{"id":2265,"date":"2019-02-21T15:47:41","date_gmt":"2019-02-21T15:47:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/?p=2265"},"modified":"2020-11-03T22:03:44","modified_gmt":"2020-11-03T22:03:44","slug":"north-central-alumna-brings-history-to-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/north-central-alumna-brings-history-to-life\/","title":{"rendered":"North Central alumna brings history to life"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Joyce Marrie, Ph.D.<\/a>, became a Christian in 1973, she knew she wanted to enhance her career and do more with her life. At first, she wasn\u2019t sure school was the route, but eventually found her way to North Central and majored in Psychology.<\/a> \u201cI was always helping people, listening to their stories,\u201d Marrie said, and psychology seemed like a good field for that.<\/p>\n

As a non-traditional student, it took her some time to make it through school, but she graduated in 1997 and went on to earn a master\u2019s degree in human development from St. Mary\u2019s University and a Ph.D. from Minnesota Graduate School of Theology.<\/p>\n

For her master\u2019s degree, Marrie did an in-depth study on the life of Sojourner Truth, an African-American abolitionist and women’s rights activist best-known for her speech on racial inequalities, “Ain’t I a Woman?” delivered in 1851 at the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention. Marrie\u2019s journey found her learning a great deal about diversity and social issues, and she integrated drama therapy and the character of Sojourner Truth into her thesis.<\/p>\n

Bringing a character from the past to life for new audiences has been a powerful experience. \u201cWe used different actors to come in and ask her [Sojourner Truth] questions from today\u2019s youth,\u201d Marrie explained. \u201cMy professor encouraged me to push that a little bit more.\u201d Using her experiences acting as Truth, Marrie has expanded the topic and written devotional books with lessons from the abolitionist\u2019s life.\u00a0Her second book, \u201cWe\u2019re All On a Journey,\u201d was recently released and a book-signing event<\/a> \u00a0is being held in Edina on Feb. 23.<\/p>\n

Marrie has performed as Sojourner Truth for schools and events for the past several years.<\/p>\n

Transforming lives through drama<\/h2>\n

For Joyce Marrie, drama has always been a powerful tool. She started the nonprofit Crossroads Panorama<\/a> (formerly Actors for Christ) more than 30 years ago as an avenue for youth education in the arts. Crossroads serves as an outreach center to empower kids to be successful. \u201cYou have to reach them before you can teach them,\u201d Marrie shared philosophically. By getting students involved in drama, they learn to express themselves and experience a healthy place to work through challenges they face.<\/p>\n

Crossroads occupies a former Blockbuster Video store location in Richfield, Minnesota, and most days after school you\u2019ll find students working on a play, relaxing, and interacting with \u201cDr. Joyce.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marrie\u2019s passion and compassion for youth comes from some of her own struggles. School was hard for her and she had to try harder than the other kids. \u201cI had to try hard to read more,\u201d she reflected. \u201cBut even having a doctorate doesn\u2019t prove who I am. I see it as God\u2019s blessing that He let me get that far\u2014it was a testimony.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learning to believe in herself has empowered her to believe in others. \u201cYou have unlimited ability inside of you, waiting dormant,\u201d Marrie said. \u201cYou need to stretch yourself and utilize that. I want to have no regrets! It\u2019s important to do all I can do, be all I can be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her work with drama has also opened doors to work with incarcerated youth. Bringing her drama and her message to students in juvenile corrections has been a meaningful experience for Marrie. She knows with them she must be authentic, and they trust her. \u201cKids know if you\u2019re real,\u201d she said; \u201cyou can\u2019t fool them.\u201d When she earns their trust, she tells them a message they need to hear: \u201cYou have to be who you are because somebody is waiting for who you are.\u201d<\/p>\n

What does Sojourner say today?<\/h2>\n

Drawing inspiration from the life and character of Sojourner Truth continues to be a powerful motivator for Marrie. \u201cI talk about Sojourner Truth in her life and put it in [the context] of today,\u201d she explained. \u201cThe things she went through were unheard of, but she had help! She changed her name to Sojourner because she was called to go up and down the land to preach the Gospel. Sojourner Truth was prophetic in her calling, trusting God with everything. She had the state of mind that God was going to go with her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leaning in to that kind of faith is an encouragement to Marrie. She stepped out in faith to move Crossroads Panorama into the Blockbuster space. \u201cI say, \u2018God, this is your building and you do what you want with it!\u2019\u201d Marrie explained. \u201cIt\u2019s been over a year and we\u2019re still here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Driven by a desire to see kids change also keeps Marrie going. \u201cMy heart is move when I see the change in people once they\u2019ve gotten involved. If we can get them to get involved, they go on to do great things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her vision is to continue to expand and serve the community. \u201cWe are supposed to share the Gospel with everyone and welcome everyone,\u201d Marrie said. \u201cJesus did it, Sojourner did it, so we can learn how to do it!\u201d<\/p>\n

Community recognition<\/h2>\n

Last year, Dr. Joyce Marrie was recognized as Richfield\u2019s Outstanding Citizen of 2018. A post on the City of Richfield\u2019s Facebook page<\/a> stated, \u201cFor 2018, the [Richfield Human Rights] commission selected Richfield resident Joyce Marrie, who has spent the past 37 years teaching social and problem-solving communication skills to students using theater and dance. Through her work, she empowers youth to achieve their goals and understand their purpose. She challenges them to tap into the true potential within each one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Joyce was stunned by the honor. At a special reception in her honor, she shared \u201cI Found a Diamond,\u201d a poem she wrote that illustrates why she does what she does:<\/p>\n

I Found a diamond<\/h3>\n

By Joyce Marrie<\/p>\n

I found a diamond \u2026 shining bright.
\nDo you see it \u2026 beyond the rough black night?<\/p>\n

I found a diamond \u2026 shining bright, beyond the rough black night.
\nSee it? … It can be found!<\/p>\n

For when it is buffed, polished out of the rough black night,
\nthe diamond resonates with
\npotential, tenacity, respect, support and trust.<\/p>\n

I see that diamond, shining bright, lighter than a rough black night.<\/p>\n

I found a diamond!!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Joyce Marrie, Ph.D., became a Christian in 1973, she knew she wanted to enhance her career and do more with her life. At first, she wasn\u2019t sure school was the route, but eventually found her way to North Central and majored in Psychology. \u201cI was always helping people, listening to their stories,\u201d Marrie said, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":2266,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nNorth Central alumna brings history to life - Table Salt | NCU Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When Joyce Marrie, Ph.D., became a Christian in 1973, she knew she wanted to enhance her career and do more with her life.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/north-central-alumna-brings-history-to-life\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"North Central alumna brings history to life - 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