Nigerian Native Brings Joy Amid Personal Strife
12/11/2019
By Barry Faulkner for ucirvinesports.com
She is amazing. She is probably the most positive player I have ever been around and she is the epitome of what a coach wants in a teammate.Head Coach Tamara Inoue on Joy Akaegbu-Cleveland
At a glance, the symmetry is startling; the blending of name and personality so seamless.
But beyond the radiant smile, uncommon compassion and boundless positivity that make her an ideal teammate, there is, for this Joy, underlying anguish.
Joy Akaegbu-Cleveland is a 6-foot-2 unpolished diamond for the UC Irvine women’s basketball team. But the redshirt junior transfer from Saint Mary’s, who through nine games has averaged 2.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and nearly 11 minutes per game, is easily closer to her potential than to those she has loved longest.
A native of Lagos, Nigeria, Akaegbu-Cleveland, 21, came to the United States six years ago to pursue education and basketball. She left behind seven siblings, a mother and father, a boyfriend, and a culture that shaped selflessness atypical for many Americans.
She has seen neither her family nor her boyfriend since. It is the mention of this reality that quickly transforms her halogen-bulb grin into a mournful sob; in an instant, moving Joy to tears.
“It has been very hard,” said the former two-time state champion at Gonzaga Prep in Spokane, Wash. “I’ve been so homesick several times and I get very emotional. I have a personality that is very joyful, so when I am not joyful, it is very obvious. I miss [my family] so much and it’s almost unreal. Not having someone to lean on and cry to when I am struggling is very, very, very hard. There are moments when I wish people could sometimes see what is really behind the joy and smile.”
Akaegbu-Cleveland does have an adopted family of two parents, a brother and sister with whom she lived in Spokane and who remain strongly supportive.
“I love them so much,” she said of her adoptive parents Charles Cleveland and Joyce McCown. “They have been there for me and I am so grateful for them. I do not know who I would have been or how I would have been able to cope without them.”
Akaegbu-Cleveland has been forced to cope with separation from her biological family due to consistent denial of their applications for travel visas. She is also unable to travel back home due to her pending certificate of citizenship, which increases the chance of her not being able to get back into the U.S.
While she said she has video calls with her mother, Maria, father, Sebastain and boyfriend, Bisi, roughly twice a week, she remains hopeful that their visas will eventually be granted.
“I really hope that on my senior night, my parents will be able to watch me play basketball for the first time, and I hope they can come to my graduation as well,” Akaegbu-Cleveland said. “That would mean a lot to me. I am the baby of eight [children] and I have a very close relationship with my biological parents. I know they miss me so much, and they want the best for me. If that means they won’t see me for up to 10 years, I know they wouldn’t mind, if that is what is best for me.”
In addition to her emerging contribution on the court – she averaged nine rebounds in her two most recent games against Portland State and Southern Utah – Akaegbu-Cleveland has meant a lot to her teammates and coaches.
“She is amazing,” UCI head coach Tamara Inoue said. “She is still gaining experience, but her talent is through the roof. She is probably the most positive player I have ever been around and she is the epitome of what a coach wants in a teammate. She cares more about her teammates than her own feelings. She wants to make sure that her teammates are doing well before she is doing well.”
Akaegbu-Cleveland credits her upbringing in Africa for her extreme empathy.
“I naturally have a selfless character,” she said. “I have a very open and caring personality and I believe emphasizing the positive contributions of others is what being a teammate is all about. Coming from my culture, we think about the community first, before we think of ourselves.”
Akaegbu-Cleveland also credits her teammates and coaches for their support and is very much enjoying her student-athlete experience.
“I like it here a lot,” said the sociology major, who plans to also seek an MBA and a computer programing certificate with an eye on a career in the field of technology. “I do whatever I have to do to get good grades. My GPA is [better than 3.0] and I don’t like it when I get a B. I have earned six consecutive A’s and I want to keep that streak going.”
