Humans of Liberty: Liberty Student Dreams of Giving Others a Voice
Jade Tong dreams of being a voice for the voiceless.
Several years ago, Tong’s parents sent her to a law camp in her home state of Connecticut for a week, hoping to expose her to the world of law. Although she initially protested, Tong now knows this week was a pivotal moment in her life.
Tong saw mock trials on display at camp and got her first taste of justice. Flash forward to 2021, and she is a junior at Liberty University majoring in criminal psychology and minoring in criminal justice and cinematic arts. Not only has she been passionate about justice since that first-camp experience, but she is now specifically focused on securing justice for those who may never get any otherwise: underprivileged children and the wrongfully convicted.
For the last four summers, Tong has returned to the camp as a counselor to work with inner-city kids in New Haven, Connecticut. She said the camp is an opportunity for kids to get a taste of a career in the field of law.
Tong’s passion for the wrongfully convicted fully came to life after watching films centered around the pursuit of justice.
Tong saw the legal drama “Just Mercy” and the moving series “When They See Us,” and she became immediately overwhelmed with conviction that she was supposed to fight for the innocent.
“I hate to say that I wanted to help the wrongfully convicted because of film, but it just had such a big impact because I hadn’t really seen or heard of anyone talk about these stories until I saw those movies,” Tong said.
Tong attributes her clarity of direction to God, noting that her drive to be a criminal defense attorney for the wrongfully convicted is intentionally specific. God broke her heart for people facing wrongful conviction, as she understands that these people lose not only years from their lives, but oftentimes family members, a clear future and precious memories as well.
Tong hopes to become involved in some capacity with the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project, an organization in Washington D.C. that works to prevent and correct the conviction of innocent people.
“They lose so much, and this would be giving them something back,” Tong said.
The other side of Tong’s heart is focused on fighting for opportunities for children who would have none otherwise. Although Tong grew up in the suburbs of Connecticut, she recalls her parents taking her to tutoring in the inner-city, and while there, she was able to see children who did not have the same opportunities as her because of finances and other circumstances out of their control.
Tong, whose father became a PA in neurosurgery after growing up in the projects of New York, remembers being aware of how privileged she was to not have to worry about her safety or stability growing up. She longs to create something that would show the kids that they have the ability to get out of those situations. It is Tong’s goal to someday develop a program in which children in difficult situations will be able to hear from speakers like her dad, who grew up where they did but came back to tell them that there is hope, even if they have not seen it modeled in their own homes.
A big step towards determining how she will work with children was her role as a camp counselor at a Christian camp in Pennsylvania this summer. Tong prioritized working at a camp that was closer to home because she recognized the importance of helping “kids in your own backyard.” She realizes that while there are countless opportunities all over the world to help others, her own neighbors need that hope, too.
Inspire Sports Camp offered Tong the Christian community she was seeking for the summer as well as the opportunity to work with inner-city children who, at the beginning of their week at camp, had no idea who Jesus was.
Tong identifies the heart change in the children as the most impactful part of the experience. Tong recalled how closed-off the kids were to the counselors and to the entire experience at the beginning of the week. In the middle of the week, however, she remembered a particularly emotional night where the children began sharing the hardest news they had heard, as well as the maturity they each demonstrated as they listened to each other’s stories in their entirety.
Child after child recounted stories of unimaginable pain, police brutality and death. The magnitude of the hurt already experienced in the young lives struck a chord with Tong.
“Coming from the inner-city, they are so used to [death] and are almost numb to it. For us, it’s like, ‘Oh my gosh—someone died,’ but for them, it’s just like, ‘Oh, there is another person laying in the street.’ It’s really awful, and I hate that reality,” Tong said.
Tong stressed that while the camp cannot completely heal or reverse what those children have already experienced, it is an opportunity to show them the love of Christ firsthand.
“They have to grow up so quickly, and they have to lose their youth because they have to take care of their families,” Tong said. “I think for them to come to camp that week and just be kids and just have fun is so amazing to see.”
While working hard at her studies, Tong gets closer to securing her dreams of becoming a lawyer every day. She wonders, however, whether there is anything that can be done while she is still here.
She volunteers her time to mentor local middle school girls in Lynchburg. Through the Urban Mountain Adventures program, she is able to meet up with these kids weekly and pour love into them as a follower in Christ.
“It feels so good to serve people and not care about myself for a moment,” Tong said.
Tong hopes to find like-minded people in Lynchburg who have a similar passion for children and find a way to develop a program where the kids can come together, be safe and fed and learn how fully loved and seen they are by Christ.
“I can’t say that I came up with these specific passions of mine because it’s all God,” Tong said. “I think that in helping and loving on His people, I’d be able to bring glory to Him.”
Vires is a feature writer. Follow her on Twitter at @nadiavires.