Jazmin Jones experienced many triumphs as a member of the Washington State soccer team.
Today, as a nursing assistant and mental health specialist at
Seattle Children's Hospital, the successes are not measured by the results of beating an opponent on the scoreboard, but in the recovery of patients who beat an unseen foe.
"We had several patients that I have worked with who tested positive for coronavirus," Jones said, taking a rare break from her busy schedule to talk on the phone. "With our pediatric population, it's been really great to see how resilient and strong they are. We are proud to be able to be able to say we've been able to help them get through that."
Jones, who
played soccer for the Cougars from 2014-16, graduated from WSU with a bachelor's degree in psychology. She has returned to school, balancing working at Seattle Children's while pursuing a nursing degree at Seattle Central College.Â
"I've always loved working with kids so working at Seattle's Children's is a dream," she said.Â
Jones' initial interest in health care began at an early age and observing her mom, a clinical psychologist, and her work with individuals who have mental health illnesses.Â
As Jones says, if you had told her 15 years ago that she would be in nursing school she would have laughed.
"I used to hate blood," she said. "I couldn't handle anything like that.
"But as I got older it became very apparent that I am great with people and I have this natural nurturing side," she explained. "I loved health care and I loved medicine. Once I started working in health care it all came together. It's been a new journey."
The journey has taken an unprecedented detour with COVID-19.
"When the COVID-19 pandemic started I think a lot of people in health care were in limbo not knowing exactly what we were going to face," she said. "The severity of it has been earthshaking to everyone in the medical field."
The challenges have been daunting. As Jones said, "It is a hard time right now for everybody."
Seattle Children's has
limited the number of visitors to parents or primary caregivers in the building to maintain social distancing guidelines.Â
As Jones explains, for patients, "being in a hospital is difficult to begin with and that is magnified when they cannot see friends or other family members. We treat kids in crisis who are experiencing mental health illness, behavioral issues on top of treating kids who have coronavirus symptoms."
Seattle's Children's has dealt with that by
facilitating video chats with loved ones.
"The video chats have been really helpful," Jones explains. "That is what a lot of children need to feel supported and it's really hard to not have that support system, especially for kids long term. Our staff has done a really great job having a lot of empathy for patients knowing they don't have the same level of support in the room as before."
In addition to limiting visitors, there are daily screening tests for all who enter the building, including staff.
"They'll take your temperature, they'll ask you if you have any symptoms," Jones said. "They do the same thing with parents visiting. We have daily screening with patients to make sure that they're safe. It's a lot of new protocols that we are implementing to make sure we are on top of it."
Member of the soccer team
The Pacific Northwest is home for Jones, from Gig Harbor, Wash. After graduating from Gig Harbor High School she decided to move to Miami to play soccer at Florida International University.
"The complete opposite side of the country," she said.
"I don't think I realized how far away that was until I was there," Jones said. Â "I thought, 'I don't have any family or friends.' It was really challenging for me."
Jones decided to transfer and return to the Pacific Northwest, making her home at WSU. After redshirting the 2014 season she played two seasons for the Cougars, reaching the NCAA Tournament as a redshirt junior in 2015.
"I just wanted to be closer to home to have my family being able to see me to play soccer to have that small college town feel, which is what exactly what Pullman is."
When asked what her favorite memory was during her time at WSU, Jones takes a moment and reflects back on the final game of her senior year.Â
"My family was in town and all the seniors families were in town," she said. "After the game we went to The Coug and had a lot of fun reminiscing."
And as Jones looks back on her time at WSU, there is nothing but fondness of her time in Pullman.
"It ended up being the best decision I ever made," Jones said of coming to WSU. "I look back at my years at WSU and think so strongly of it. I had a lot of great experiences and I wouldn't change it for anything. I am very happy that I am a Coug.
"Being a Coug is about one big family," Jones continued. "It is the coolest thing to be a part of. Every time you go back to Pullman you have an instant grin on your face. It has shaped me in ways that I never would have imagined it would have. Going forward in my life I am so proud to be a part of the Coug family."
 All on a team
Just as when she was a member of the Cougar soccer team, Jones is now a member of another team pursuing a common goal.
"I'm in awe of the doctors, nurses, therapists, everyone who is working high volume patient load of COVID-19 positive patients," she said. "They are doing very difficult work."
At the end of the conversation, Jones had one more thing to say.
"We are experiencing what no one has experienced in my lifetime, at least. For me, it's all about learning and growing and rising to the occasion when being asked to. I would just say we all need to stick together. I know it's really hard to stay home. I will be the first one to admit it. But it is for the greater good.Â
"We are all a team. All supporting each other. We're all in this together."
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