An Interview with an Incoming Cardinal Newman Fellow

Anthony Jones is a graduate of University of Dallas, class of 2023. Coming originally from St. Louis, Anthony will be joining Catholic Institute of Technology as Cardinal Newman Fellow this fall.

Q: Briefly describe some of your background – where are you from, what was your undergraduate experience like, what experiences have you had since graduating? 

A: I grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and went to college at University of Dallas. I started as a STEM major, but then I took a few core classes in philosophy and I felt like philosophy was the end all be all. I switched to be a philosophy major with a minor in business and Italian. It was a great experience; with philosophy, you learn how to think and process things. It’s a way of thinking that most people are not taught anymore, but in it you learn how to be well-rounded, and to develop a deeper understanding of how to think. After graduation, I worked for a year at a finance firm, which of course was very different from college. I wanted to further my education but I didn’t know where to go, and then I heard about the Catholic Institute of Technology. 

Q: How did you hear about CatholicTech and what drew you there? What made you decide to accept the Fellowship? 

A: I heard from a friend who mentioned that there was a new university opening up, a place where STEM and the liberal arts would come together. I like STEM as well as the liberal arts; I started college with STEM, I loved it and now I’m back again! I accepted because I want to continue my education. When I took a job in business, I thought I would learn a lot from working in the business world. After a year, I felt like I had learned all that I could and it was time to move on and do something else, ready for a new challenge. I just want to learn more and more, and this program jumped out at me, so I felt like this is where I was supposed to go. This opportunity appeared in such a serendipitous way that I felt like it was a sign to do it. 
Q: What are some areas of research that interest you, and what program do you hope to major in CatholicTech?

A: I am pursuing the biology degree program at CatholicTech. My senior year at Dallas, we had a senior philosophy seminar on the philosophy of biology. We read both historical sources on biology, from Aristotle to modern times, to phenomenological studies of biology and science. We talked about what life is and how one species changes to another, how different species exist. This rekindled my interest in biology, in thinking how something so small can change so much, how when one protein changes its shape everything else is affected. My interest is in how species relate to one another, and how those changes result in new species, at a molecular and cellular level of biology. 

Q: How do you think the experiences you’ve had thus far will help you at CatholicTech, and will help you contribute to the mission of the University? 

A: People who have a liberal arts education have a different way of seeing the world, experiencing the world, and serving the world compared to others. This Fellowship will really help the Catholic Institute of Technology and the world beyond because it will position the liberal arts to the world of STEM. The STEM field has a lot of brilliant people already in it, but the whole vision of CatholicTech is to reintroduce the catholic scientist, which is really the liberal arts scientist, to the world. We have to learn how to think first and how to analyze things, and get a foundational view before you get into the sciences. Like any field of study, if you go too deep without a good foundation, you are going to get lost.

Q: What are you most looking forward to about life in Italy and on campus? Any clubs, hobbies, or activities that you would like to start on campus? 

A: I’m looking forward to the Roman nights – just sitting back, probably with a glass of wine, and getting to talk to people. I did that a lot when I studied in Rome with the University of Dallas. It’s a very pastoral experience to be able to just sit back and overlook the beauty of the area and engage in conversation, and I can’t wait to get back to that. In St. Louis, I’ve gotten into rock climbing, and in Dallas I got into frisbee, so that would be fun to bring to campus. I’m also interested in rowing, I just did a race from Kansas City to St. Charles, so I definitely want to bring some active life to campus.