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Jennifer
Reed Jones ’75
 A
naval officer, a mom, a soldier, a teacher, and a volunteer.
This may seem like a list of five Collegiate graduates, but
it describes just one: Jennifer Reed Jones '75, who graduated
from The College of Wooster in 1979 with a degree in psychology
and a goal to travel around the world before she turned 30.
Drawn to the U.S. Navy, Jennifer wanted an
assignment on board a ship, which was quite rare at that time.
"Women at sea was a new concept… with approximately
only ten sea billets available per year for female officers.
With perseverance, by 1983 I was on my way to one of those
slots."During her time at sea, she managed to travel
to the Indian Ocean from both the east and west, thereby accomplishing
her goal!
During her seventeen-year career in the Navy
Jennifer studied Japanese, took master-level courses in management,
headed the Naval Academy's Offshore Sailing Program, taught
seamanship, navigation, leadership and law at the United States
Naval Academy, and was in the first battle group to arrive
in the Persian Gulf following the invasion of Kuwait
in 1990.
Jennifer says, "Unexpectedly, I met
Mark [her husband] halfway through my career… After we
were married, our first ships were on opposite coasts."
Later, Jennifer and her husband had two sons before she retired
as a Lieutenant Commander in 1997. Her honors include the
Navy Commendation Medal, the Navy Achievement Medal, the National
Defense Service Medal, and the Armed Forces Expeditionary
Medal.
"I can attribute the success in fulfilling
my life's goals to the education and qualities of confidence,
hard work and persistence that I developed at Collegiate.''
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