached into their wallets and handed out a $250 scholarship, and they plan to do the same this year.

“Most of our students in tae kwon do are working one job and attending college full time,” said Dawn. “When I started seeing

students taking two jobs because one wasn’t enough, that started to concern me.

“It’s also about paying it forward,” she continued. “I know that I would never have had the opportunity to go onto graduate school if I didn’t have assistance. I know the struggle students go through trying to fund an education, so anything we can do to make it easier for them to focus on education, we’ll do.”

There’s more. The Joneses started a tae kwon do youth and family program—open to alumni and community members—at the college eight years ago. In 2007, the couple launched Brockport’s one-credit beginner’s tae kwon do course, which they lead. They have begun writing an intermediate course that will earn students three hours of college credit.

Dawn said that she and her husband are hoping to have the scholarship’s $20,000 endowment in place over the next three years. They’ve held a number of fundraising events during the last two years. They have run a week-long tae kwon do black belt winter camp in February and collected donations from Brockport alumni and members of the World Martial Arts Association, a tae kwon do group to which they belong.

“All of the people in our tae kwon do club know the power of an education, especially a SUNY education,” she said.

The Joneses plan to continue their philanthropic ways once the tae kwon do scholarship is set. The couple is working on establishing a scholarship for students in the college’s department of recreation and leisure. They have also made a planned gift to the college in their wills.

“We need to look to the future,” she said. “SUNY is being cut at astronomical rates, so we’re hoping that we can help students out.”

— Michael Lisi