Track & Field Star Named NCAA Woman Of The Year

Jet, Nov 15, 1999

Jamila Demby, a track and field standout from the University of California-Davis, recently was named NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Woman of the Year for athletic, academic and community service achievements.

The 22-year-old was among 10 finalists, from a pool of 300 nominees, selected by a special committee of athletic administrators from NCAA member colleges and universities.

"This award means a lot to me because it's about everything I love to do," Demby said at a dinner ceremony at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in Indianapolis. "I love to run track, I love school and I love working with kids."

Demby, who is scheduled to graduate in December, won numerous track and field awards during her collegiate career. She was an indoor track and field All-America selection in the 1,600-meter relay in 1998 and 1999, and an All-America in the 800 from 1996-99.

In addition to her stellar performance on the track, Demby, who is majoring in rhetoric and communication, has a 3.06 grade-point average and is on her school's honor roll. She also was awarded the university's Outstanding Senior Leadership Award in 1999 for her community service.

Demby volunteered as a Special Olympics coach, instructed disabled youth in track events at the ACT Games and junior high students at the Jacobs Track Clinic in California, and she participated in food and clothing drives and organized an event at Shriner's Hospital.

"I don't know where to go from here," she said after she received the esteemed Woman of the Year honor. "I can't ask for anything more than this."