In 2009, Tiana Angelique Notice had a bright and promising future ahead of her. She had graduated with her bachelor’s degree in political science in 2007 from UHart; was active in the community and a member of The Women’s Advancement Initiative; founded the UHart chapter of the Roosevelt Institute, a student think tank for policy research; and was just one semester away from earning a master’s degree in communication and considering a career in politics or law. On February 14 of that year, all of this was taken from her when her life was tragically cut short in an act of domestic violence by an ex-boyfriend.
It was from this tragedy that a deep connection was born. Josayne Anderson-Tejera A'04, one of Tiana’s peers in The Women’s Advancement Initiative and a survivor herself, felt she needed to do something to prevent this from happening to others and founded The Love Quest Foundation. Alvin Notice P'07, Tiana’s father and a deputy superintendent in the Massachusetts Department of Corrections at the time, was devastated by the loss of his daughter. Determined to do whatever he could to prevent others from experiencing this kind of violence, he created the Tiana Angelique Notice Foundation.
Notice says he wanted to answer questions such as, “How can you prevent these events? What can you do to report? When students get into a crisis, we give them the resources and we say ‘here you go.’ Where is the prevention?” He goes on to say, “It's also important to teach people about the different types of domestic violence. It's not just physical—it's also a mental and emotional thing, and that goes along with prevention and education.”
Anderson-Tejera and Notice were connected through The Women’s Advancement Initiative and have since collaborated on many events—including ones at UHart like Take Back the Night—and plan to continue teaming up in the future. The pair has also continued to honor Tiana’s legacy through art. Tiana had written 140 poems before she passed; Anderson-Tejera has turned some into spoken word pieces that have been performed at fundraisers.
The Love Quest Foundation
Anderson-Tejera’s foundation, The Love Quest Foundation, provides opportunities for youth, survivors, advocates, and the broader community to collaborate on projects that help break the silence surrounding domestic and dating violence and to help heal those impacted. Through art and self-expression, The Love Quest Foundation aims to help people tell their stories and learn to identify, establish, and sustain healthy friendships and relationships.
Josayne Anderson-Tejera, The Love Quest FoundationMy hope is that everyone is equipped with the tools to know that they're worthy, and more than enough, despite what anyone else says or leads them to believe. Knowing the warning signs can save their lives and eventually eradicate the violence and the generational trauma that goes along with it.
The Tiana Angelique Notice Foundation
The Tiana Angelique Notice Foundation strives to create awareness and prevention of domestic violence through prevention workshops, and provide educational, legal, and financial assistance resources for victims. The Foundation has been successful in getting bills enacted into law in Connecticut that will help prevent domestic violence along with providing security systems to victims throughout Massachusetts and Connecticut.