Tiyacca Simms Jones loves higher ed. She’s a triple VCU grad, earning her bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate in education while working full time on campus. And she’s not done yet: She’s currently hard at work on a Ph.D. in education leadership, social justice and policy. “My family has always supported my education … At this point they just ask "What's the next degree?" she jokes.
Tiyacca has been with VCU for 19 years total now, and serves as the associate director of psychology advising and graduate academic operations. Read more to learn about Tiyacca’s position and about her life outside of VCU.
What does your workday usually look like?
It fluctuates between the seasons. Right now, we are knee deep in graduation certifications so the last couple of weeks I’ve been reviewing graduation applications, processing some waivers, meeting with students if they have questions around graduation, completing Student Action Forms (SAF) if we have registration issues. Our office does registration surveillance or check-in meetings with students to make sure they have registered for the appropriate courses.
Also, I meet with my first-year graduate students, the first year cohort. I check in with them to see how they’re landing during their first year, connect them to any resources and help them navigate grad school better. I also do a “preparing for graduate school” seminar series, so I’m preparing for that.
What’s your favorite part of your job?
My students are the favorite part about my job, hands down. I love helping them navigate graduate school, connecting them to resources and watching them thrive. I know it can feel overwhelming and I hope to be to them what Dr. Jackson and Dr. Ferguson [Tiyacca’s educational mentors] were to me.
What’s your favorite thing about Richmond or VCU?
I grew up in Richmond. I went to Richmond Public Schools. I’m a southern girl, so there’s not a lot I don’t love about my home city. I grew up here, so food, culture, my family’s all here.
Tell me about your family.
I have two sons and a daughter. My daughter, who I affectionately call “mini me,” is very interested in psychology and attending VCU. In fact, she and her best friend attended a psychology student event with me. She is taking dual enrollment psychology next year and hopes to gain some insight.
People in my department have been really awesome about reaching out to her and giving her connections. I absolutely love working with the people in the psychology department; we have a really great team. I honestly wish that everybody had this kind of working environment. I absolutely adore the chair, leadership, faculty—we’re just a great team.
What do you like to do for fun outside of work?
I’ve been a grad student for a really long time—I’m back in school again—so I don’t have a lot of free time. I’m a mom but my kids are older now, so my husband and I like to check out new wineries and new eateries. I’m a shoe fanatic and I probably own about 300 pairs of heels so I’m always shoe shopping.