Andrea Benjamin
What makes Andrea Wildly Capable?
“Dr. Benjamin is a tenured professor, published academic, and renowned expert on race and politics. She cares about the advancement of women and the Black community through her research contributions and her teachings at OU. In addition to her academic accolades, she’s devoted to our community’s progress and helped reinstate OKC’s Human Rights Commission.”
BAILEY PERKINS WRIGHT
What makes you feel proud?
I am proud of my work in the community. I like being able to work with other people to meet goals, advocate for change, and improve our world. In the classroom, I am proud of my students when they connect ideas and bring our classroom readings and discussion to the real world. I have also worked hard to connect the community and my students. Whenever possible, I bring community leaders and elected officials to my classes so we can work together to address concerns.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Follow your own path and you will always be right where you belong. I think we compare ourselves to others too much and miss the blessings we have right in front of us. I think it is fine to work hard and set goals to better ourselves, but what is for me, is for me! So I don’t have to worry too much about what the next person is doing. I can work on what I am doing. I can encourage others to work on what they are doing!
What’s the single biggest problem you’d like to solve in your community?
I would like to see my community have access to safe and affordable housing. I believe in home ownership and while not everyone wants to own a home, I would like those who want to be homeowners to be able to own homes.
What’s been the biggest obstacle in your life so far?
I am the first one in my family to go to college, so getting there was hard. My parents didn’t understand all the nuances of the application process or how to succeed once I got there, but they did their best. My father passed away right before the start of my third year of college, so he didn’t get to see me graduate. It was hard to go to school when I wanted to take time off, but that just wasn’t an option. When I was accepted to my PhD program, my mother was so proud of me. She passed away at the end of my second year of graduate school, so she didn’t get to see me earn my degree. Again, I wanted to quit, but I knew that she wanted me to finish. Losing my parents is probably the biggest obstacle in my life so far, but with each loss, I felt compelled to keep pushing forward so that the sacrifices they made were not for nothing.
