Amara Jones pays attention to details.
It's a reason the Savannah State University senior has a 3.7 grade-point average while majoring in marine science.
It's a reason she was selected to the women's 2011 NCAA Division I All-Academic Track & Field team in August by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Details are important to Jones. The 5-foot-10 native of Freeport, Grand Bahama, said one of her pet peeves is when people incorrectly add an 's' to the end of her island.
“Grand Bahama. No 's'. They always put an 's' in there,” she said, smiling. “I'm from Freeport, Grand Bahama, in the Bahamas islands. The Bahamas was actually first owned by the Spanish, so it got the name baja mar, shallow seas, because we have the Great Bahama Bank and the Little Bahama Bank, so the Bahamas just encompasses each of the over 700 islands and keys that we have. And Grand Bahama is just one of the islands on the Little Bahama Bank.”
Jones is president of SSU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, which meets bi-monthly to discuss issues among student-athletes. The committee also hosts events and participates in fundraisers and community service projects.
Jones also is a member of the Golden Key International Honors Society. She juggles those activities with the time she devotes to running cross country and track, while also maintaining stellar grades.
How does she do it?
“I'm Bahamian,” she proudly said. “We have a different school system back at home. We still use the British school system, but it's more focused on Bahamian issues. We teach differently, so I learn differently. We're not all multiple choice. We're essays, and we make sure that you understand that you know. Both of my parents are teachers, so I guess it would be the fact that they made sure I knew how to learn and how to get things done and how to manage my time well.”
Choosing SSU
Academics have always been a priority to Jones. Her mother, Maralyn Burrows, and her father, Albert Jones, both ran track on scholarships at Boise State University. They live in the Bahamas, as do Jones' three younger brothers and sister.
“She doesn't love track and field the way I do,” Jones said of her mother. “She ran it to go to school, and as soon as she could stop, she did. Savannah State was the most cost-effective school for us, so the idea was that if it didn't work out with track, we'd work it with academics because she didn't want me to have to run track. She wanted me to do it because I wanted to. And I've always appreciated that because it's always been my choice.”
Attending SSU was not Jones' choice. She wanted to attend Florida International University in Miami, Fla., but her mother insisted that she attend SSU. Jones, who recently turned 20 years old, enrolled as an SSU freshman at age 16.
“She actually saw the campus before I did,” Jones said of her mother. “I had never seen Savannah State until I came and got settled into my dorm. She was the one who came and spoke to Coach Whit (
Ted Whitaker, SSU's men's and women's track and field/cross country head coach) and met everybody. She did all that stuff.
“She picked Savannah State for me to go to. It wasn't my first choice, but I have grown to love Savannah State. I really don't want to leave. I really don't.”
Jones said she understands and supports her mother's decision to have her attend college in easy-going Savannah instead of fast-paced Miami.
“Miami is actually made up of a whole lot of Caribbean people and I think the thing with my mom was, I was 16 when I came to college, so not only was I not legal, I was 16. I was still her baby,” she said. “And she preferred that I went to a smaller school. It's understandable, but I think I could have handled myself. But I'm glad I came. I have no regrets about coming to Savannah State.”
Achieving success
Jones has set several SSU track records. At the NCAA Division I East Region Track & Field Meet last year, she said she ran the 400-meter race in a school-record 53.01 seconds.
“I've been breaking school records since my freshman year,” she said, smiling. “That is my favorite thing to do.”
As a sophomore, Jones was selected to the Bahamian National Junior Team to compete at the 13
th International Association of Athletics Federation World Junior Championships in Moncton, Canada. Earlier that year, she competed at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore.
Jones said her favorite events are the 200-meter run, 400-meter run and relay events, during which she runs the anchor leg.
“I serve better as an anchor,” she said. “If Coach Whit wants me to run any other position, I will. I prefer to anchor because I know the type of athlete that I am. I'm very, very competitive. I am soft-spoken but I know when business is business, and I can handle my business.
“I prefer to run anchor leg because I'm that person who, once I see you in front of me, you're a target. And that's all there is to it. We're great friends before and after the race, but during the race you are a target and I pursue you as one.”
Jones began competing in track when she was in the seventh grade at Sunland Baptist Academy in Freeport. High school in the Bahamas is six years, grades 7-12, she said.
Although Jones prefers running track over cross country, she produced a personal-best finish (24 minutes, 27 seconds, good for 10
th place) in the 5K race at the Bethune-Cookman Invitational in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Sept. 7.
Jones said competing for the Bahamas in the Olympics next year in London, and becoming a teacher, is among her goals.
“I want to teach, ultimately, at the university level, so I do want to go on to get my master's and my Ph.D.,” she said. “As of right now, I'm not sure if I'm going to stay at Savannah State and do the fifth-year assistantship, if I can get it. I'm not exactly sure if I'm immediately going to go home, because I'm applying for teaching positions right now. I do want to start working right after I graduate, but I still want to get my post-graduate degrees. I love learning, and I think I will always be involved in higher education. You can never have too many degrees.”
