Stories by
By Paola Pérez
Drew Jones did not consider journalism as a career path until he was in his late 20s.
After family and friends witnessed Drew’s writing skills, they encouraged him to pursue journalism.
Recently, Drew, 30, learned that part of his family was involved in news coverage during one of the most volatile events in history: the Cuban War of Independence during the late 1890s.
Drew was born in New Jersey but was raised in his mother’s hometown of Houston. His paternal grandmother was Cuban.
“My aunt’s mom, grandparents and other family were journalists,” Drew said about working to find out more about his family. “It’s something I’m very curious about.”
Curiosity comes naturally to Drew, who said he is always eager to learn new things.
“When I’m talking to people, I really dig into the granular nuts and bolts of subjects,” he said, which revalidates his journalism.
Drew said politics was his true entry into journalism, but he went back to college in 2017 knowing that pursuing a different form of journalism was his main goal.
“I realized that I had a talent for writing, but also a huge interest in all of the issues that surround politics,” Drew said.
At the University of Houston, Drew studies print journalism and political science and will graduate this fall. He also served as the campus editor for digital news at the student-run news organization, The Daily Cougar.
Drew worked for the copy desk at The Houston Chronicle and later joined Houstonia magazine as an editorial intern.
In the summer of 2018, Drew was awarded ProPublica’s Diversity Scholarship and he was selected for ProPublica’s Emerging Reporters Program at the start of this year.
After The New York Times Student Journalism Institute, he is heading to the University of Missouri for a multimedia reporting internship through Newsy.
In the future, Drew wants to work on stories involving the digital divide or the uneven distribution of technology among people of color and in rural communities.
Gabriella N. Báez/NYT Institute