Blue Sky Scholar loves the law
Tazanna Jones has always wanted to be a lawyer. She now knows Carolina is the right place to work toward that goal.
When Tazanna Jones says she wants to be a lawyer, she makes a compelling case.
“I love to argue. I love writing. I love helping people,” says Jones, a first-year Tar Heel from Balsam, a small mountain community roughly four hours southwest of Chapel Hill in Jackson County.
A sampling of her extracurriculars serves as evidence: Debate club. A gig writing a community newsletter. Service projects through the National Honor Society.
At Carolina, Jones is looking for more opportunities to pursue her passions. After attending Project Uplift as a high schooler, she knew she wanted to be a Tar Heel. When she received her acceptance months later, it came with a bonus: a Blue Sky Scholarship.
The award, given to exceptionally qualified students from middle-income North Carolina families, made UNC-Chapel Hill not only Jones’ top choice but also her most affordable.
“I looked into UNC and their programs — literally everything they had to offer was just so much more than pretty much any school I was looking at,” says Jones, who’s already earned an associate degree and compiled enough college credits to be considered a junior.
Before trading the mountains for Chapel Hill, Jones got a head start on legal life. While attending Jackson County Early College, she worked a pair of legal internships. The first came with Zeb Smathers ’08 (J.D.), a private attorney and mayor of nearby Canton. She prepared legal files, answered phone calls and went to civil court.
Jones says Smathers influenced her to pursue a career in public service, citing the way he worked for the community when a longtime mill abruptly closed, costing many their livelihoods.
“I got to see the political side of law because of that,” says Jones, a proud Native American with Cherokee and Pee Dee heritage. “That’s really when I knew I wanted to do law. I wanted to be an advocate for my peers and anyone who needed a voice.”
Tazanna Jones with mentor Zeb Smathers ’08 (J.D.) (Submitted photo)
She also got a glimpse of criminal law through her work with attorneys Nathan Earwood and Hayley Twing. The opportunity taught Jones lessons on communicating in court and exposed her to everything from a murder trial and Tribal Court to cases involving domestic violence and juveniles.
“I’ve met so many judges, so many other lawyers,” Jones says. “I’ve gotten to see so many cases taken care of in an amazing manner. But I’ve also seen the bad part where sometimes justice isn’t always served.”
Unserved justice is the driving force behind Jones’ goal to one day work for the Innocence Project, the national organization that tries to exonerate people believed to be wrongfully convicted in court.
“I feel like there aren’t enough people in the world who think that no matter the crime, our country is built on this idea that you’re innocent until proven guilty,” says Jones, noting her interest in working with the UNC-Chapel Hill Law Innocence Project.
Jones, an Honors Carolina student, knows law school is in her future. In the meantime, she’s looking forward to studying media and journalism — the writing and research skills will serve her well in law, she believes — and broadening her worldview.
“I want to be able to get to know as many people as I can, help as many people as I can and be connected with them so we can build a better world together,” she says.
For a while now, Jones and those closest to her have known the way she would go about doing that.
“When I was little, even 5 or 6, my parents were like, ‘You need to be a lawyer. You can argue with a wall,’” Jones says.
This case was closed a long time ago.
