De'Andre Jones to Be Honored with National Award

Director of Alumni Engagement De’Andre Jones, M.Ed. ’18, is being honored as the recipient of the 2024 Mena Valdez Outstanding Mid-Level Professional Award. Presented by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) Latinx/a/o Knowledge Community (LKC), the award is given to an outstanding professional in student affairs and services with at least five years of full-time experience in the student affairs field. Recipients of the award have been involved with NASPA and the Latinx/a/o Knowledge Community and have enhanced the Latinx/a/o community at their institution.

A graduate of the Student Development Administration program in the College of Education, Jones will be celebrated during NASPA’s national conference in Seattle this March. He is the only honoree from Washington state to be recognized this year across all of the Mena Valdez award categories.  

“Receiving this award affirms the value and impact of the education I received from the SDA program and represents my commitment to the profession of higher education and student affairs,” says Jones. “I am grateful for the mentorship and support I have received over the years from colleagues—locally and nationally. As a queer, first-generation, Afro-Latino, I am humbled by this recognition and look forward to what the future holds.”