A l u m n i Spo t lig ht :
NYASIA 07 JONES ’
FOR NYASIA JONES ’07, LEADING IS ALSO ABOUT LOOKING BACK.
From her earliest days of childhood in Newark, to seventh and eighth grades at Peck, on to Newark Academy, Emory University, and now, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School—Nyasia has always been conscious about passing on her lessons learned, thanks in part to the mentors that have guided her educational journey. There’s Dr. William Diehl, a breast surgeon and surgical
DIFFERENT ASPECTS
OF MY LIFE, AND I’VE LEARNED THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF BEING
first piqued her interest in oncology, inspiring her pre-med
A LEADER IS TO
There, she met Dr. Hans Grossniklaus, with whom she worked in the field of cancer biology, studying pigment cells in the eye.
EMBRACE THE NEXT GENERATION OF
And for the many others that come after her, there will be Dr. Nyasia
PEOPLE WHO FOLLOW,
Jones. “I’ve had so many role models for different aspects of my life,
TO CREATE A LEGACY.
and I’ve learned that the most important part of being a leader is to embrace the next generation of people who follow, to create a legacy. Being able to teach what you know is an incredible gift.”
BEING ABLE TO TEACH WHAT YOU KNOW
”
She knows quite a lot already. She earned a master’s degree with her
IS AN
work in Dr. Grossnicklaus’s lab, and in the process she realized that
INCREDIBLE GIFT.
she didn’t have to choose between her two burgeoning interests: medicine and research. “I love research, but I also love patients,” said Jones. “I realized that I wanted to interact with people and have a tangible impact in that SP RI N G/ S U MMER 2021
ROLE MODELS FOR
oncologist—and the father of her high school best friend—who studies at Emory.
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I’VE HAD SO MANY
