Tiffany Jones: it's worth the struggle
Chris Pepple |
Home: a place to live; an environment offering security; a place where one’s roots are. Many freshmen experience anxiety at the beginning of their college careers as they leave home for the first time. For sophomore Tiffany Jones, however, coming to Lipscomb meant finding a home rather than leaving one. Before coming to campus, Jones knew the insecurity and distress created by homelessness.
“My Mom was a single parent for a long time. I had six brothers and sisters, and we struggled just to make it,” said Jones, originally from Memphis, Tenn. To say they struggled seems an understatement. Jones’ mother had dreams for her family. She built a house in Horn Lake, Miss., and moved her family into what should have been a place for new beginnings.
“We had a reality check when my Mom couldn’t make the house payments,” said Jones, a nursing major. “We went from having a house of our own to being homeless. I had to find a way to keep going to school and act like everything was fine. I stayed in school in Mississippi even while we were moving around and without a place to stay.
“My mother took us back to Memphis and eventually found us a small apartment, but she couldn’t pay rent and utilities. One year we went all summer without utilities on.”
When her mother took a job as a truck driver, Jones was left to care for five of her siblings. She took a job as a waitress during her high school years and helped pay family expenses. During her senior year, she also worked in her school’s counseling office. Through that job, a counselor met Jones and saw her potential. The counselor recommended that Jones apply to private colleges and helped her locate scholarships.
“The counselor wanted me to stay grounded and find ways to make my hopes come true. When I first heard about Lipscomb University, I was sold on the idea of coming here. I was able to do a road trip to Nashville with a friend and her Mom. When I saw the campus and saw Johnson Hall, I felt like this was for me. The financial aid office helped me get my paperwork done and I received a Hope scholarship. I knew I had to come here.”
Jones remembers the day she left Memphis. Her younger siblings were crying, not understanding her choice to leave them. She considered changing her mind, but knew that a college degree could change her life and leave footprints for her siblings to follow. She arrived on campus with five dollars to her name and no job set up. Once on campus, she realized she had lost her Hope scholarship because she had graduated from a Mississippi school.
“I went to the financial aid office and asked if there was any way I could start classes. They helped me apply for other aid, but I still thought I might have to pack my bags and leave.”
Jones received enough financial aid to allow her to begin classes, but not enough to purchase books and supplies. For weeks, she studied by using library books and borrowed books, taking advantage of any opportunity she could to get her homework done.
“I was determined not to give up. I had read a book called The Ditchdigger’s Daughters by Dr. Yvonne Thornton. Her parents raised six daughters and taught them how to achieve their dreams. One part of the book said to ask for help if you needed it, and don’t be afraid to ask the person at the top.
“I went back to financial aid and I also wrote President Lowry. When he responded by e-mail, I was able to tell him that things were working out. I had gotten a job and gotten books. I was paying off any other money I owed on a monthly payment plan. The financial aid office has helped me find outside scholarships to assist me, and I received an A.L.L. scholarship. It has been a blessing to be able to stay here. It is worth the struggle. By depending on God, I can accept the struggle.”
Jones stays in close contact with her family. On her visits with them, she still sees their daily struggles to keep their home together. She remembers the fear caused by homelessness. She remembers living in places with houses being condemned nearby.
“I have never seen an attitude of why me or expectations from others. Tiffany puts her dependence on God and puts high expectation on herself,” said Linda Hardeman (‘DLHS, ’71). Linda and Greg Hardeman (’74) met Jones after she spoke at a Lipscomb University board dinner. They have stayed in contact with her and helped her overcome hurdles such as getting a driver’s license and finding a place to stay over college breaks. “Tiffany is able to see the positive in any situation. She has an attitude of gratitude.”
“Our Mom did the best she could,” said Jones, “but our generation can do better. You don’t have to succumb to the street life. You can change your life. I am.”