Meet Shayla Jones, an honors student and senior who will graduate in May 2027 with a major in sociology and a minor in criminal justice. Originally from McKinney, Texas, Shayla chose to attend Texas State University to challenge herself by navigating a larger academic environment after being homeschooled. While adjusting to such a drastic change was not easy, she took advantage of every opportunity to make the most of her college experience.

During her time at Texas State, Shayla has broadened her worldview and expanded her knowledge by studying abroad twice. She studied spanish in Cuenca, Spain, during the summer of 2025 and sociology/stratification in Puerto Rico during the summer of 2026. During her junior year, Shayla had the opportunity to serve as the president of the True Crime Collective, an organization built around a shared interest in crime and investigation. Continuing her commitment to leadership, Shayla currently serves as the secretary of the Black Pre-Law Association. In this position, she aims to expand her knowledge of the law while making a positive impact on fellow black pre-law students.

During her junior year, Shayla participated in the Sociology Department’s Student Opportunity for Applied Research (SOAR) program at Texas State, where she conducted research on youth mental health and well-being under the guidance of two sociology professors. Through this experience, the team used their findings to create the Bobcat Annual Student Survey (BASS), which allowed more than 400 Texas State students to share their thoughts and opinions about current events and new developments at the university. This information will allow Texas State University to better analyze students’ wants and needs while helping guide future campus developments.

Throughout her college career, Shayla has remained committed to academic excellence. Through hard work and dedication, she has maintained a 4.0 GPA, earning recognition on both the Dean’s List and President’s List for six consecutive semesters. Sharing her academic accomplishments and extracurricular involvement has also helped Shayla earn over $10,000 in scholarships for which she is sincerely grateful.

While Shayla has accomplished so much during her college years, she plans to continue thriving after graduating with her bachelor’s degree by pursuing law school and becoming a civil rights lawyer.

Shayla’s word of advice: