(The embedded video features clips from the November 21, 2024 International Young Humanitarian Speaker Series event with Annie Jones, a 2017 Illinois graduate and the 2024 recipient of the Charles C. Stewart International Young Humanitarian Award.)
Jones also gives advice to students wanting to embark on similar career path
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — When asked by her former professor if there was anything she would do differently during her time as a college student on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus, 2017 alumna Annie Jones said, “not at all.”
Instead, she pointed out something that she would gladly do again.
“One thing that I would do the same is finding professors (that I connected with) on a personal level,” she said. “There’s so much you can learn from the people you’re around so identifying your mentors (and keeping in touch with them) is instrumental…and goes a long way.”
Jones graduated from Illinois in 2017 with a bachelor's in political science and sociology. Currently, she works as a quality assurance specialist at No Means No Worldwide, an international non-governmental organization dedicated to ending sexual and gender-based violence against women and children globally.
In 2024, she was also the recipient of the Charles C. Stewart International Young Humanitarian Award, which is why she was asked to speak during the inaugural International Young Humanitarian Speaker Series that took place on November 21, 2024 inside the Women’s Resources Center (WRC) on Illinois’ campus.
The fireside, chat-inspired event was held in conjunction with Illinois’ International Education Week and centered on a question-and-answer style discussion between Jones, a moderator, and audience members (which included undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff, and community members).
WRC Director Kasey Umland moderated the discussion and asked Jones questions ranging from what she does for her career, to what advice she would give students wishing to follow a similar path.
The event was created in honor of the Charles C. Stewart International Young Humanitarian Award, which recognizes the accomplishments of an Illinois graduate whose dedicated international service exemplifies the highest ideals of selflessness and dedication to the welfare of communities outside of the United States.
The award was established in 2005, and Stewart, who has a notable and distinguished career at Illinois between 1971 and 2006, endowed the award in 2007.
Although he could not attend the Nov. 21 event, Stewart sent words of encouragement that reiterated his excitement for the inaugural event and for the exceptional work that Illini humanitarians like Jones continue to make to help shape the world.
In his letter he wrote that stories of successful Illini, like Jones’, continue to inspire him and as a result he doubled the funding each recipient of the young humanitarian award would receive each year beginning in 2025.
This additional funding will allow alumni dedicated to global service to make an even greater international impact.
Tell us a little more about yourself. What have you been up to since you graduated from Illinois?
Jones joined the Peace Corps right out of college and volunteered in Ethiopia. When her Peace Corps tour ended, she said her next step, at first, was grad school.
However, that all changed when she discovered a job listing that was posted in a “Return from Peace Corps” Facebook group page.
“When I found the opportunity (with my current organization) I was so excited for it that I pivoted (my career) in that direction,” Jones said.
That opportunity was at No Means No Worldwide.
“I was super drawn to this organization because their mission is to end sexual violence globally and their strategy for doing so is through a partner-based approach,” Jones said. “They partner with local organizations (in communities around the world) who are already doing some sort of youth focused intervention.”
The initial listing she saw on Facebook detailed job duties that Jones felt she would not be able to do, so she said that she reached out to the organization via email introducing herself and asking if there were any available roles she could apply for that could use her skill set.
“I didn’t hear anything back,” she said. “A month later I reached out again… and no response, then I emailed again and said, ‘Please,’ and they finally got back to me. They said they were starting a new program in Ethiopia and since I had the experience doing Peace Corps (volunteer work) there, they thought I would be a good fit. So that was my doorway. It was a lot of persistence and luck.”
Jones has now been with the organization for five years. Currently, she works in the partnerships department, which is responsible for reaching out and identifying new, local partners the organization can work with and providing technical support and quality assurance to current partners.
“It’s been a journey, for sure,” Jones said. “I’ve done a lot of traveling and a lot of helping the organization develop from where it was five years ago to where it is now.”
How do you find time to inspire change outside of work?
Jones jokingly said that when it comes to inspiring change in her personal life, separate from work, she is still trying to figure it out.
But jokes aside, she said surrounding oneself with people who share similar values helps motivate someone and encourages them to act and to inspire change.
She said in general “changing the world” doesn’t have to be a grand gesture like creating a new foundation. Rather, she said building and maintaining relationships with friends and other loved ones and engaging with those folks and holding true to values is what inspires change.
“That can be change and building a community of people who can relate to you on that level only gives you more power and ability to go out and (inspire change),” she said. “If somebody makes a comment you don’t just sit there and listen, you address it and existing in the world in that way can make a big difference.”
How did your time at Illinois shape your career? What about some advice for students?
Jones said taking classes on globalization while at Illinois and her study abroad experience genuinely helped shape and inspire what she wanted to do for her life.
But above all else, Jones said that being a FYCARE facilitator taught her the fundamental knowledge to believe the victim of sexual assault and never cast blame, and that sexual violence is preventable and can be stopped.
“We can end this,” Jones said. “We don’t have to live with thinking that (sexual violence) is forever…I learned to have the ambition to work and try to stop something that has been deemed a societal problem with no solution.”
At the end of the day, Jones said the best advice students can take is to slow down and take things one step at a time.
“If there’s something that you want to achieve or somewhere you want to go and you know that there isn’t a clear path to get there, just take it one step toward that direction. (By doing so) you become closer to your goals,” she said.
Additional Information:
• To learn more about Annie Jones and her position at No Means No Worldwide you can visit her biography page on the organization’s website.
• Do you know someone deserving of the Charles C. Stewart International Young Humanitarian Award? Nominations are accepted on a rolling basis and can be submitted using this form.
• You can help support alumni like Annie by contributing to the Charles C. Stewart Young Humanitarian Award today. Give your tax-deductible donation by searching “Charles Stewart Young Humanitarian Award Fund – 11770004” on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign gift-giving website. Gifts may also be matched based on your employer’s contributions.
Analicia Haynes is the storyteller and social media specialist at Illinois International.
She can be reached at ahayn2@illinois.edu.