JAYA JOYCE, a senior at Coventry High School, was honored by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards as one of the nation’s top youth volunteers for her work implementing an anti-bullying program called Unified Oakers. Joyce was awarded a $1,000 scholarship that will go toward her college education at Fordham University, where she will pursue a degree in entertainment law. She was also awarded $2,500 for donation to a nonprofit of her choice and an engraved silver medallion.
What was your reaction to being chosen as one of the nation’s top youth volunteers by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards? I was incredibly honored to receive this award, and I am extremely humbled to have been named the Rhode Island state honoree for the work I have done with the Unified movement that I co-founded at my school. I co-founded this movement to promote inclusion and to ensure that no students at my school feel alone.
How did you come up with the idea for your anti-bullying program? During my sophomore year of high school, I felt there was something missing in the culture of my school. At the beginning of my junior year, a couple of my friends and I decided to do something to change this and had the idea of creating a program similar to Best Buddies. After my school principal, Mrs. Brooke Macomber, got on board, we established that this program would not only target students with disabilities, rather it will focus on including all students. It was important to switch gears and focus on the inclusion of all because there are so many students in schools who feel as if they don’t belong.
What was your experience like being out of school during the coronavirus pandemic? Being out of school during the pandemic was extremely difficult, as I missed out on the end of my senior year. However, the administration and staff at Coventry High School have done a great job with distance learning and engaging all students. As for the Unified Oakers, we implemented activities to ensure that the movement continues to grow. I put together a TikTok video, asking any student who wanted to take part in it to send me a clip to add in. This was a big hit and allowed many students to still feel a part of something, even though we were not able to physically be together.
How important is it to get involved with helping a cause or some aspect of a community? As a victim of bullying, I know firsthand the pain that it can inflict. However, I feel that my past experiences have gifted me with a passion for helping others, so that no one will ever have to feel the way I felt in those moments of pain. So, I believe it is extremely important to get involved with helping a cause or some aspect of a community, as your work can change the lives of others. As a result of the Unified Oakers, the culture of my school completely changed for the better, which is reflected in my school’s reduced incidents of bullying and an increase in the number of random acts of kindness that [are] witnessed among the student body.
