We were lucky to catch up with Christal-Joy Turner recently and have shared our conversation below.
Christal-Joy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Crazy stuff happening is almost as certain as death and taxes – it’s technically “unexpected” but something unexpected happening is to be expected and so can you share a crazy story with our readers
The craziest thing that happened to the Bridge by H.O.P.E. Foundation, Inc. was the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic impacted everyone nationwide, but small businesses also took a major hit financially. For us, it was relatively difficult to operate in the same capacity that we were considering there were periods where the cities we operated in were shut down. So, it was a major adjustment to move all sessions virtually given the amount of students we service. We also do community service, so that had to stop during the pandemic as well until the world opened back up again. There was a quick moment of panic, but our Dallas or Houston teams really made it work. On a positive note, the pandemic also allowed our staff to be more flexible and come into their own mentally and professionally. I believe this was a time to be more reflective and focus on ourselves in a way that would also benefit our students holistically.
Christal-Joy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am an Aggie, Arlington native who is passionate about student success and matriculation. From a young age, I always had a passion for being involved, helping others, and giving back to her community through various platforms such as Girl Scouts, National Honor Society, and orchestra. While obtaining her Bachelors of Science in Psychology (minor in Neuroscience and Biomedical Science), My love for helping others grew to new lengths when she starting speaking to prospective students and their families with the Prospective Student Center (PSC) at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. I ended up integrated her love of basketball with education when she became an assistant coach for an AAU basketball team in the local Bryan/College Station Community and showed them the benefits of getting to and through college.
By the time I graduated from Texas A&M University in 2015, I had served on many organization executive boards, planned numerous conferences dedicated to helping students from underrepresented areas, rechartered a collegiate chapter of a national organization, and impacted the lives of several students she encountered. I continued her life of service by serving as an advisor to a collegiate national organization, a co-chair to an organization recognized by Texas A&M University’s Association of Former Student Network, and holds membership to a series of networking organizations geared towards professional development. Through earning my Masters in Higher Education in Enrollment Management and Graduate Certification in Conflict Resolution Management from Abilene Christian University in 2017 and working in the field of higher education for the past 3 years , I cultivated an interest in promoting the importance of minority admission as well as retention into colleges/universities.
While working with and speaking to a variety of counselors, students, and their families , I realized just how much of a gap in knowledge there was between students being accepted into the college of their choice and their first year at the institution and wanted to make yet another change in her community. In 2018, I created The Bridge by H.O.P.E (H.elping O.thers through P.ositive E.ducation) Foundation, Inc. with hopes that the program will impact the lives of minority, first generation students, providing them with the tools, skills, and motivation to be the best in all that they do. I have always thought of myself as the foundation of the bridge between her student’s dreams and their reality and believes this foundation will not only eventually help the students in her local community, but statewide.
How did you build your audience on social media?
For the BBHF, we built up our audience through a series of hashtags and utilized personal networks. BBHF is based in higher education, so the following created was not much of an issue due to the fact that I already had contacts. For anyone who is trying to build their network, my advice would be to do your research of your audience or just people who would be interested in the content. Please understand that this might not necessarily be people who are close to you. I think that when people start a business, they immediately look to the people who are in their faces and get disappointed at the level of support of those in their circle. My advice for this is to persevere and remember that those who want to support you (even strangers) will.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
I still get relatively emotional when I talk about the pivots I have had to take in my life and career. Without going into full detail, there were storms in my life that caused me to take my focus away from my career. It really felt like my whole world was falling apart and I hit rock bottom. It was a dark time and I was lost mentally and spiritually. In the midst of my storm, I had to find my purpose because I was seriously questioning it. Looking back on it, I appreciate that dark valley of my life because it caused the birth of my organization and caused me to begin on my healing journey for not only myself, but my family.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cjjturner.com
- Instagram: @CJJTurner
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CJJTurner/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cjjturner/
- Twitter: @CJTurner14
- Other: My business social medias: Website: www.bridgebyhopefoundation.com Instagram: @BridgebyHope Twitter: @Bridge_By_Hope Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BridgebyHOPE/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bridgebyhope