Shaping SMU World Changers | Jennifer Jones | TEDxSMU
[Music] I thought I would bring my notes in case I forgot something. No, I believe that children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess inside. Shaping world changers. That's what we do here at SMU. And I've had the honor and the pleasure of being able to help shape them for the last 25 years plus. I started when I was four. Let's get that straight. But I use those three verses from the song, The Greatest Love of All because I think it embodies what we need to consider as we shape these world changers. And I hope that in the next few minutes I can make you understand what I mean. Or maybe if not that, feel what I mean. I do believe that children are our future. And here at SMU, the training ground for the rest of their lives. the training ground for the rest of their lives. We've been given the task to provide them the knowledge, the tools, the opportunities for them to take hold of those things and carve out a future that'll be beyond themselves. I tell students all the time that I want to give them all that I can to get them as closest to right as I possibly can for selfish reason reasons and practical ones. But my selfish one is that at some point in my life, I'm not going to be able to take care of myself. And I want to make sure that when they're given the responsibility to make the decisions for my life, that they have everything that they need to get it right. because I am my number one fan, president, vice president, and secretary of that fan club. But teach them well and let them lead the way. As a parent, I know for the first 17, 18 years of my children's life, I told them where to go, how to get there, who to hang out with, who not to hang out with, what to watch, what to look out for, what to join, join, and what to believe. And because of that, they weren't able to develop a true sense of self until they left the home and went to college. And there they were given an opportunity to discover themselves. When I work with the students here at SMU with 17 18 year olds and I asked the question, who are you? They don't know. Because as loving and giving and caring parents, what our students, parents, our families do is instill in them the values, the opportunities, the choices that they have cuz I've done it and that's what we're supposed to do as parents. But once they get once once they get here, the training ground for the rest of their lives, we have the opportunity to help shape those minds to give them choices. You know, some of our students come here know what they want to do when they grow up, but doesn't have they don't have a clue of how to get there. But then we have some students who are the superstars. They got it all together. They know what they want to do and they know how they want to get there. and their life is like tied up in a nice beautiful bow. But some days those bows will unravel. And that's when I'm given the opportunity to give them some choices to make them think outside of themselves to begin to wonder and qu question all of those things that they're used to the training ground for the rest of their lives. This is the place where they do that to begin to shape and become the leaders that they're going to be. Show them all the beauty they possess inside. Not only are our students amazingly intelligent, but they're caring. They're compassionate. We've had two of them up here early today to talk about what they're giving back. We have students that when there's no clean water, they're going out and digging wells. When there's people that don't have food, they're feeding them. When they don't have homes, they're building houses for them. Those world changers are doing that from here. They're taking their free time, spring break, Christmas break to not go out and hang out, but to go out and make a difference across the world and across this nation. The beauty they possess inside. Now, I want to talk a little bit about my about my experience with that beauty. In 2013, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. And I was sitting at home one day after my my surgery. I was alone and my doorbell rang. And I go to the door and I'm like, who the heck could that be? Cuz I wasn't expecting anyone. And I open the door and this big old smile met me at the door and it's Ramon Trespolassius, our student body president. I was surprised first of all that he was there and then I was surprised. How did he figure out where I live? And he came bearing gifts. Gifts for me, gifts for my family, gifts for my dog because he cared about me. And I've never ever expressed to Ramon how he made me feel that day to find my house and to come check on me. So as I began my journey with my illness, um I began to take treatments and you know treatments have these adverse reactions and I was going to lose my hair and I had to travel to Washington DC on a Wednesday to go to a board meeting on a Thursday and that Wednesday night my hair become began to come out in patches. So I'm like, "Oh my goodness, I can't go looking like that." So I went and bought a wig and flew to DC, went to my meeting, and my doctor told me that keep your life as normal as possible. If you feel like doing it, do it. And I was determined to do that for several reason. One, because my doctor told me that. And the other reason is because of the students that I serve. because I I just didn't want them to see me in a place where I know things things happen bad in your life, but you have to realize that if you have your mind in the right place, you can conquer anything. So, I came I went to that meeting and I flew back on on a redeye 6:00 flight back to Dallas. Got me here in Dallas at 8:00 in the morning. I went to work. I was doing pretty good until midday and I'm like, "Wow." My body begin to break down, my mental, all of that, the flight, everything, all of that began to come upon me. And I realized, come on five o'clock. I can do it, but come on five o'clock. So about 4:00, a student comes into my office and says, JJ, I have a meeting with you. This is exactly how I looked at her. It's Friday. It's 4:00. I don't have a meeting with you. So she said, "Well, I put it on your calendar two weeks ago." Really? So she began and so finally she talked me into, "Okay, I'm going to have this meeting with you." So just as I'm about to sit down with her to have that meeting and walk a staff person and says, "Jay, I have a meeting with you at 4:00." Now, had that been Monday, four? Yeah, I could have double booked on a Monday, but on a Friday, two people, same time, four o'clock on a Friday, a meeting about what? So, I just kind of sat there as they bantered back and forth how they were going to work this out. And then finally, the staff person said, "Well, JJ, if you just come and meet in our office, we can meet all meet together." Whatever. So, I get up. His office was next door in the next suite, next door to my office. So I get up, I walk over into the next suite and I walk into a room full of people and I just froze. And as I looked, there was this sign and it goes so far that I can't unravel it. But in the center of it was I we love you JJ. And so many people had signed it and all of this stuff. And not that that wasn't enough. So, as I looked over to my left of the room, there was these makeshift barbersh chairs and about nine or 10 students getting their head shave. I lost it. The beauty they possess inside. That was one of the most I can't even describe what that was for me moment here at this place. when it was affirmed to me that we have the best students in the world. I've stayed at SMU for all of these years and student asked me that over and over and over again because of them. I quote a a a quote to them that says you are because someone else was. I am because they are right now amazing, wonderful, outstanding, caring. I could call so many names of students that have come into my life and allowed me the opportunity to give a little bit of myself and I can't thank them enough. They've grown me. They've sustained me. They've given me the power to be. And if there are students out here that have crossed my path, I thank you for all that you are and all that you can be. And don't let little obstacles get in your way. You can do this. You can do whatever you want to do. And I am your number one fan outside of mine. I'm just saying I could be a part of two of club. But thank you. Thank you for allowing me to even share just a little bit of my world every day. I can come to a place every day where I can just hang out with the people that I love. There's nothing like it. And it's not a job for me. It's my ministry. And that's why I come back day in and day off. So, thank you so much. [Applause]