From the beginning, the life that Tonya Anderson lived could easily be considered by most Americans to be one of hardship. Born to an interracial couple in 1962, Tonya's parents struggled with multiple issues. Not only had her parents been ostracized from their families for marrying someone of a different ethnicity, but they were still technically considered children themselves (one of them 17 and the other 18 at the time of Tonya's birth). On top of that, the young couple struggled to make ends meet as the family lived off of a monthly salary of $60. Now add in five more children, and life gets a whole lot more complicated.
Still, Tonya's parents did very well and she praises them in her speech at the CAAP as she accepts an award for self sufficiency. Her mother, a young woman from Detroit, MI, always insisted she wanted to never live in poverty or the ghetto while Tonya's father came from the Hawaiian ghetto (the young couple had met in Los Angeles during high school), and always pushed their children to pursue their education. Tonya took that lesson to heart and was the first in her family to go to college, getting into the United States Naval Academy after her third shot at applying.
Sadly, due to not having the family support needed to succeed in college, especially facing the harsh and rigorous curriculum at the Naval Academy, Tonya flunked out after struggling through two years of college. She was became a flight attendant, working both national and international flights for thirteen years, including during the time of 9/11, while attempting to raise her then 15 year old son. Her son's father, who she had divorced shortly before entering the Naval Academy, was on the other side of the country, living in Williamsport, PA while she lived in L.A., CA at the time. She quickly realized she needed to spend more time with her son and gave up her job in L.A. before moving to Williamsport.
Upon arrival, Tonya originally struggled to find a job since she was an outsider to the small community. She took whatever she could get and ended up scrubbing toilets in the beginning, earning $17,000 that first year living out in Williamsport, PA. However, she doesn't regret the choice she made, happy that she was closer to her son and that he was no longer caught in a nation wide tug-of-war situation. As she worked, she also volunteered for political candidates and began volunteering on Gabriel Campana's election committee. When talking about it, Tonya stated that the best advice that could be given to anyone would be "if you don't have a job and you happen to have a few moments of time, volunteer where your heart is."
After Campana was elected mayor the second time he ran for the office in 2008, Tonya approached him for the position of chief of staff, only to be turned away and told that she was too 'spiritual' for the position. After going back to work and volunteer at the YWCA, Tonya was contacted three months later about possibly filling the chief of staff position she had previously applied for. This time, she was asked to take the job because of her ability to handle all types of people well. Tonya claims that this is because she knew what a lot of people had faced since she herself had been in situations where she had to go to a food bank to receive her meals or struggled to just be able to pay her rent. She states that she went into the job, not knowing the ins and outs of it, but that her life experiences had prepared her for the position.
A friend of Tonya's once told her that she was the "best chief of staff in the state", and when asked why, the friend responded that it was because Tonya "...[didn't] know what [she was] doing." This was because Tonya hadn't walked into with an idea of how to actually do the job, that she "couldn't call the other party and ask for help" if she was unsure of something. She goes on to reveal that Mayor Campana is a democrat while she is a republican; talking about how party lines are not an issue within their group and how this is how a government should conduct itself. That party lines should not dictate an officials every more or opinion, especially if the general public could be bettered by an exchange of information between parties.
Overall, Tonya Anderson is a woman of amazing character and strength. She faced many challenges while technically growing up in poverty, working as a flight attendant during a time when it was dangerous to fly, raising a teenage boy, moving across country, and still making a career for herself. Nowadays, she works as a life counselor and therapist, hoping to help others find their way whether through spiritual help as a shaman or working with them as a counselor. She’s done many wonderful things to help the Williamsport community such as taking the children of Firetree Place to see a movie and organizing an upcoming women's retreat with Professor Robin Van Auken and Dr. Rachael Hungerford to the Crystal Lake Lodge. Tonya is a woman dedicated to her vision of helping those around her and will surely only continue to help her community flourish.
Sources
Exquisite Life Academy to host spring retreat, April 19, 2015, Williamsport Sun-Gazette http://www.sungazette.com/page/content.detail/id/632827/Exquisite-Life-Academy-to-host-spring-retreat.html?nav=5009
Firetree Place at the Movies, January 10, 2015, Northcentral PA http://www.northcentralpa.com/article/firetree-place-movies
Joyous Prosperity Women's Retreat to be Held at Crystal Lake by Andrea Campbell, April 2, 2015 http://www.northcentralpa.com/article/joyous-prosperity-womens-retreat-be-held-crystal-lake
