COMMUNITY // Advocacy
JOY MATTHEWS - CEO & HBCU Advocate
by Dianna Donahue - Apr.01.2021
Multiple 2020 occurrences caused a spike in racial conscientiousness across the world that made many re-evaluate themselves and what they support. Inclusive of this was evaluating post-secondary educational institutions. As tensions and awareness increased in America, so did interest in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and subsequent enrollments. Forbes.com attributes this upswing to the presidential election, the racial justice movement, record-breaking donations given to many HBCUs, and historic firsts of noteworthy HBCU alums. Joy Matthews, a proud HBCU alum and advocate, is positioned to continue this momentum here in Arkansas.
BIRTH OF A CEO
This Pine Bluff native is a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and a member of the illustrious Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. She always wanted to be a CEO of a company but had never specified which type. In 2015, components of potential ideas would cross Joy’s mind, but the ones that stuck were always centered around children and HBCUs. The next step was figuring out how to create a company that would let her cater to both. With this target in mind, she began by building a business foundation based around her experience as an unprepared high school senior, thinking of pursing a college degree.
“As much as I grew to love UAPB, I never got a chance to experience the culture until I was a college student. Most people assume that if you live in a city where a college is that you grew up with full knowledge of it. Wrong! I just knew it was a college. I remember the day I found out what U-A-P-B stood for. I was in the 6th grade at Coleman Elementary and I saw it on a teacher’s shirt. It said, ‘University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff’ and I was like ‘Oh my gosh – that’s what that means!?’ And that was it. Knowing what an HBCU was, or that Pine Bluff had one, came much later!”
As the first person in her household to attend college, Joy was unaware of pre-entry preferences and requirements needed to enroll, such as applying for scholarships, taking the ACT exam, and choosing a field of study. Unfortunately, her high school resources did not give her much aid in this process as she only saw her counselor for class scheduling. As a result of these circumstances, Joy enrolled at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) blindly discovering how to navigate college. Today, she highly regards UAPB because they accepted her and offered everything that she needed to change her ill-prepared circumstances to further her education, as HBCUs are known to do.
This Pine Bluff native is a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and a member of the illustrious Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. She always wanted to be a CEO of a company but had never specified which type. In 2015, components of potential ideas would cross Joy’s mind, but the ones that stuck were always centered around children and HBCUs. The next step was figuring out how to create a company that would let her cater to both. With this target in mind, she began by building a business foundation based around her experience as an unprepared high school senior, thinking of pursing a college degree.
“As much as I grew to love UAPB, I never got a chance to experience the culture until I was a college student. Most people assume that if you live in a city where a college is that you grew up with full knowledge of it. Wrong! I just knew it was a college. I remember the day I found out what U-A-P-B stood for. I was in the 6th grade at Coleman Elementary and I saw it on a teacher’s shirt. It said, ‘University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff’ and I was like ‘Oh my gosh – that’s what that means!?’ And that was it. Knowing what an HBCU was, or that Pine Bluff had one, came much later!”
As the first person in her household to attend college, Joy was unaware of pre-entry preferences and requirements needed to enroll, such as applying for scholarships, taking the ACT exam, and choosing a field of study. Unfortunately, her high school resources did not give her much aid in this process as she only saw her counselor for class scheduling. As a result of these circumstances, Joy enrolled at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) blindly discovering how to navigate college. Today, she highly regards UAPB because they accepted her and offered everything that she needed to change her ill-prepared circumstances to further her education, as HBCUs are known to do.
A MOTHER PAVING THE WAY
During her senior year at UAPB, she gave birth to her son, Bryson M. Hardin, who became a UAPB baby. He participated in many of UAPB’s activities allotted for children, attended most games and campus events, and was exposed to the college and HBCU culture from birth. As Joy reflected on this, she realized that Bryson had acquired more exposure to college during his early phase of adolescence than she ever had. She wanted to provide similar exposure to other children to help to avoid her high school experiences. It was from these two contrasting perspectives, that The HBCU Kid™ company was created.
Joy’s company serves to promote Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the country and educate adolescents, prospective and current students, alumni, and families of their existence. This includes educating them on the challenges, opportunities, and achievements surrounding them; the historic elements that their culture is based upon, the preservation of traditions, their importance to Black educational advancement, and its 180+ year lineage.
