Caitlin Taylor
eSomethin Staff
Have you heard about the new American Sign Language teacher? Her name is Emily Jones and 2018 is the start of her legacy here at Perrysburg High School.
Jones’ path to Perrysburg High School was not a straight one. Life took her down many different roads before she got where she wanted to be. She went to Kent State University with the intention of becoming a Speech Pathologist: “I started out in speech pathology… thinking that every day I’d be able to sign and work with people who were deaf and then when I got into the program, I realized that that’s quite the opposite of what a speech pathologist does,” Jones said.
After weighing her options and speaking to her counselor, she switched majors to Interpretation. Eventually, that led her to switch again into Deaf Education.
Jones came to Perrysburg High School to observe a former American Sign Language Teacher. PHS Principal, Dr. Michael Short, contacted her when the position opened up, knowing that she was pursuing a career in Deaf Education.
As Jones was still in college at the time, she could not accept the interview. After she graduated, she remembered Dr. Short’s offer and emailed him about possible open positions. There was indeed an opening, she interviewed, and the rest is history.
She lived in Bluffton, Ohio from pre-kindergarten to graduation. Her family life is small but very close. She often visits her grandmother and grandfather. In fact, she received 2 of her 3 cats, named Lola and Levi, after her grandparents’ cat had kittens.
Outside of the life of education, she is just like anybody else. Her time is spent cooking tasty chicken recipes off of the Tasty App with her boyfriend.
Jones confesses she’s an “avid cat lover and an avid coffee drinker.” Today’s pop music is her genre of choice – Kesha being her favorite artist – and at home, she can be caught watching HGTV and Food Network.
Jones is not only our newest American Sign Language teacher, but she is a wonderful person. Her final words of the interview are those of hope for the incoming American Sign Language Students: “ASL is such a fun and close-knit community and when you get in the class, we start to get closer… ASL is kind-of something that you can come in and feel comfortable and really enjoy learning.”
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