Simon Jones on Why Giving Matters

Cycling has always been central to Simon Jones’s life. By the time he reached high school, he was racing nationally, traveling with both a team and the national program, and missing nearly 10 days of school a month. “I was struggling because I was missing a lot of school, traveling to races with the team and the national team,” he says. “[The school was not] super receptive to the idea of me missing, and my grades were suffering.” 

When he discovered Miller School of Albemarle, it felt like the balance he had been searching for. “Miller had the endurance program there already,” says Simon. “It made sense for me to go to a place where the teachers and staff understood the sport, and that I could be in a place that could allow me to do that.” MSA provided Simon with the opportunity to be surrounded by like-minded individuals and feel supported in his passions. “At Miller, the sport I was doing was so ingrained in the culture — having people to train with and the mountain bike trails on campus. I got to be part of a sports team at the school. It was good for me mentally, and it also made me feel like the school in general appreciated the sport I was doing and took it seriously,” he says.  

Coming to Miller for his last two years of high school also gave Simon a chance to reset. “I remember having this relief on the first day walking on the campus. I can be whoever I want to be here. I can be bike-racer Simon, I can be the outgoing person I am, and I can be a good student as well,” he says.  

MSA gave Simon the space to pursue his interests and gave him new opportunities to grow and lead, too. “I started the Harvard Model Congress program,” he says. “I participated at my former school, and it was something that I really loved. I got [to Miller], and I was upset that there was no HMC program, so I sat down in Mr. Drude’s office and pitched him the idea. I pushed really hard and organized that, and I’m really proud of the fact that I was able to do that.” 

The combination of support and independence was transformative. “It really was life-changing for me,” Simon says. “It was everything from my interactions with Mr. Drude all the way down to the teachers. What I was doing outside of academics at Miller was appreciated. I felt appreciated, and the school was standing behind me. That goes a long way for a young man. You’re not inherently confident at that age, so that was huge for me.” 

The impact showed in both academics and personal growth. “I love the school. It changed my life in a lot of ways. I am the person I am, from an empathy and from a career point of view, because of the school. They opened up what was available to me and how good of a student I could be,” he says.  

Now working in industrial manufacturing, Simon still credits Miller as his true alma mater. “The education that I have is Miller. The education that I have and what I rely on is from Miller. The way that people feel about where they went to college — that, for me, is Miller. And I’m proud of that.” 

As a young alumnus, Simon is part of the TEAL Society, supporting the Annual Fund with an unrestricted gift. “That’s the cool part about giving money,” he says. “You can come back to the campus and say, ‘I helped make this place better than when I was here.’ That’s a special kind of feeling.” 

For Simon, giving back is about making sure future students have the same opportunities he did — and more. “Having more resources for students to pursue their ideas outside of a traditional academic environment. That’s what I want out of the gift I’m giving: continuous improvement, to succeed and give back to the school, and that students have the same support and gift I had, but better.”