EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — One of 10 children from a single-parent household here, Dominic Williams could have become a statistic. Instead, he works professionally in statistics.
As a boy, he’d escape the hell of his crime-infested community into a haven that was his heaven. Williams spent countless afternoons and summer days at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Community Center, where he’d play basketball and receive tutoring on schoolwork. And like the other precious and innocent children, he often interacted with the great Olympian herself.
When Williams was 16, Jackie helped pay for him to attend an education program at the University of Illinois. And she’d call each week to check in.
