NELSONVILLE — Open parking spots were sparse around 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Hocking College’s Barn and concession lines were packed while people filled the seats of the arena. Meanwhile, boxers prepped their hands and wrists with tape as Sam and Ellen Jones strolled through the crowd, greeting supporters.
The scene played out as around 300 people attended “Brats, Beer and Boxing,” a fundraiser to help with the newly announced Sam Jones Trimble Promise Scholarship. The scholarship offers the 2024 graduating class of Trimble Tomcats the opportunity to attend Hocking College tuition-free.
Just a few minutes after 6 p.m. with nearly every seat filled in the arena, Jones sat front and center of the ring, focused as if he was the one with gear on and hands ready. He keeps his attention on each of the boxers, studying and supporting them. Jones goes from corner to corner swiftly moving his feet throwing left and right in a slow and educating way to each fighter; moving back to his seat he focused his eyes dead center in the ring once again.
A unique exhibition took place near the end of the night as Trimble High School’s mascot and Hocking College’s mascot both entered the ring; the crowd exploded with laughter and excitement as the Tomcat took the red corner and the Hawk took the blue corner. The Tomcat jumped with confidence as the bell rang and with one punch from the Tomcat, the Hawk went down, the bell rang and the Tomcat won with a knockout.
On March 27, the Sam Jones Trimble Promise Scholarship was announced.
It is no secret that College is expensive, the cost of tuition, let alone housing and the cost of material and books can be outrageous. The in-state tuition with the additive fees for Hocking College during the 2020-2021 school year was $5,300, according to Hocking College. This can be overwhelming not only for students but also parents and families.
A scholarship like this one makes that financial bump in the road disappear. This allows students to focus on their education and not stress about how they are going to pay for tuition or how many jobs they have to obtain to get out of debt.
Not everyone has the financial privilege to attend college, even if they have the academic ability. Scholarships such as this one can help take those worries away and offer a higher education.
“Basically I think it would encourage more students to go to college without having to worry about finances. Many people can’t afford college, therefore they’re not able to further their education,” said Kyleigh Toner, a former Trimble student and current student at Hocking College. “If this was in place when I graduated it would have made the decision of going to college at Hocking a whole lot easier. Funding was one of the many things that played into deciding which college I went to. With this scholarship, it will make college for the 2024 graduates a whole lot less stressful. Going to college for free is a huge blessing and I think everyone should take the offer while they can.”
Transitioning into college is a time when new adults coming straight out of high school can explore personal growth and find out what they would like to do with a career. With the financial pressure subsided, students can fully dive deep into the full college opportunities, explore their true interests they may have not found in high school and discover who they want to be throughout their major.
“This money I’m gonna make on this boxing, I’m putting it on your tuition whatever, you guys (students) get into, if they got it over at Hocking, you go ahead, I’ve got the money over there for you,” Sam Jones said.
Jones understands that students may have multiple issues with attending college besides financial terms, such as transportation and said free bus routes will be implemented into the scholarship program.
“This is my job (vision for the youth). It’s about the students and getting them there. Because I’m an old timer, Hell I’m 83-years-old so I can’t be around too much longer; and I know how hard it is to get out and get going down the road,” Jones said.
“I learned you gotta bite down, you gotta keep going, don’t give up, never give up; I learned that being a box fighter… The ref will be going three, four, I’d get knocked down and I didn’t even see it. Life’s the same damn way. You get going through there and get knocked down by the things you don’t even see. You’ve gotta learn to never give up, honey.”
Alabama Martin is a student journalist with Tri-County Career Center and High School’s New Media+ program. This article originally appeared on The 360, a publication of the New Media+ program at Tri-County Career Center.
