Ben Jones (1997) – Across the Generations
Posted on September 18, 2025
As part of Year 10’s Creativity Activity Service (CAS) Day on 11 August 2025, five alumni volunteered to be interviewed by students wanting to develop their interview techniques. The conversations flowed, and all enjoyed learning more about the School across the generations.
Ben Jones (1997) on his time as a student at The Friends’ School
By Alexander Swain (2027)
The Friends’ School promotes a very different perspective on schooling and teaches students to be more than an individual and teaches the importance of community within a schooling environment. The school’s motto is reflected through all of the students which have attended this school, through conveying how “No one is born for self alone”. This quote displays that by being more educated upon our differences we can learn more about ourselves and accept how people are different. Ben Jones, an old scholar, who pursued the career of geology, stated that Friends’ taught him how to be a better person morally and mentally, teaching him the significance of the Friends’ school’s ideologies. Throughout high school, he followed his passion in science and arrived at the University of Tasmania, wanting to chase his goal of positively impacting the Tasmanian environment. This passion came through his love of the Tasmanian bush as he grew up in Richmond, a rural town half an hour outside central Hobart. He wanted to pursue environmental science however things didn’t go to plan during his first year of university and instead he found himself studying geology, and finding a new passion for this field. His life has been deeply affected by the Friends’ community and he continues to appreciate all of the qualities which Friends gave him to thrive in society.
Ben enjoyed his time at Friends’ and stated that it taught him “the importance of differences. It didn’t matter who you were, or where you were from”. Ben discussed how the Quaker beliefs shaped him as a person, developing him into a better human by “appreciating what he has”. To him, geology was not separate from his beliefs – it was connected. He believed that by helping the Earth he was contributing to the Friends’ community and continuing to fulfil his role in Earth care. He was not a preacher nor a politician, but a man who was deeply rooted in his beliefs of respect, equality, and understanding. He appreciated everything that he had been taught throughout his schooling at Friends’ and continues to want the best for this school. His beliefs were simple but they carried weight. His words made me realise how lucky I am to go to such an incredible school which offers such a diverse number of opportunities for me to excel into the future in schooling and life.
