Official CBS.com Survivor: Palau bio
page excerpts (1/26/05):
"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
(13). Her birth date is November 6, 1965."