Educated here, employed here, gives here: NaTasha Jones ’06 ’14MPA ’14MNM
On UCF Day of Giving, Thursday, April 9, 2026, Want to Launch Knights to New Heights just like NaTasha Jones? Make your gift to support the UCF Center for Autism and Related Disabilities.
A Door Opens
NaTasha Jones ’06 ’14MPA ’14MNM didn’t spend months weighing college options or touring campuses. She chose UCF for a simpler reason: the application was free.
At a high school college fair, UCF representatives were waiving application fees. For a student navigating the process largely on her own, it felt like an opportunity she couldn’t pass up.
“It was free,” Jones says with a laugh. “So I applied.”
What began as a practical decision would become something much more meaningful.
After applying to UCF on a whim, Jones discovered there was so much to love about the campus, its traditions and her many friends.
College had always been part of the plan. Raised in an Air Force family, Jones spent part of her childhood in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before moving to Florida as a teenager. Her mother, who attended college but did not graduate, set expectations early.
“She always told me, ‘You’re going to college.’ That wasn’t a question.”
Just as influential was the sense of community that surrounded her growing up. In her neighborhood, people showed up for one another. Families shared what they had, stepped in when help was needed and looked out for each other’s children.
“It was the kind of place where everybody helped everybody,” Jones says. “People showed up for each other.”
That understanding of community — not as a place, but as something people actively build — would stay with her.
Finding Her Path
Her path to UCF took a few turns. Drawn to the historically Black college experience she had seen portrayed on television, Jones began her college career at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach before transferring to UCF, where she found her academic footing.
Like many students balancing ambition with financial reality, she worked throughout college. She held a work-study position in UCF’s foreign language lab and took on evening and weekend shifts at call centers, restaurants and retail stores across Orlando.
After initially enrolling in the radio-television program, she realized it wasn’t the right fit. Encouraged by a mentor to consider a more versatile path, she pivoted to English — a decision that strengthened her communication skills and kept her on track to graduate.
A Turning Point
After graduating in 2006, Jones expected her path to unfold one way. Instead, about a year later, everything shifted.
Her son, Shomari, was diagnosed with autism — a moment that reshaped both her personal life and her professional direction.
“It changed what I thought my path was going to look like,” Jones says.
Searching for answers led her back to UCF, this time not as a student, but as a parent. Through the Center for Autism & Related Disabilities, Jones found guidance, resources and a community that helped her better understand how to support her son.
“When you’re trying to understand what your child needs and what support is out there, having people who can help you navigate that makes a huge difference,” she says.
That experience became a turning point.
Through her connection to CARD, Jones became involved with Princeton House Charter School, first as a parent volunteer and eventually as a staff member. Working closely with children and families navigating similar experiences, she began to see her future differently.
Being in that environment clarified her purpose — and what it would take to pursue it.
Purpose Becomes Profession
Jones returned to UCF to continue her education, earning both her Master of Public Administration and Master of Nonprofit Management degrees. As part of that next step, she needed an internship, which led her to UCP of Central Florida.
What followed was one of the most formative chapters of her career.
Over seven years at UCP, Jones worked closely with children and families navigating developmental disabilities. The work was deeply meaningful, shaped by both professional commitment and personal experience.
Eventually, she returned to UCF in a new capacity — bringing her journey full circle. Today, Jones serves as director of donor relations for UCF Advancement & Partnerships, helping connect philanthropic support to programs that change lives.
Giving Forward
UCF represents multiple chapters of her story: the place where she earned her degrees, the place where she built her career and the place that once supported her family during a critical moment.
It is also a place she chooses to support.
Jones gives to programs at UCF, including CARD — investing in the same resources that once helped her navigate unfamiliar territory.
“When something has made a difference in your life, you want to help make sure it’s there for someone else,” she says.
On UCF Day of Giving, supporters have the opportunity to do exactly that — to invest in programs like the Center for Autism & Related Disabilities that provide guidance, connection and support for families across Central Florida.
Holding the Door Open
Looking back, Jones sees her journey not as a straight line, but as a series of moments that revealed their purpose over time.
A college application filled out on a whim.
A path that shifted in ways she never expected.
A son who changed how she understood the work she was meant to do.
And beneath it all, a belief shaped long before she arrived at UCF — that communities grow stronger when people show up for one another.
Today, through her work and her giving, Jones is doing exactly that.
Years ago, a waived application fee opened the door for her.
Now, she is helping hold that door open for others.
