StM News

Jordan Stone ’05

Belle Johnson Scholar
Attended StM 6th – 12th grades
LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center, J.D.
Vassar College, B.A.

When you think back to your days at St. Martin’s, what first comes to mind? 

The foundational thing is that I was really academically challenged there. I had faculty and teachers who wanted to see me grow as a person and scholar. One of my biggest faculty influences was Chuck Rivet and his government and civics class. He drove home the fact that this is how our government works, but it is not necessarily the ideal or only way; he called for students to think about how we could engage in the political process. Looking back, it was an influential class for me in terms of getting me politically and civically engaged. 

Also, Edie Long, the college counselor, had me consider schools that I didn’t know anything about, frankly. Vassar wasn’t even on my radar, but her willingness to sit down and discuss my fit at so many places was huge for me. Vassar was a great fit; she made a huge impact on my life. 

How did St. Martin’s and its Episcopal tradition shape the person you are today? 

St. Martin’s opened my mind to hearing new perspectives and helped me better understand how to grow and learn from those differences. St. Martin’s emphasis on learning while serving was also a key part of that. It taught me to become part of whatever community I was in, however large or small, and find a way to give back to that community by working on things that both serve that place and provide you with personal or spiritual fulfillment.

How did you feel when you graduated from St. Martin’s, and went to Vassar?

Moving to New York by myself was certainly challenging. It’s funny how unprepared I was for that first winter! My mom gave me money for a jacket, and I bought a fleece! 

But the one thing that I look back on about my time at St. Martin’s, and which I cannot overstate the value of, is how advanced I was in writing versus my peers at Vassar. It is one of the things that set me up for success in life. I remember our English teachers, especially Eileen Beckman and Michelle Scandurro, really sat down with us and taught us how to improve our writing. I also should mention Mary Quinet and her Hobbes and Locke paper that we had to write! Learning that type of structured writing was so helpful because you’re not having to learn all of that in college, while also taking on and digesting much more challenging reading. I remember the number of times in high school thinking, “Ugh, we have another five-paragraph essay to write,” but even in my job now, I write advocacy/policy documents for Leidos (pronounced like the middle of kaleidoscope) and the ability to write a succinct document that is digestible is hugely helpful.  

Also, the environment that St. Martin’s provides where teachers are approachable and engaged translated very well over to Vassar, which is a very small school. That allowed for an easy transition for me because I felt like I could walk up to my professors and ask the questions I needed, and had the expectation that someone would help me. That was huge for me. 

What first attracted you to the field of law, and did you always have an interest in government and politics? 

A lot of it was pretty serendipitous. I knew I wanted to make an impact in some way, and really had to figure out the most productive way for me to do that. At StM, I participated in Speech and Debate classes and competitions, and that kind of structured discussion really spoke to me. I guess there was always a lawyer inside of me! At Vassar, I moved into traditional organizing and advocacy, a lot of issue-based campaigns, and got involved in student government. I moved to Portland, Maine and to Chicago after college to continue organizing and advocating for social justice issues. During that time, though, I lost two grandparents and frankly that job was simply not paying me enough to fully enjoy living in Chicago. Jobs weren’t easy to come by during the Recession, so I decided to go back home to attend law school. 

When I got to LSU, I took a lot of civil rights classes and clerked for the Southern Poverty Law Center. I was helping with cases that dealt with education disability and conditions of confinement litigation. The big case that I worked on there was against Orleans Parish Prison. I spent a lot of time talking to people awaiting trial, and what I saw and heard there changed my life. It was incredibly impactful. 

After law school, I clerked for Judge Paul Bonin at the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal. During that time he really allowed my creativity in that space to grow and ultimately I was able to work on a series of opinions that dealt with post-conviction relief, which ended up getting cited and quoted by the U.S. Supreme Court. 

Now I’m in DC, and I’ve been here for nearly ten years. It’s a place that is both stagnant and ever-moving! As I mentioned, I work for Leidos now but before that I worked as a professional staffer on the Senate Appropriations Committee and as a lobbyist for the freight railroads. During my time with the railroads, I became “about a foot wide and a mile deep.” I was very, very specialized in my lobbying efforts, but working with Leidos has kind of pivoted that, and has allowed for me to become a bit of a generalist again.

I’m the head of government affairs for Leidos’ civil sector, which is a nice term for everything but defense and health. My main focus is still transportation, but I’d say I’m now a mile wide and one foot deep! I oversee Leidos’ advocacy strategy and policy development for programs under the Departments of Transportation, Energy, State, Homeland Security, Treasury, and Housing and Urban Development, as well as NASA and NOAA contracts. I'm really all over the place, which is nice because it allows for me to be perpetually learning, which is something that I really value.

You consistently give back to St. Martin’s and are a strong supporter of the school. Why do you feel it is important to pay it forward and support your alma mater? 

As a Belle Johnson Scholar, I look back at my time at St. Martin’s and think how grateful I am that St. Martin’s made that investment in me. St. Martin’s made me realize that a lot of things in life were possible. I learned to enjoy being challenged and growing from that. It really provided a foundational perspective for my life. And I want to make sure that an institution like that has the support it needs to continue to help people. 

St. Martin’s changed my life significantly, and I really do appreciate this school. I’ve been blessed to have the ability to give and I think if I have that ability, I should.

Finally, what advice do you have for our students, particularly those preparing for college?

First and foremost, make the most of the free time that you have. You should always try new things, and never stop having fun with what you’re trying. Whether it’s a job or a major, if it isn’t enjoyable and it isn’t speaking to you as a person, try something new. There are too many people and too much is happening in this world for you not to feel connected to something or someone somewhere. Keep looking until you find it. 

Lastly, don’t let mistakes define you. Make sure that you grow and learn from them and try your best not to repeat them!