Houston attorney bites the dust in 'Survivor' premiere

12:37 PM CST on Friday, February 18, 2005

From 11 News Staff Reports

Click to watch CBS interview with Jolanda Jones

Twenty castaways who are trying to outwit, outplay and outlast each other on the new "Survivor: Palau" saw some twists in the series premiere Thursday night.

CBS

Jolanda Jones has been a survivor from the time she was a child.

But this version of the reality show is very different. Two of the castaways were sent home almost before the show even started after neither tribe chose them to be a member.

So that left 18, one of whom is a lawyer from Houston.

While things started great for Jolanda Jones, they didn't end that way. The 39-year-old was sent packing during the show's first tribal council of the season.

Those who know Jones weren't surprised that she took on a leadership role and wasn't afraid to speak her mind.

Jones is a familiar face in Houston. She's been at the side of activist Quanel X, represented the mother in a baby case against a State rep, and represented a client embroiled in Houston's DNA lab controversy.

This isn't the first time Jones has faced adversity.

She 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 attended Alief Elsik High School where she was an All-American in both track and field and basketball.

While attending the University of Houston, 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.

She earned her law degree from UH Law Center.

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 only five months of training proved too much to overcome. 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 currently resides in Houston, with her 13-year-old son, Jiovanni.

You can watch "Survivor" every Thursday at 7 p.m. on CBS/Channel 11.