“I joke that first comes graduation and then the Mac wall…for some that may even be reversed,” Trevor Jones said.
Trevor Jones is the campuses number one photographer and manages to capture the small moment’s students didn’t even know needed to be photographed. Those feelings are precisely what the Mac wall photos show off.
Ohio Northern shows off the diversity of its small campus through candid action shots of students competing in multiple different events, studying in the library or event laughing with friends on the tundra. It has become an honor to have your photo pop up each semester on the walls lining McIntosh Center, to students it means you have made it as a true polar bear.
The origin of the large photos on the walls is elusive, but it is known that previous ONU First Lady Toby Baker is the one to come up with the idea to celebrate the students on campus in such a unique way.
Each semester students fill the Mac hallways in search of their face or even their friends hanging up on the wall. Joe Dunay an avid student photographer on Ohio Northern’s campus appreciated the work Trevor does.
“When I first started doing photography it was hard to know if people would really appreciate the shots I was taking or the work I was doing. Being able to see all these amazing candids of students on the wall makes me excited to do something like that one day,” said Dunay.
Another student Thomas Vlasek explained how it feels each semester to know he could be up on the Mac wall.
“Everytime new photos go up I get so excited. What if it is finally my year? I honestly do think I will come back after I graduate and check in to see if I’ve ever made it. You never know, it is like a little piece of ONU fame,” said Vlasek.
None of this would be possible without Trevor Jones putting in the work to create amazing photos to hang on the wall. Jones’ collection of photos continues to grow and grow as each semester passes by.
Jones has spent the last four years working for ONU to create a story through photos of the events that happen on campus. For the amount of incredible work he has done for this campus, Jones is not as well known as you’d think. He is indeed the man behind the camera.
“I love to tell the story that I got into photography because my Brother graduated and they [my parents] wanted to keep me busy, so they got me a camera. I took all these annoying pictures from weird angles, and people got the photos back and were like ‘ Ok so these are kind of interesting,’ and I realized I could get attention for this. I was really excited about that and it was fun. I have been in love with it my entire life,” Jones said
Jones graduated from Ohio University in 2001 with a photojournalism degree and a love for newspapers. After his graduation, he hopped around from Southwest Indiana, Zanesville and even Coshocton, Ohio papers. Until one-day ONU showed up on a job search and he decided to give it a try.
Once Jones got to ONU, he fell in love with the campus and the people just like a prospective student.
“Everyone was just fantastic when I got here, that is one of the greatest things about my job now. It is not difficult to make pictures with someone. Everyone is so willing to help. They are willing to tear apart everything and help you out whenever possible,” Jones said.
With so many events given to him from ONU Jones gets to attend everything a student usually would like mud volleyball and even sorority bid days. These events gave Jones the chance to live alongside the current 2018 graduating class and experience what the ONU student experience would have been like.
This commencement will be special because I get to see those seniors graduate and go off into the world to make it a better place. Each homecoming it’s like ‘oh you’re back’ and ‘oh you’re back’ and the more time you spend, the more attached you get to these people,”
Jones will be here showcasing polar bear pride for the foreseeable future as he gets to work every day doing what he loves on this campus. Look out for him in the odd places on campus like the top of the new engineering building or hidden in the trees for the best shots.
I always encourage people to come back for alumni events because there is ALWAYS a chance to make it on the Mac wall,”