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JOLANDA's BIO as we first saw it on the
CBS Survivor Website: |
Jolanda "Jo" Jones
attended Alief Elsik High School in Houston, Texas,
where she graduated magna cum laude and was an
All-American in both track and field and basketball.
She is the only person to win the Texas State 5A
Team Championship as an individual. After high
school, Jones went on to graduate magna cum laude
with a degree in political science from the
University of
 Houston.
She served on numerous university and community
boards and organizations and was a member of the
student government. Jones was nominated by the
university for a Rhodes scholarship and received the
NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. In 1995, Jones
earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of
Houston Law Center. She is currently
self-employed as a lawyer/consultant/community
activist.
Jones was the 1989 US Track and Field Heptathlon
Champion and earned an unprecedented three NCAA
heptathlon championships. She was the runner-up for
SWC Female Athlete of the Decade for the 80s,
two-time Academic All-American while at the
University of Houston and a 1989 NCAA Top Six Award
winner.
An abusive relationship forced Jones to retire from
track and field for seven years. Despite the
odds, she resumed training while working part-time
as a corporate lawyer. Within three months,
she had qualified for the 1996 US Olympic Trials.
Unfortunately, her 19 year-old brother was murdered
two weeks before she was to compete. His death
and her meager five months of training proved too
much to overcome (although she did win the high jump
portion of the heptathlon and was in sixth place
after three events). After competing in three
events, she became severely dehydrated and was
forced to withdraw.
Such accomplishments have earned Jones a spot in the
Cougar Hall of Fame at the University of Houston
Athletic/Alumni Center. She was inducted into
the GTE (Verizon) Academic All-America Hall of Fame
in 1999. She was inducted into the Texas Black
Hall of Fame in 2003.
Jones largely credits her success to her tumultuous
childhood. When she was 13 months old, her
father committed suicide while she was in the room.
Her mother had four more children, and Jones became
their primary caretaker while their mother worked.
There were times when the family went without water,
electricity or heat. When Jones was a
teenager, their rented house burned down due to the
use of candles in place of electricity. Two of
her uncles committed suicide, her aunt was murdered
and various members of her family are in prison and
on welfare. Jones credits her criticizing
mother and supportive grandmother for teaching her
to be the best and stand up for the poor and
disenfranchised.
Jones' niece died of SIDS in 2000.
Consequently, she sits on the board of the 501c(3)
named after her niece, the U'jana Conley Foundation
for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. She
also sits on the board of the Land Assemblage
Redevelopment Authority for the City of Houston.
Jones currently resides in Houston, with her son,
Jiovanni, age 13.
Jolanda
on
Survivor 10: |
Born:
11/6/65 |
Single,
Lawyen |
Houston,
TX |
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