Education

USVI Olympic Sprinter Laverne Jones Talks To Students On Sports, Life

ST. CROIX -- As part of her quest to give back to the community that nurtured her, four-time V.I. Olympic star sprinter Laverne Jones shared her story of overcoming the odds to become a successful Olympic athlete in presentations to students at John H. Woodson and Arthur A. Richards junior high schools on Monday, the Department of Education has announced. Ms. Jones, a native of Frederiksted, visited the schools while in the Territory attending the V.I. Track & Field Championships on St. Thomas in preparation for her fifth Olympic appearance in Tokyo in 2020. During the hour-long presentations at the schools, Ms. Jones, who is the most Olympiad athlete from the Virgin Islands and who holds the title as the sixth fastest woman in the history of the 60-meter dash, offered students insights on being successful on and off the field, as well as the importance of having character, integrity and discipline, D.O.E. said. Ms. Jones attended Claude O. Markoe Elementary School and Arthur Richards...