Small-town roots help ZCHS grad make Forbes 30 Under 30 list
By Ann Marie Shambaugh
For the past several years, Nooka Jones has embraced the grandiosity of New York City, from savoring international cuisine at will to commuting everywhere without a car. He loves living in the nation’s biggest city, but he’s quick to acknowledge that his small town roots played a major role in helping him achieve a prestigious national honor.
Earlier this month, Nooka, 26, was named to the Forbes 2015 30 Under 30 list, an annual compilation that recognizes the country’s up-and-coming leaders in 20 categories. Jones is on the Marketing and Advertising list; other honorees this year include actress Emma Stone, NFL quarterback Joe Flacco and musician Iggy Azalea.
A 2006 Zionsville Community High School graduate, Jones is a marketing manager for Google Creative Lab, where he promotes the designs, new products and initiatives. He said he felt honored by the recognition and overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from family and friends.
“I’ve received a lot of praise from a lot of people and a lot of congratulations,” Jones said. “People I had lost touch with, especially in Zionsville, have reached out and said some kind words.”
From Zionsville to New York City
Born James Nicholas Jones, the young Zionsville resident adopted the nickname “Nooka” after a family friend invented the moniker during a visit to a lake cabin. The name stuck as Jones advanced through the Zionsville Community School system.
His years at ZCHS played a key role in setting Jones on the road to success in his work and personal life, he said.
“There are specific people I can point to from high school in particular that really helped shape my work ethic and provide a great role model for how to act professionally,” Jones said.
One of those people is Aaron Coates, a Zionsville Community High School teacher who directed Jones in choir, music and drama programs. He remembers his former student as bright, personable, creative and extremely perceptive.
“He was able to flourish under really loose guidelines and make something really cool, which speaks to his creativity,” Coates said. “He would work and spend hours to get it just right, which is probably one of the reasons he is where he is.”
After graduating from high school, Jones attended Boston University to major in communications. It was there that he began building and designing websites to market specific school programs. He also helped launch a division within a student-run ad agency, gaining valuable experience along the way.
By the time he graduated, Jones had discovered that he enjoyed living in a big city and jumped at the chance to move to New York City when offered an internship there. The digital agency hired him full time after only four weeks. Three years later, he became a freelancer for Google and accepted a full time position there in mid-2014.
Loving his work
A typical day at the office for Jones includes plenty of meetings and collaboration with workers from many of Google’s divisions, including Google X and Google Glass. He works with the other marketing managers in the Google Creative Lab “to remind people what they love about Google,” he said.
Although he’s achieved great success in his short career, Jones has even bigger ambitions for the future. He hopes to one day launch his own business that combines his expertise in marketing and technology with his love of music. He hopes the accolade from Forbes will make it easier for that dream to become a reality.
“[The honor] validates my hard work. It shows that I’ve tried to redefine myself and my skill set,” he said. “If I want to ever have my own company, maybe this will provide more liquidity, or investors might be more interested in investing in me because I’ve been a part of something like this.”
For now, Jones is happy to continue his work at Google. He plans to remain in New York City long term while returning to Zionsville two or three times a year to visit family and friends.
“Mostly, I want to keep enjoying coming to work every day,” he said.
Nooka’s other job
When he’s not at the Google Creative Lab, Nooka Jones can often be found at parties around New York City working as a DJ. He got into the profession as a teenager in Zionsville and continued to develop his style through a college station radio show, an internship in London and through a music collective called Percussion Lab.
Jones enjoys both the strategic challenges he faces at his day job and the opportunity to let his creative juices flow at night.
“They really balance each other out,” he said. “I have outlets for two different parts of my brain.”
All About Nooka
Favorite pastime: Playing records. I started doing this at age 14 and I haven’t stopped.
Favorite restaurant: Traders Point Creamery
Favorite color: Blue
Birthplace: Methodist Hospital, Indianapolis, Ind.
Favorite vacation location: Hawaii
What kind of car do you drive: None. I ride a custom-made Origin 8 bicycle
Most DVR’d TV show: The X-Files
Favorite quote: “Be here now.”
Early morning riser or night owl? Night owl on weekends, early riser on weekdays.
