Janice Edythe makes a habit of living her dreams. You might remember reading about Janice Edythe in this very space, a few years ago. She is the remarkable young woman at The Home’s Somerville Village program who, after growing up watching Miss America pageants as a girl, bravely stepped onto the stage herself to compete in the 2021 Miss Massachusetts pageant. She did so not only to realize her childhood dream, but to use the platform to inspire other young women who have suffered abuse not to give up on theirs.
One year prior to the pageant, when she was 18, Janice Edythe left everything she knew to come to Somerville Village, our residential program for young women who are at risk for homelessness and driven to pursue higher education. She made the difficult decision to sever all ties with her physically and psychologically abusive family for a setting that would support her educational and professional goals. If she hadn’t, college wouldn’t have been a part of Janice Edythe’s future.
TOMORROW BEGINS TODAY
At Somerville Village, Janice Edythe found coaching and unwavering support from Home staff Maggie Gravely and Rehena Rana; they helped her build practical life skills and strive for previously unattainable goals. Janice Edythe completed high school at the top of her class and enrolled at Suffolk University, where she is majoring in business. In short time, another dream took flight: studying abroad. A summer trip to Spain fueled her curiosity about other cultures. “I wanted to go for the education and to grow personally and as a professional,” says Janice Edythe.
DREAMING NEW DREAMS
Maggie and Rehena fully backed the idea. They told her she can do it. “They not only support my education,” says Janice Edythe, “they encourage me to finish it and finish it strong!” Besides, continues Janice Edythe, “Somerville Village advocates for young women like me to have an opportunity to get an education in any shape, way or form.” France was her top choice, but, when she applied as a sophomore, she wasn’t accepted. Determined, Janice Edythe met with her advisor and the study abroad department and tried again— this time to Sweden. “I insisted,” says Janice Edythe, smiling brightly. “I thought if I have support at The Home, I’m not going to stop dreaming.” She was admitted and spent the spring of her junior year at Stockholm University School of Business.
EXPLORING NEW HORIZONS
In Sweden, Janice Edythe immersed herself in the culture, its diversity, food and music, engaged with locals and other international students, and marveled in the postcard-perfect scenery. She went skating and skiing after class and traveled by bus to Finland and by cruise ship to Estonia.
Janice Edythe wouldn’t call the semester easy, however. “It’s beautiful,” she reveals, “but it’s hard to be a new student in a new place with new people and challenges.” There are elements you can’t prepare for, like adapting to a new language and negotiating a foreign academic system and teaching styles—an education in and of itself. Janice Edythe’s time abroad expanded her worldview and opened her eyes to what she left behind. She cried when she returned to familiar terrain, she admits. “I was like, ‘Wow, I’m grateful to be back home. I’m grateful to be an American citizen with the opportunity of education and resources, like Somerville Village.’”
This May, Janice Edythe will graduate from Suffolk University with a degree in global business with a concentration in finance, and we can’t wait to see where the future takes her. “I see my education as a passport to a better life and to success,” says Janice Edythe. “Let’s stamp it and get it full!”
