Sunday was a big day for Quintrele’ Jones, who was named to The Daily Iberian’s 2015-16 Best of the Teche Girls Soccer Team.

That was quite an honor for the senior goalkeeper who was a standout between the pipes for Catholic High School. I and, apparently, many other people affectionately called her “Q.” The striking thing about her was she always, always smiled before and after games.

Her day was even bigger than that in The Daily Iberian on Sunday.

I recognized her smile right away in another photo in the newspaper on Page A3. A large photo of her sitting on the porch at her residence was on top of a Weekend Profile feature story on Jones.

That was the rest of the story about the 18-year-old student-athlete who along with her family was driven out of Violet, which is near New Orleans, by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The Jones family relocated in New Iberia, where her father, Louis Jones, eventually found work at Frank’s Casing Crew and Rental Tools at the Port of Iberia.

Jones knows what it’s like to have nothing, which is what she had when she left the New Orleans area for the heart of the Teche Area. The personable young woman started a project at CHS and St. Edward School, which she attended before going to CHS, and immersed herself in “Teens for Jeans.”

She was inspired by DoSomething.org, a website designed to give young people ideas to spark social change.

Her idea was to pit the elementary school and the high school students against each other to see who could  donate the most jeans to needy people. She had 278 pairs of jeans in a matter of weeks and that clothing went to the Serenity Help Center, Safety Net for Abused Persons and the Iberia Homeless Shelter.

The goalie who helped the Lady Panthers steamroll all the way to the state semifinals in Division IV obviously cares about people and it shows in New Iberia. Naturally, she is in the Beta Club and Octagon Club, both deeply rooted in social service.

“I just like to light up someone’s day knowing they’re going to have a happy day. I know what it’s like to not have anything and always be so sad about it and everything. I just wanted one less thing on their mind,” she said.

With young adults in the area like Jones, the future is bright.

DON SHOOPMAN

SENIOR NEWS EDITOR