Jared Jones was finally ready. After having completed all but one class for his associate of arts degree at Lorain County Community College, the Amherst man wanted to finish what he started.  

“I was sick of my resume showing the years I attended college, but no degree,” he said. “I was tired of explaining to potential employers that I just needed one more class and feeling like they were thinking, ‘Yeah, right. We’ve heard that one before.’” 

So, Jones, 26, returned to LCCC to knock out that last class. It was a bittersweet return to the campus that gave him a supportive pathway toward his education goals, while his life off campus peppered him with obstacles. While attending LCCC from 2017 to 2018, Jones underwent two heart surgeries for Supraventricular Tachycardia, which is an irregularly fast heartbeat.  

“When I was having heart issues, it was beatings at 240 plus beats per minute,” he said. “It was like basically like you’re running a marathon when you’re doing nothing.”  

Six months after the first surgery to correct it, Jones started having irregular heartbeats again. Doctors performed a second surgery, and this time, he left the operating table with nerve damage. 

“I could hardly walk or work for several months,” he recalled. “My last semester I was homeless, sleeping in a friend’s living room. And I had transportation issues getting to campus.” 

Physical recovery wasn’t the only hurdle Jones was trying to overcome during that time.  

“I lost my grandma a week after my heart surgery and then couple of months later, I lost my grandpa, all in one semester,” he said. 

Jones, who was a 4.0 student at the time, decided to prioritize his health and took some time off school with every intention of returning. But after landing a sales position with Andersen Windows, Jones began building a lucrative sales career and going back to school seemed to fade into the background.  

The education gap on his resume, however, kept staring him in the face. And slowly, it began to take on a deeper meaning. To Jones, it signified defeat. So, he returned this spring to take his final LCCC class and now Jones is a 2023 LCCC graduate.  

“I walked onto campus in 2016 as a victim of my environment,” Jones said. “And I leave today understanding that I control my life with the decisions I make.” 

With his associate degree in hand, and the health battles that challenged him for years in the past, Jones sees a fresh new future ahead, filled with options and opportunity.   

“I intend on further developing my sales career,” he said. “But eventually I might go back to school for a medical degree. I also really like motivational speaking, maybe I’ll do that, too.”