Student ‘Not Defined by Circumstance’

Despite family’s struggle with homelessness, senior Asianna Joyce’s positive spirit helps her overcome adversity.

January 14, 2014

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Asianna Joyce is a senior in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences.

By Julyssa Lopez

The first thing people tend to notice about Columbian College senior Asianna Joyce is her bubbly disposition. She chatters enthusiastically, a wide smile spread across her face. Her boundless energy is obvious when she describes all the different activities she has been involved in at the George Washington University: the Black Student Union, Active Minds, Word Up! Bible Study, WRGW Radio and Positivity Mentoring, a student organization she founded last year. She just completed a news internship at Fox 5 and is gearing up to start working as a program intern for BET this spring.

The lively psychology major and journalism minor is also the recipient of myriad accolades and scholarships, including a recent Emerging Impact Recognition award from the Black Alumni Association and an endowment from the Ron Howard Student Assistance Fund.

Ms. Joyce describes herself as an ambitious student who dreams big, but there’s one thing that motivates her more than anything else: She and her family have been homeless for more than three years.

While interning at Fox 5 last semester, Ms. Joyce shared her story with one of her supervisors.  The woman was stunned.

“She said to me, ‘You’re a story. You’re a motivation. You’re so positive, yet you’re going through so much,’” said Ms. Joyce, adding that Fox 5 shot a news segment on campus over the holidays focusing on how she has been able to turn her difficult situation into a rich learning experience.

Ms. Joyce lost her home just two months before she moved into her GW residence hall in 2010. One of 14 children, she was living with six of her siblings and her mother at the time. She and her sisters heard shouts outside their bedroom one morning and found their lives had completely changed.

“We were awoken by U.S. marshals instructing us to pack up our things,” Ms. Joyce recalled. “I saw my mom in a corner, on the verge of tears. I was panicking and thinking, ‘What do I do? What do I bring?’”

Her mother had been receiving government assistance to help pay for Section 8 housing, or low-income rental housing, in Northeast Washington, D.C. After an issue filing a housing document, Ms. Joyce’s mother fell behind on rent, and the family was evicted. Since then, they have shuttled back and forth between motels and the homes of friends and relatives, moving more than eight times in the last three and a half years. They have been denied from shelters repeatedly because the family is too large.

When she settled into her GW residence hall room in fall 2010, Ms. Joyce was overcome with relief. A nearly full ride to the university afforded her a place of her own. Still, her freshman year was rough. She found it hard to reconcile being away from her family and frequently would leave campus to visit her siblings. Her attitude was depressed and often withdrawn.

“I felt bad because here I was, sleeping in my own bed, while they were sleeping on floors and worrying about people kicking them out. I felt a responsibility for them,” Ms. Joyce said.

However, Ms. Joyce realized she could only set an example for her siblings by accomplishing her goals and not letting difficulties at home deter her from professional ambitions. She began focusing on her spirituality and deepening her relationship to prayer. Positivity became something of a mantra for her, and it sparked the idea behind Positivity Mentoring, a mentorship group that pairs GW undergraduates with middle school students from D.C. public schools. Ms. Joyce said she understands firsthand the power of mentoring: She herself was paired with a mentor through a nonprofit when she was six years old, and she wanted to create a similar experience for kids in D.C.

“We teach them about self-esteem and academics, and we bring them on campus and give them tours,” Ms. Joyce said. “Our goal is to bring out the child’s full potential and give them confidence in their learning abilities. The driving force behind it is that no one is defined by their circumstance.”

As Ms. Joyce became more confident through her leadership experiences, she began opening up and sharing her story. President Steven Knapp met with her during her junior year and made her aware that she was eligible for several funds and endowments. University officials also provided her with several resources and programs to increase her housing aid.

“Every time I reached out, GW was there for me,” she said. “I feel like GW has been a parent who held out their hand and gave me what I needed and prepared me for when I’ll go my own way. They’ve helped me personally, professionally and academically.”

Ms. Joyce graduates this May and said she hopes to help her family find permanent housing once she lands a job.

“We’re still going through this struggle—it’s been so hard to navigate the housing system and there’s a lot of false hope sometimes. But all of this just pushes me more. It’s all motivation for me to keep working,” she said.

She said professors have provided her with career advice, and internships she’s had through the GW Center for Career Services have taught her how to engage with professionals. She cites Oprah as one of her heroes and said she one day wants to combine her media and psychology experience to inspire people across the country.

“Media has such a powerful impact on society, and it has a huge voice—people listen. The images stick. I want to do something that changes people’s lives and spreads the message that you can be something. I want people to know that you can bloom beyond your circumstance.”