This effort started with the creation of The HBCU Kid™ apparel aimed to visually saturate areas with the term “HBCU”, similar to how black sitcoms like “A Different World” did through their HBCU brand recognition through their apparel. Joy added the second component of her brand, HBCU College Tours, used to connect visual HBCU identity with HBCU experience. These tours provide prospective students and their families an opportunity to visit an HBCU campus to learn about its facilities, student life, the culture of the campus, academic opportunities, and the programs offered. This component received tremendous interest and support from across the country. Her 2019 tour consisted of 50 students – 20 from California, 4 from Connecticut, and a few from Chicago and Texas, and they all flew to Arkansas to be a part of this experience.
“A lot of parents can’t take off work…or they can’t afford to take their child on a tour – especially out of state. Some don’t know what to do to even start the process, but they still want their child to have that experience. If I can take that stress off of them and stand in their place, I’m willing to do that. That’s community and how We support each other. That’s what it’s about.”
Joy’s company serves to promote Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the country and educate adolescents, prospective and current students, alumni, and families of their existence. This includes educating them on the challenges, opportunities, and achievements surrounding them; the historic elements that their culture is based upon, the preservation of traditions, their importance to Black educational advancement, and its 180+ year lineage.
This effort started with the creation of The HBCU Kid™ apparel aimed to visually saturate areas with the term “HBCU”, similar to how black sitcoms like “A Different World” did through their HBCU brand recognition through their apparel. Joy added the second component of her brand, HBCU College Tours, used to connect visual HBCU identity with HBCU experience. These tours provide prospective students and their families an opportunity to visit an HBCU campus to learn about its facilities, student life, the culture of the campus, academic opportunities, and the programs offered. This component received tremendous interest and support from across the country. Her 2019 tour consisted of 50 students – 20 from California, 4 from Connecticut, and a few from Chicago and Texas, and they all flew to Arkansas to be a part of this experience.
“A lot of parents can’t take off work…or they can’t afford to take their child on a tour – especially out of state. Some don’t know what to do to even start the process, but they still want their child to have that experience. If I can take that stress off of them and stand in their place, I’m willing to do that. That’s community and how We support each other. That’s what it’s about.”
MOVING FORWARD
Although COVID-19 derailed her brand’s normal interaction and operations, Joy continues to provide information on The HBCU Kid’s social media platforms, including scholarship information and a virtual college tour in partnership with HBCU Chicago Alliance. She is preparing to relaunch her brand’s college tours with fewer students and extensive safety precautions in summer 2021.
In the meantime, Joy is currently promoting The HBCU Kid™ $500 Book Scholarship – the latest component to the brand’s umbrella. This scholarship will be awarded to two graduating seniors with active, consistent community service history intending to enroll in an HBCU. Applicants must:
Additionally, the applicant’s applications must be completed in full and all statements and essays must be typed.
The deadline to apply is May 1st, 2021. Complete applications must be mailed to:
The HBCU Kid
P.O. Box 21831
Little Rock, AR 72221
Aside from the book scholarship, The HBCU Kid™ resources are available for all rising 5th-grade to senior high school students to participate. For more information, go to www.TheHBCUKid.com or follow on all social media platforms at @TheHBCUKid. You can also request that this information be shared with your child’s school counselor by emailing thehbcukid@gmail.com.
Although COVID-19 derailed her brand’s normal interaction and operations, Joy continues to provide information on The HBCU Kid’s social media platforms, including scholarship information and a virtual college tour in partnership with HBCU Chicago Alliance. She is preparing to relaunch her brand’s college tours with fewer students and extensive safety precautions in summer 2021.
In the meantime, Joy is currently promoting The HBCU Kid™ $500 Book Scholarship – the latest component to the brand’s umbrella. This scholarship will be awarded to two graduating seniors with active, consistent community service history intending to enroll in an HBCU. Applicants must:
- be a graduating senior
- maintain a 2.3 GPA
- provide a sealed copy of their latest transcript
- have counselor recommendation form completed to verify overall GPA
Additionally, the applicant’s applications must be completed in full and all statements and essays must be typed.
The deadline to apply is May 1st, 2021. Complete applications must be mailed to:
The HBCU Kid
P.O. Box 21831
Little Rock, AR 72221
Aside from the book scholarship, The HBCU Kid™ resources are available for all rising 5th-grade to senior high school students to participate. For more information, go to www.TheHBCUKid.com or follow on all social media platforms at @TheHBCUKid. You can also request that this information be shared with your child’s school counselor by emailing thehbcukid@gmail.com.
Unless otherwise stated, photos are shot by Dianna Donahue
source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2021/01/02/four-reasons-why-2020-was-the-year-of-the-hbcu/?sh=5bd4a11314f5
source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2021/01/02/four-reasons-why-2020-was-the-year-of-the-hbcu/?sh=5bd4a11314f5
