Move Maker Spotlight: Dejanilya Dupree

Black Women in Business is what makes the world go around. From entrepreneurship marketing strategies, and the most influential trendsetters black women RUN THE WORLD! Check out this inspirational interview by the lovely Dee Dupree!

1. Tell us a little about yourself (name, hometown, major, future goals)

My name is Dejanilya Dupree, although I prefer to go by Dee. I love my name but the silent “L” trips everyone up and I’ve always gone by Dee since before I can even remember. I’m a junior majoring in Marketing from Bennettsville, SC. Marketing wasn’t always something I was interested in. Up until my senior year of high school, I knew for certain that I was going to study Psychology once I got to college. That all changed when one of my favorite teachers, Mrs. Littles, introduced it to me and even got me to see the similarities between the two. I appreciate her for that because it is definitely something that I’ve truly grown passionate about. I’m always reading about current trends and I probably like coming up with solutions for the marketing case studies I’m assigned more than my fellow classmates. In the future (very near future) I will own my own marketing agency. I aspire to help grow and revamp brands, especially for black businesses, and to help promote positive images of black culture within consumer media.

2. What attracted you to attend the college of Charleston? I knew nothing about the College of Charleston until my senior year of high school and it was not my first choice at all. There were two things that really convinced me to come here. First was the location, of course. It looked nothing like the extremely small, cow-pastured filled town I grew up in, and it wasn’t large enough to overwhelm me. The second thing was actually talking to the people of color from admissions and MSPS. Just seeing the extra miles they went to ensure me that coming here would be a good decision really impressed me. My first choice college, which was a much larger school, didn’t do any of that for me. It was easily one the best decisions I could have made.

3.How has your major/area of study impacted your activism and involvement on campus?

I don’t have to be a marketing major and study what I do to understand that some of the things that have been going on in the industry aren’t okay. The H&M, Dove, Shea Moisture and Pepsi “incidents” have occurred only because minorities are largely underrepresented in the marketing and advertising field. I now realize and understand that people of color NEED to be in the room when certain ads and campaigns are being made so that these incidents don’t continue to happen. I joined the college’s American Marketing Association to take that next step to immerse myself in the field and connect with people who could help me be able to share the minority perspective. Whenever I can, I talk to other minority students many who are marketing, communications or business students to let them know that this could be a career path for them and to get them involved as well.

4.You are involved in a lot of things on campus which one is most meaningful to you? And how do you use your leadership to make a impactful change?

This is so hard that I have to pick two. The Black Student Union and American Marketing Association are equally important to me. The Black Student Union has given me an abundance of opportunities that I’m extremely grateful for, so many that I couldn’t list them all if I wanted to. Marla Robertson, our faculty advisor, is a gem. She for sure pushed me out of my comfort zone and challenged me to grow into the person that I am today. I will forever be grateful. This past year I served as the Chair of the Social Outreach Committee and will serve as the senior advisor of the 2018-2019 school year. With this organization, I was able to help create a sense of community amongst the minority students. Being the chair of the committee I was in charge of creating ways to actually reach and engage with the students and pull them into our organization to let them know that within BSU was a safe haven for them.

The American Marketing Association has also been an amazing resource. This past year I served as the director of events and I’m happy to announce that I will be the chapter’s President for the 2018-2019 school year. I was able to attend a three-day conference in New Orleans this April (for free) where I got to meet and listen to industry leaders and network with marketing peers from literally around the world. Seeing one of the keynote speakers for the conference was a black woman, Sheryl Adkins-Green deeply inspired me and gave me hope. This upcoming semester I plan to utilize my new leadership position to expose our members to opportunities like the ones I have been granted thus far, to inspire more minority students to get involved, and to complete marketing projects for local nonprofits.

5. advice you would like to give to young feminist on campus especially black feminist who may not feel included?

Use your voice. There are a lot of issues that go on campus and you can’t always depend on someone else to voice your opinion for you. There are some people that might feel more comfortable with using their voice than others and that’s okay too. Personally, when I first got to college that was something that I struggled with and is something that I had to learn. Using your voice doesn’t have to mean physically standing in front of someone or crowd to get your point across but voicing your opinion efficiently through any means or medium.

6. Any words of wisdom for our readers?

It’s okay to be uncomfortable. Your best experiences derive from being in discomfort. Live outside of your comfort zone every now and then. It promotes growth and you’ll miss out on numerous opportunities if you do otherwise.