A Woman Named Marijuana Pepsi Just Earned Her PhD

From Oprah Magazine

• A woman whose full name is Marijuana Pepsi Vandyck just earned her doctorate degree.

• Vandyck has risen to viral fame after a story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel detailed how she refused to change her unusual name-period.

• "I've grown into my name because I am a strong woman," she has said. "I've had to be."

There are unusual names, and then there are unusual names. Marijuana Pepsi definitely falls into the latter category, but the Wisconsin woman who bears that name has a pretty inspiring story to back it up.

Marijuana Pepsi Vandyck told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that her singular name was given to her by her mother, Maggie Johnson, who declared that "it would take her around the world." She says the name has made her the person she is today, explaining that she refused to change it because she wanted to prove that it's possible to overcome any obstacle. "I've grown into my name because I am a strong woman," she has said, according to the New York Post. "I've had to be."

Dr. Vandyck reportedly left her "unstable home" at 15, and has fought ever since to overcome the stigma that came with her name. "People make such a big deal out of it, I couldn't get away from it," she said.

The subject of her dissertation is related to her experience–it was titled: “Black names in white classrooms: Teacher behaviors and student perceptions.” According to the Journal Seentinel, Vandyck spent time during her PhD interviewing students about the effect their distinctively Black names had on their classroom experiences and treatment by teachers. “Regardless of what they do, say or what they’re trying to put in place, you still have to move forward and succeed,” Vandyck said.

There are plenty more reasons to be inspired by Dr. Vandyck, who works at Wisconsin's Beloit College as director of a program that serves students who are from low-income backgrounds, have disabilities, or are first-generation enrollees at college. She also runs a performance coaching business and works as a real estate agent, just in case you weren't already feeling like an underachiever by comparison.

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