The Jones Fellows Program officially kicked off on August 22 with an evening filled with celebration and remembrance of the program’s namesake, J. Malcolm Jones Jr. ’71.

The Welcome Dinner marked an important milestone as fourteen Bolles juniors, selected to be the inaugural Jones Fellows, met their mentors for the very first time. Fellows, parents, mentors, members of the Jones family and School leadership all gathered to celebrate the beginning of what will be a year-long journey of personal reflection, career exploration and self-discovery.

Mentorship is at the heart of this journey, and each Fellow was carefully paired with a mentor by Mentorship Program Coordinator Ellie Dalkin. All alumni of The Bolles School, the mentors represent a wide range of backgrounds and fields of expertise, but they are united by a common generosity to give their time and attention to their Fellow throughout the upcoming year.

Meet the Inaugural Jones Fellows and Mentors

• Eva Beardsley ’28 — Sally Ball Sharp ’92
• Mamie Burkett ’28 — Christine Gaitantzis ’14
• Eamon Cantor ’28 — Joey Frisco ’16
• Alyssa Castleman ’28 — Chanley Dudley ’99
• Mia Lee Chong ’28 — Paula Aduen ’07
• Adam Grinberg-Korczyn ’28 — Ryan Williams ’06
• Reema Nihalani ’28 — Lindsay Tygart ’98
• Kaliyah Perkins ’28 — Rachna Krish ’99
• Paige Sandifer ’28 — Morgan Perry ’13
• Jack Thomas ’28 — Aarian Afshari ’07
• Charlotte Verlander ’28 — Courtney Reames ’01
• Brendan Walrath ’28 — Ralph Rizk ’05
• Reggie Wilson ’28 — Jordan Garside ’10
• Adi Yadav ’28 — Tim Miller ’05

While the evening celebrated the beginning of something new at Bolles, it also provided an opportunity to remember the person whose legacy inspired it. During the evening, Malcolm’s wife of 45 years, Leslie Jones, shared more about the remarkable person behind the program’s name and how the idea for a mentorship program came to be. In the years following her husband’s passing, Leslie and her son, Malcolm ’96, began hearing from people of all walks of life who shared stories of how Malcolm had impacted their lives through mentorship.

Those stories, along with Malcolm’s deep love for Bolles, sparked an idea for Leslie, Malcolm, Malcolm’s mother, Mary Virginia Jones and their family to create something that could carry his legacy of mentorship forward for generations of Bolles students. Speaking directly to the inaugural Fellows that evening, Leslie shared her hope that the relationships beginning in the room might one day have the same lasting impact on them that Malcolm had on others.

“Maybe down the road sometime, you’ll think about something one of these mentors has said to you – something that impacted you and you didn’t know it at the time,” she told them.

While the lasting impact of those relationships will unfold over the next year, the Fellows had already taken the first step that evening. After spending time getting to know one another over dinner, each Fellow stood to introduce their mentor to the audience, sharing a little about who they are and one thing they had learned about them that night. It was a fitting start to a year in which Dalkin encouraged each student to “get to know your mentor, not simply for what they do, but for who they are and how they became that person.”

For the inaugural class of Jones Fellows, this special evening was only the beginning. Over the coming year, Fellows and mentors will continue building their relationships through monthly meetings, while the Fellows will have opportunities to step beyond the classroom, hear from a variety of guest speakers and community leaders and discover new possibilities along the way.

From the generosity of the Jones family to the mentors giving their time and attention to their Fellows throughout the year, The Jones Fellows Program is made possible by those who choose to give of themselves for the benefit of others. Leslie summed it up best when she shared, “When we pour our time, our treasures and our talents into people, we’re the ones that are the most blessed.”

Learn more about the J. Malcolm Jones Jr. Mentorship Program here and view photos from the kickoff dinner in our online photo gallery.