Welcome to GT-AE, Class of 2019 - and all of your returning classmates. 

Right about now, you are probably wondering how hard you should push yourself in the coming year(s). We thought it was a good time to introduce you to an alumnus, Christopher Jones, whose success illustrates something every Yellow Jacket needs to know: it's not how hard you push yourself that matters. It's how wisely.

After earning his undergraduate degree from GT-AE in 1986, Christopher Jones went on to earn two masters degrees and a doctorate. He also built a successful career in the Air Force, and climbed to the top at Northrop Grumman, where he now serves as the corporate vice president and president of technical services

Through it all, Jones  remained keenly aware of the importance of people, hard work, and planning for a future that will reflect his values, not his resume. He maintained close ties with people from virtually every chapter of his life -  from the high school basketball court to the corporate board room. And this retired lieutenant

colonel still sends his former military unit notes when they come back from deployments.

“Everyone’s different about that,” he said. “For me, I know, that maintaining relationships with decent people is important. At some point, it won’t matter what your job was or what you’ve done. It will be the people who know you. That’s what will matter.”

We asked Chris Jones to share five lessons that have helped him build a life that matters.

1. There is no substitute for internal motivation. You’ve got to identify yours and then work it.

“At Tech, you needed to be motivated, because it was hard. I think it was easier to get in to Tech back then – and easier to get [kicked] out. For me, the motivation came from wanting to be an officer in the military. I applied to Tech because it had a good track record of supporting the military. But graduating from Tech wasn’t guaranteed.

For me, I was on a ROTC scholarship, so I knew from the beginning that I had to maintain a certain GPA and I had to graduate in four years. No room for failure or excuses. Those are the conditions of the scholarship. And without that scholarship, I knew there was no money for me to go to school. I kept those things in mind, and then, like anything worth doing in life, I persevered.”

2. Hard work can take you a lot of places.

“When I played intramural basketball at Georgia Tech, I was by no means the tallest or the fastest guy on the court. But you wouldn’t want me to guard you because I would wear you out.

That’s because I worked it hard. I left it all on the court. When the game was over – whether it was football or basketball or soccer – I was completely done.

There’s a sense of calm you get when you’ve given it your best shot. That’s how I tackled some of the toughest classes I had to take at Tech. That’s how I’ve learned to be a better leader.

At the same time, it’s important to balance yourself. You can’t work hard all the time. I knew that I couldn’t do everything at the same level of intensity at Tech. The science and engineering courses were too demanding. I chose electives that were a little easier so I could pace myself.”

3. Find people who are doing what you want to do. Then: do what they did to get there.

"I learned early on, through sports, to watch the best players – how they blocked, jumped, tackled and rebounded. That’s how you get better.

So when I got to Tech I immediately checked out the juniors and seniors who were doing well. I watched them – how they studied, what they did. Then I asked them questions – about what courses to take, what courses to avoid, when to punch out and when to stick with it. I joined as many study groups as I could. And then I worked as hard as I could.

I also watched some of my classmates join [groups] that partied a lot. Those were the students who dropped out. Now, I went to my share of parties, and I had a lot of fun at Tech. But I did not join those groups. I would get involved when they were doing an activity to benefit the community, but I didn’t ever join.”

4. Be humbled by your education at Georgia Tech. It will prepare you for success.

“When you come to Georgia Tech, you might think that you studied by yourself in high school and you did pretty well. You were the smartest kid there.

At Tech, you’ll see that you are not the smartest student and you will probably need help. That’s humbling. But once you’ve gotten rid of that chip on your shoulder, you’ll be stronger. You will be a better soldier, employee, executive, and leader.”

5. People matter. A lot.

“As you progress through your career, personnel skills and human dynamics become more important than your technical skills. Pay attention to this. Engineers need to be able to manage and understand people, because, in the end, it’s attracting and managing good people that will make your team successful.

Also, friendships are important. I’ve seen this at every stage of my career, maintaining good relationships with people from high school and college to the Air Force and other companies. All of these experiences matter and will make you a more competent leader.”