When we hear the school or name "Stanford" automatically we may think two things: money and intelligence. For Nev Jones, this was not about money, but it was about intelligence, persistence, and true resilience.
Standing at a mere 5'3 and quite petite, she stand to the side of the podium just in the beginning of sharing her deepest and darkest secrets. Nev happened to have a parent diagnosed with Schizophrenia and had to spend a significant amount of physical and mental time caring for her mother. It was emotionally draining, but she always had her studies to focus on. Nev had what every program wanted and was except to the twelve or more Doctoral programs she was accepted to in the country.
She chose one school(name confidential), but things took a sharp turn when symptoms of Schizophrenia started to appear. The school took notice, the school humiliated her, they expelled her, and labeled her as "incompetent" when her grades were perfect. All of her friends turned on her and she had no activities left to attend.
It was the stigma of Mental Illness that was getting in the way of Nev's future....
After a deep depression and a psychotic episode, Nev received a random invitation from another program who were unaware of her illness. With support, medication, and not giving up-Nev is now a top researcher at Stanford for research of illness and educational impact. She has proven in her determination and now with research that things have a strong potential of shifting in the direction of Mental health with advocacy and increasing numbers.
This young woman is quite an inspiration. When it came time for questions a man even randomly asked, "Are you married? I have a nice son for you." "No response, but hey at least he tried:)
EDUCATING ENVIRONMENTS ARE SUPPOSE TO BE PLACES OF SAFETY...WHAT IS HAPPENING TO US IN THIS SOCIETY?? PCR
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