For some people, college feels like an insurmountable challenge. Dylan Jones ’16 has a message for them:
“You are good enough,” he said. “You can really surprise yourself and go a long way when you just try and believe in yourself.”
That message couldn’t be more personal for Jones, whose educational journey took him from GED to Ph.D. He is now a biologist working in the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention in the Environmental Fate and Effects Division of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
“If I can do it, anyone can do it,” Jones said, “and that is something I tell people all the time.”
Early in high school in his hometown of Bassett, Virginia, Jones fell into a pattern of destructive behavior that caused him to completely abandon school. Shortly after he turned 18, he was involved in a car accident that served as a sobering wake-up call. With his parents’ support, he quickly earned his GED.
As a first-generation college student, Jones wasn’t sure where to go from there. He signed up for classes at Patrick & Henry Community College (PHCC), where he found a strong support system and a love of learning.
“I recommend community college to everybody,” he said. “It is financially a smart move, and I don’t come from a financially prosperous background. It makes college accessible for people of all different economic backgrounds. Community is something they emphasize so much, and I can’t express how much it meant to me.”
Growing up in rural Virginia, Jones enjoyed exploring and playing in the woods, learning about flora and fauna, and watching National Geographic and Animal Planet. At PHCC, that spark of childhood interest was fanned into a flame, and when he sought to transfer to a four-year college, he knew he wanted to study biology.
Jones thought he wanted to attend a large, public university, but during a visit to one school, he said, he felt “like a number.” A friend convinced him to give Roanoke College a look. “When I went to Roanoke College, it felt similar to Patrick & Henry, where I felt like it was already a community, and I felt supported and seen,” he said. “I could be Dylan, and people cared about me as an individual.”
At Roanoke, Jones enjoyed classes and research with professors such as Marilee Ramesh, Rachel Collins and Michael Wise. He participated in the Outdoor Adventures club and was a student liaison for Feeding America. Those classes and experiences, he said, helped him narrow down and cultivate a path into graduate school. Another mentor, Professor Chris Lassiter, helped him navigate the graduate school application process.
After Roanoke, Jones earned a master’s in biology with a concentration in ecology and evolution from Montclair State University. There, he studied the impact of pollutants on amphibian populations, specifically focusing on the effects of road salt on wood frog behavior. He went on to Binghamton University, where he researched gall and parasitoid wasp communities in the context of species invasions and climate change, completing the doctoral program and earning a Ph.D. in biology.
“Every step of the way, I never knew what was going to be next,” he said. “In my doctoral program, I started thinking more about a career that has a real-world impact, and that’s what ended up leading me to the EPA.”
Jones began his job with the EPA just one month after earning his doctorate. In his work, he helps determine whether chemicals are safe for human and wildlife health. “I cannot stress enough how happy I am. In the division I’m in, everyone is passionate about what they do, and people care about the impact they’re making,” he said.
Jones gets a little emotional when he thinks back to his lost teenage self. The fact that he has come so far, he said, can be attributed to the education he’s received and the people he’s encountered along the way.
“I never thought I would be where I am today,” he said. “Small-town high school dropouts don’t usually get their doctorate, so I am just extremely grateful to everyone who has played a role in helping me to pursue my dreams. It really has meant a lot to me.”
“You are good enough. You can really surprise yourself and go a long way when you just try and believe in yourself.”
Dylan Jones '16
Bridget Gautieri ’16 was recently ordained as a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and she just started a dream job as coordinator of the ELCA Wittenberg Center in Wittenberg, Germany.
When Gautieri connects the dots of her undergraduate interests, it forms a straight line that points to her new position. Her degree in religious studies speaks to her long-held plans to become a minister, her interest in the German language drew her to Germany, and a concentration in business leadership has positioned her to lead the center.
“It is because of my studies at Roanoke that I found my passion for ministry, justice and cultural competency,” Gautieri said.
As a freshman at Roanoke, she spent two weeks in Geneva, Switzerland, and Taizé, France, on a trip designed for young adults involved in the ELCA. There, she learned about Christian organizations around the world and spent time in a Catholic Christian commune. When she was a junior, she spent a semester abroad in Bavaria, where she studied at The Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt as part of the International Student Exchange Program.
During seminary at United Lutheran Seminary in Philadelphia, Gautieri studied for one semester in Leipzig, Germany, which kept her love of the language alive. Following graduation from seminary, she decided to delay her ordination for three years so she could teach English in Leipzig. When she was ordained on Aug. 12, 2023, it was at her hometown congregation, Calvary Lutheran Church in Cranford, New Jersey.
Now, as coordinator of the Wittenberg Center, Gautieri’s job is to build relationships in Wittenberg to help connect the Lutheran Church in Germany to the U.S. church. She will also plan a few faith-based seminars per year and encourage American Lutherans to visit Wittenberg.
Gautieri hopes to connect with Roanoke College students through the Leipzig Program in Germany – and someday make it back to Salem to visit her alma mater. She is grateful to mentors at Roanoke who helped her along the way: Rev. Paul Henrickson, Chaplain Chris Bowen and professors James Ogier, Melanie Trexler and Paul Hinlicky.
Joe Schrantz ’95 recently retired from the U.S. Marine Corps, having attained the rank of colonel. Schrantz received a degree in business administration at Roanoke, where he was a captain on the basketball team. He was commissioned as a Marine officer in 1998. After graduation from Roanoke, he attended Seton Hall Law School, earning his juris doctor in May 1999. He was designated a Marine Judge Advocate in 2000.
Schrantz served in a variety of assignments during his almost 25 years of service, including multiple combat deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan; in the Office of the Legal Counsel to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; as Staff Judge Advocate for Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command; as a commanding officer in the Marine Corps Embassy Security Group; and in numerous billets at Headquarters Marine Corps in the Pentagon. He is married to the former Jennifer Rutledge of Kilmarnock, Virginia, who was a Marine helicopter pilot (CH-46) and retired from the Marine Corps in 2022 after 23 years of service. They have three children, Danny, Grayson and Haley.
Schrantz is now vice president of business development at Dauntless Discovery, a global leader in providing eDiscovery services to the legal profession.
“The Icefall Doctor,” a film by Sean Burch ’92, has won an award for best film in the mountains, sports and adventure category of Festival Gorniskega Filma, Slovenia’s largest film festival. The film tells the story of original “icefall doctor” Ang Nima Sherpa, who held the most dangerous job on earth: preparing the ascent route through the Khumbu Icefall so that climbers can attempt to summit Mount Everest. Burch, who studied history at Roanoke, is an award-winning filmmaker, explorer and conservationist who holds eight world records. Read more about him and his films at seanburch.com.
Do you have news to share with fellow Roanoke College alumni? Whether it's a career update or family news, we would love to hear from you! Please email us at rcmagazine@roanoke.edu.