Chicago League Honor

Peace Student Honored by Chicago Urban League

Burbank, IL – March 4, 2008 – Queen of Peace junior Joy Jones was one of Chicagoland’s top 200 students recently honored for her academic and leadership accomplishments by the Chicago Urban League. The Chicago Urban League’s 12th Annual Youth Leadership Celebration Day was held at the Illinois Institute of Technology on Feb. 16.

The Chicago Urban League was established in 1916 by an interracial group of community leaders to help rural African Americans migrating from the South in unprecedented numbers adjust to urban living. The Chicago Urban League advocates for the economic, educational and social progress for African Americans through economic empowerment. The League provides African Americans with the tools, programs and experiences necessary to help them reach full potential.

Jones endured stiff competition for the honor. Honorees were selected on the basis of recommendation letters, their own writing samples, articles, pictures, and materials that demonstrated their academic and leadership accomplishments.

At Queen of Peace, Jones’ leadership and service is undeniable. She is a member of Peace’s Student Council, a group responsible for managing the channels of communication within the school and community. As a Peace Ambassador, she assists with communicating information about Queen of Peace to prospective students and their parents. Joy has acted as a host to visiting Colombian students and is vice president of the Queen of Peace Show Choir.

As a member of last year’s AIDS Walk team, Jones continues to serve her community and church. Jones has worked as a Head Start literacy coach for the past two years. She also actively participates in her parish, St. Helena of the Cross, as a youth leader, lector, and even a homilist.

“This young woman amazed me from the moment she stepped up confidently to lead her freshman class as president. She quickly distinguished herself as a teen with aspirations and goals coupled with qualities so unique in a young person – the courage, commitment and drive to work at making her dreams a reality,” Michele Nowak, Jones’ counselor, said.

In response to receiving the Youth Leadership Award, Jones stated: “This honor is very important to me. I’m proud to have the opportunity to show the world that I’m an accomplished African American student. It shows that my leadership work matters and deserves recognition. Queen of Peace has helped me become such a strong young woman. This is the place where I’ve been given the opportunity to enhance my leadership skills.”

The future looks bright for Jones. She plans to attend and graduate college with a degree in business administration so she can become an advertising executive. She would like to continue her education with a master’s degree from Northwestern University. “I also want to better my own community, so I really feel passionate about opening my own day care program to help young children get off to a great start.”

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