Homeless student's story inspires outpouring of help for struggling SMU students - The Dallas Morning News

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Joie Lew was just trying to survive her first year in college when she sat down to take her calculus final in the cramped motel room she shared with her divorced parents.

But soon after she started the test, notifications were blowing up her phone and sounding off in the background of her computer.

How can we help? Do you need a place to live? Groceries?

That morning The Dallas Morning News profiled Lew in a story describing how the pandemic made life even more chaotic for the homeless Southern Methodist University freshman. She lost her stable living arrangement when dorms shut down; her parents could no longer work; and she was draining her college savings to cover necessities.

After her story went public, friends, strangers and an army of alumni rallied to raise thousands of dollars for her as other efforts to support struggling SMU students also took off.

“I feel like three 18-wheeler trucks have been lifted off my shoulders,” Lew said. “My entire body was physically in pain. I never felt that insane in my life as I was trying to figure out how I could take care of my parents and continue school… I felt like the world had completely done a 180 on me.”

Lew, who grew up in Coppell in a working-class family, worked various jobs in high school to save for SMU. She quickly became a student leader at the university, volunteering through various organizations and serving as the student senator to represent lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students.

But then COVID-19 began to spread, and the private university didn’t allow students to return to campus after spring break when classes moved online.

Lew and her parents settled into a two-bed motel unit. They were already struggling financially -- her mother is a hairstylist and her dad an Uber driver -- but both lost what little income they did have when the pandemic set in.

Lew was able to continue her on-campus job, but that didn’t cover all of the family’s bills. She was quickly depleting her savings.

“There’s so much uncertainty,” she told The News. “I don’t know how I’m going to make it to next month let alone next semester.”

Joie Lew, who just finished her freshman year at Southern Methodist University, wasn't sure if she would be able to return in the fall because the coronavirus pandemic took a toll on her family financially as she suddenly became the sole provider. Then supporters quickly rallied to not only support her but other struggling SMU students.(Jeffrey McWhorter / Special Contributor)

Hundreds of miles away, just outside of Port Arthur, SMU alum Payton Keith read the story and was struck by Lew’s determination to attend and succeed at the university. Once the two spoke on the phone, he was even more impressed with her dedication to help others.

“She said SMU was a dream opportunity for her and that just really struck a chord with me,” said Keith, a 2009 graduate who works in the energy industry. “Having gone to SMU, it was a transformational place for me. And Joie is exactly the type of student who makes SMU great.”

Keith also connected with SMU officials to see what fellow Mustangs could do to help other students facing financial difficulties during this unprecedented time.

Just days before Lew’s story went public on May 12, the university had created a new Presidential Fund for Immediate Needs specifically to help students suddenly facing hardships in paying for tuition and fees because their finances changed during the pandemic.

Many of those who supported Lew ended up donating to the new fund -- from $5 gifts to those in the six figures, said Brad Cheves, vice president for development and external affairs.

Donations have also come in for an existing student emergency fund. That SMU relief fund usually awards a few small grants each year to help students with non-academic needs, such as one-time help covering rent or for a car repair.

But since the coronavirus hit, the fund has received more than 100 applications with nearly $67,000 awarded to students.

“Joie is emblematic of what many students are facing,” Cheves said. “She highlighted in a profound way what COVID has done in a very short amount of time: that overnight you had low-income families become no-income families; that the resources families planned on to send their students to college were suddenly gone.”

Lew -- who wants to triple major in political science, public policy and economics -- is overwhelmed by the support she’s seen ranging from childhood friends she had lost touch with to strangers across the country. One SMU alum ended up hiring Lew to work as an assistant in his Dallas law firm.

Challenges remain for the 18-year-old, whose family is still struggling to find a permanent home. But she can breathe easier knowing she’ll be able to continue school.

Already she’s working with alumni groups and the student senate to help other students stay in school during this chaotic pandemic through scholarships or other projects.

For example, in a thank you video to supporters, she’s encouraged others to donate to The Shop at SMU, which provides food and other basic necessities to students in need.

“You can’t change the cards you’re dealt, but you can find a way to make it work even if it’s tiring and even if it definitely sucks sometimes,” she said. “You just have to keep going and make the world a better place where you can.”

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Homeless student's story inspires outpouring of help for struggling SMU students - The Dallas Morning News
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