It hasn't been very long since Gregory Jones had his journey at Temple. The Class of 2016 engineering graduate returns to North Broad on August 25th to address the newest Owls at the Temple University Convocation ceremony.

Jones seized opportunities when he arrived at Temple as a transfer. He stepped up as the president of the National Society of Black Engineers and spent one of his spring breaks in Haiti working with the community on a sanitation project. The civil engineering major credits his success the mentorship he received from another former NSBE president, Glenn Dickerson, CE '11, and newly elected president of the Temple Alumni board. Dickerson nominated Jones to speak at Convocation.

"I was excited to share my story on an even bigger platform for this year's Convocation," Jones said. "It's pretty exciting to be able to share my experiences as an undergraduate and help them for their four years as an undergraduate student." His advice to students that life is a marathon, not a sprint, and remind them to focus on growing over time and really developing their skills.

Since moving to Florida to work for Hensel Phelps Jones has found reasons to make his way back to campus. He's charged with recruiting engineering students for his firm. Currently he counts about a dozen Owls as co-workers and interns for Hensel Phelps and notes these engineers share similar traits. "The thing that separates Temple students is their grit, their tenacity, their will to win," he said. "Of the students I've interviewed, they were hungry, they were determined to be the best. College students have to be coachable, willing to learn, step outside their comfort zone. The opportunity to move to Florida is not easy, moving away from your family. When they're open to that and able to make that adjustment, that says a lot about them."

Convocation will start at 11 AM - watch the livestream.

- Marco Cerino