With her mustard yellow pants, blue jean jacket and a determined look on her face, Joyce Smith is ready for anything life throws at her. A history lover and adamant reader of the “Wall Street Journal” since her freshman year in Baker High School, Joyce is simply fascinated by life.

Joyce knows that life isn’t just fun and filled with happy endings; her childhood was a clear indicator of why she thought like this. When she was younger, her grandmother had passed away, but it wasn’t easy on the rest of the family.

“When she was hurt, it hurt the whole family,” Joyce said. “The pain never stopped, and getting over it was hard.”

She learned that she had to get through life’s hurdles because there is a rainbow at the end of the rain.

However, experiences like these don’t define her. She is a successful student at a great school, where “everyone is a big family there because the teachers and students are very supportive.”

Joyce also participates in many activities, such as Forensics. Her passion for that has shown, as she was ranked sixth in the state for Extemporaneous Speech.

One of her career goals is to become a lawyer. She loves the oratorical aspect of it, and with her strong basis in forensics and public speech, it is no surprise. But simply having the skillset to do this isn’t why she wants to do it. “Just fighting for a side and justice prevailing” is what really motivates her.

Aside from the fact that she has a positive attitude of life and promising career goals, she also loves to enjoy life and relax. Her hobbies include running and reading. On the more creative side of her personality, Joyce enjoys doing pottery. She appreciates the fact that is hands on, and has depth to it rather than a flat piece of paper.

“You can actually use the things you make, instead of just hanging something up on a wall,” Joyce said.
Her favorite movies and books all have one thing in common: they portray life as it is, not as people want it to be. “Titanic” is an epic classic where not all of the characters make it to the end, and “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” tells the tale of a girl and her family living in a tenement and are struggling to get by.

“It really puts my life into perspective,” Joyce said. “My thinking becomes deeper and it makes me a more well-rounded person, reading about different people, so when I grow up I won’t be in the bubble of the world I know now — I want to be able to give back.”

Please note: The student name and high school name in the journalism piece have been altered to help preserve anonymity and confidentiality of the person.