Today we’d like to introduce you to Joi Light.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Joi. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’m originally from Detroit–a city that’s as tough it’s rumored to be. After graduating from high school, my parents encouraged me to go to school out-of-state but clearly out-of-state fees weren’t apart of the equation, so I started working two jobs while attending school. The more hours I picked up, the less I went to class. I moved back home, where I enrolled in EMT school and worked for years as a surgical tech. After being laid off, working in a call center was the easiest job to get.
Once I had my daughter in 2010, I immediately became serious about our future. I went back to school for my Associate’s degree and landed an internship at a local TV station while working full-time. The internship placed me in sales but I became friends with someone in production and mentioned my passion for creativity. A month later, I wrote a commercial, directed and conducted the casting for it.
Shortly after having my daughter, my mental health took a turn for the worse and I was diagnosed with anxiety. My mother was residing in Mississippi at the time and encouraged me to apply for a transfer scholarship that she heard about to Jackson State University. I certainly didn’t think they would give a 30 years old single mom a scholarship, but I got it–a full two-year academic scholarship. Classes were scheduled to start in just three weeks, so I took my daughter, left everything and everyone behind.
After graduating, an online publication released a detailed story about how I graduated in just one year with a small child while taking ten classes during my last semester, working part-time, completing another internship and graduating Summa Cum Laude with a 3.9 GPA–it was unheard of. I started receiving hundreds of messages from other moms trying to balance it all. I wanted to do more than answer their questions, I wanted to SHOW them how I do it. We moved to Atlanta, where I started my blog, itsjoitomyworld.com. It focuses on all things in my world, including my plethora of side-hustles (Uber/Lyft, influencer-brand partnerships, coffee mug designs, grocery delivery service and Amazon driver). I was working as an Account Executive and would spend HOURS after work learning about various editing software for photos and video, how to build my website and completed a social media certification program.
I started freelance writing for a variety of publications and landed a job as a Marketing Manager for a contractor with Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. I created a T-shirt design for a launch event that they ended up using for national celebrities that had Atlanta roots. My shirt has been seen on R&B singer, Monica, Rapper, Lil Jon, Jermaine Dupree and many others. So next time you’re riding up the giant escalator at the airport, look out for my shirt! At the end of November, I’ll be releasing my own t-shirt collection as well.
Last year, I was able to take all of those skills plus my experience and become the digital brand journalist for Georgia-Pacific’s internal communication team. Georgia-Pacific is a billion-dollar manufacturing company headquartered here in Atlanta and my job as the digital journalist is to find the best ways to tell their stories by using writing, photography and videography. I’m also on the team that oversees our newest internal influencer program.
I would highly recommend Georgia-Pacific for moms. They value my ideas and I never feel like I have to choose work over my kid.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
My full-time role as a digital brand journalist is continuously evolving, I’m expanding my product list on my site and still enjoying freelance writing. Right now, I’m focused on working smarter and not harder. I’m looking forward to growing my brand and continuing to be the best mom that I can be.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
There’s so many people that have helped me, including the ones that didn’t intend to with life lessons. However, my daughter is my biggest cheerleader and motivator. She’s my little partner in crime that rides these waves with me. The other person that deserves credit is my hometown Detroit. If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. Detroit created my work ethic and Atlanta has provided me with opportunities to show it off.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.itsjoitomyworld.com
- Email: itsjoitomyworld@gmail.com
- Instagram: @itsjoitomyworld
- Youtube: Itsjoitomyworld
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