Alexis Jones-I Am That Girl

Alexis Jones paid a school visit this week to talk to our middle school girls and present her program, I am That Girl. Alexis is a graduate of Westlake High School and the University of Southern California where she received a Bachelor’s in International Studies and Spanish and a Master’s in Communication. She achieved fame and celebrity status as a contestant on Survivor Micronesia.

There is no better way to get into a teenager’s head than with celebrity. This olive-skinned beauty with tons of hair and a bold personality, radiates confidence and competence from the get go. Her message is simple. As a teenager, you might think, if I just have these clothes…if I just lived here…if I just had this boyfriend…if I just had these friends…I would be happy. Through a series of slides and the telling of her personal story, she explains to the girls, that she had it all, and she still wasn’t happy. It took her mother telling her over the phone when she called her up crying, “You know what your problem is? You are a consumer, not a contributor.” So began Alexis’s journey into helping others.

She hatched the idea for her motivational speaking tour aimed at teenage girls in graduate school at USC’s School of Communications. She auditioned for Survivor strategically to have a public platform from which to launch her I Am That Girl Company. Not surprising, this package of beauty, brains and brawn was chosen as a contestant, despite the fact that she applied 2.5 months past the application deadline.

Midpoint during her talk she begins shedding some of the trappings of beauty…her designer shoes, her diamond earrings, her expensive watch. As she transforms herself visually into a plainclothes, makeup-free beautiful version of herself, she explains how Survivor changed her life, how it forced her to appreciate and discover her inner strengths—her compassion, her work ethic, her resilience, her authenticity and integrity.

When Alexis finished speaking, all the girls stood in ovation, and crowded around her like the rock star she is. One can only hope all the twelve, thirteen and fourteen-year-olds took away a message of values- compassion, work ethic, authenticity and resilience. But it’s hard not to be impressed by Alexis’s worldly value. More than a few are girls are probably making audition tapes now…plotting their entrée into Beverly Hills and reality tv. And I know a few of us educators were left thinking…if I just had that hair…if I just had that figure…if I just had that skin…if I just had her youth…as we fought our way through the crowded hallways off to help some wayward youth.