Meet Julia Jones, Eclipse Star and American Indian College Fund Supporter
June 8, 2010
Meet Julia Jones, Eclipse Star and American Indian College Fund Supporter Julia Jones (Mississippi Choctaw), a professional actress, appears in Eclipse, the third installment film of the wildly successful Twilight series. Jones plays the part of the only female werewolf in this modern-day gothic series combining supernatural creatures and impossible love. Julia is a supporter of the American Indian College Fund, and took time out of her hectic acting and promotion schedule to meet with the Fund in Los Angeles to share why she is passionate about supporting and promoting American Indian education.
Fund: Why do you choose to support American Indian education?
Julia Jones: Education is an incredible thing. I carry it with me wherever I go. It doesn’t seem like a necessarily obvious choice when you are young, but when you get through it, it will change your life. For Native kids there is a balance that you strike with an education. You get to keep your culture and also you are not afraid to deal with the outside world. You can communicate with decision-makers and realize it is also to take from that and bring back to your community.
Fund: What would you like to tell American Indian students who are considering an education?
Julia Jones: Just start, just try, and just go for it! I can vouch for the doors that will open as a result!
Fund: In your highly competitive field, can you tell us how education helped to improve your confidence?
Julia Jones: At the end of the day, life is not about what’s on my résumé or how much money I make. It’s about who I am, and the connections I make on a daily basis. I was lucky being raised in the way I was and having an education and it helped me remain true to myself.
Fund: What gives you strength?
Julia Jones: The combination of my education, cultural values, and self esteem. I am grateful and proud to be able to say that about myself.
Fund: Who were your champions and role models?
Julia Jones: A woman who ran a theater company in Boston believed in me, and it rubbed off!
Fund: Why do you choose to support the American Indian College Fund and education in general?
Julia Jones: Education is such a big part of who I am a big reason I’ve been able to stay around for so long. I see so many people that don’t reach their full potential because they do not have the knowledge or resources to do so. It’s so sad; it is the smartest and brightest that we lose sometimes. I see people who have benefitted tremendously from education and the connections and sense of self that they have developed as a result of that education. My dad ran away at 15 and had a tough upbringing. It was because of scholarships that he could get an education. I see where he was coming from and what he went through and all that he was able to achieve as a result. It can change lives.
Fund: The Lakota people have a saying: “Never give up.” They have a hand signal that simulates painting one’s face for war. Can you do that for us? Julia
Jones: Never give up!
