EWU Student Vocalist Welcomed New Citizens

With abundant Eagle pride, Za’Kayla Jones, a first-year student in psychology, sang the national anthem for 102 new U.S. citizens at their Oct. 24 naturalization ceremony.

The ceremony, held at the Shriners Event Center in Spokane, was one of three conducted by the U.S. District Court of Eastern Washington during the month of October.

During the program, a district court judge swore in those participating with an Oath of Allegiance before they listened to Jones’ rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner,” for the first time, as citizens of the United States.

“It meant so much to me to sing at this ceremony,” says Jones. “In the past, I’ve been afraid to put myself out there, but it felt like I accomplished so much by singing at this event. To have these people who fought so hard to be American citizens here listening to me sing the anthem, it felt like I’d really done something right.”

Even as a first-year student just starting out in EWU’s choir and vocal classes, Jones’ talent was quickly recognizable, says Jody Graves, director of music. Graves invited Jones to perform at the naturalization ceremony just weeks after classes began.

“And according to all reports, she performed beautifully,” says Graves.

With such powerful vocal chops, most would think the 18 year old has been singing since childhood. But Jones, a New Jersey native, did not begin vocal classes until she moved to Spokane five years ago.

“I never took vocal lessons as a child,” Jones says. “I sang at church and at birthday parties for fun. But it wasn’t until high school that I really got involved in choir.”

Za’Kayla Jones singing at the U.S. District Court of Eastern Washington. — Za’Kayla Jones sang for 102 new citizens during a naturalization ceremony at U.S. District Court of Eastern Washington.

At Ferris High School in Spokane, Jones joined the choir and was selected for advanced choir in her junior and senior years. She competed at the state choir competition both as part of an ensemble and as a soloist.

“My junior year of high school, I was asked to sing the national anthem at games and I fell in love with it,” says Jones. “After that, I was singing at almost every home game between basketball, football and volleyball.”

Shortly after arriving at Eastern, Jones auditioned to sing the national anthem at home football games. She was selected to sing at the Oct. 19 Homecoming game at Roos Field.

Jones also sings the national anthem at the Spokane Indians minor league baseball games. Her ultimate goal, she says, is to sing the anthem at professional sporting events.

“I don’t always feel like there are many people of color who sing the national anthem,” says Jones. “So I think it’s important for people to see me as an African American woman singing the anthem.”

For Jones, using her voice to make a difference is paramount. Whether it be welcoming naturalized citizens or through her coursework in her psychology major, Jones is dedicated to making change.

“If I see something missing that shouldn’t be, I’m the type of person who wants to step in and fix it,” says Jones.

In the future, she hopes to use her psychology degree to become a high school counselor.

“I know a lot of people who didn’t have a good experience with school counselors,” says Jones. “I want to be the counselor I didn’t see—especially for students of color.”

In the meantime, Jones plans to embrace all the opportunities she can at EWU — especially when it comes to singing the national anthem.