Humans of Lake Forest: Charles Jones ’17
By Rudo Kazembe ’20
Charles Jones ‘17 is a second-semester senior at the College. He is a confident young man who is well-known for his involvement in music and poetry performances.
Stentor: What are you most passionate about?
Jones: l guess I’d say my poetry. It’s one of the things that drives me and keeps me going. I do poem covers for my poetry…I did it for the songs “Castle On The Hill” by Ed Sheeran and “Say You Won’t Let Go” by James Arthur. I started writing when I was 13 years old, in eighth grade. After I started writing more poetry, I went to National Louis University to take a creative writing class. I got two of my poems published in an anthology.
Once I got into college, my poetry really shifted. I integrated art into it. I’d dance as I read my poem aloud. One of the biggest ones that I’ve done is called “Two Boobs and Fraternal Twins,’’ which probably doesn’t make a lot of sense. Something that also changed when I went to college was that I started writing more about social justice, my identity, and what it means to be black.
I wrote something called “13 Ways to look at a Black Girl,” which was a remix of Wallace Stevens’ “13 ways of Looking at a Blackbird.” I also wrote a piece about the Mike Brown’s situation because l got really upset about the injustices seen in our community.
Stentor: What are some of the accomplishments that you are proud of?
Jones: Being able to come to college on a full-ride scholarship, which wasn’t by chance. I have been in this program that supplies me with aid for 13 years, and I had to do other things to acquire it. It’s called the “l Have A Dream” program and it’s something that is so close to my heart.
Stentor: How do you feel about your final year at Lake Forest College?
Jones: It is very daunting, shocking, and surprising. It reminds me of everything that I did as a freshman, and I just think, “Oh man, [these]four years have gone.” But it is also exciting because life starts right now.
Stentor: What are your post-graduation plans?
Jones: I want to participate in AmeriCorps for a year. I’ve already started doing my application for that. After that, hopefully, I’m going to go straight to grad school to study higher education. I thought about being a counselor, but in student affairs, I’m able to do that and more. I’d be able to see the growth of students. It’s something that I love to do and which I’ve done through my poetry. It has translated into my personality. I just love being there for people.
