In his sixth and final season playing football for University of Virginia and on the cusp of an NFL career, Perris Jones sustained a life-altering spine injury in a 2023 game against University of Louisville. Fortunately, the ex-running back recovered with full mobility with the help of UofL Health specialists. He miraculously walked out of UofL Health – Frazier Rehabilitation Institute center just three weeks later.
Now, the Charlottesville native is finding that his new life mission is calling him back to Louisville, this time to campus as a PhD student in UofL’s College of Education and Human Development.
“After rehab, it was a soul-searching moment for me,” said Jones. “I had to realize or redefine what my purpose was, and why I believe I was put here.”
A public speaking engagement at UofL Health – UofL Hospital about his journey back to wellness became a turning point for Jones. “The impact it had on the people I spoke to resonated with me and so I am continuing to pull that thread to see what happens,” he said.
Jones, who completed his master’s degree in educational psychology at University of Virginia, said after researching UofL’s PhD program in Educational Leadership and Organizational Development, he knew his next step and the right space to do it. Jones remembered how he and his family felt embraced by UofL Health and the local community.
“It spoke volumes about the type of city Louisville is,” said Jones. “This has been one of those rare moments that checked all the boxes – the community, people and academic pursuit were all exactly what I desired.”
Jones hopes to create a global non-profit working with kids from disadvantaged backgrounds, like the one where he grew up. “It was a very impoverished area with few opportunities for individuals in those spaces,” he said. “I always wanted to better understand the mental struggles and stresses and learn more about the trauma of my childhood. How would it be to pay that forward to the younger generation so they don’t have to face the same hurdles?”
A bit of a Renaissance man, Jones is not only a scholar and an athlete, but a writer and musician, as well. His memoir will be published in November, and in addition to beginning his new doctoral program at UofL, Jones plans to take on more speaking engagements to share his story. “I want to build upon that because I just feel like I have an opportunity to really impact a lot of people’s lives,” he said.
