Dhanfu (pronounced: dah-NEE-foo) is a bowtie enthusiast born and raised in Long Beach / Compton, California (it’s more than hip hop and movies); grew into adulthood in Atlanta; and currently learning Midwest values in Indiana. Swirled between colleges before finding my tribe at Clark Atlanta University, where I learned college was not just a place to survive but thrive. Unapologetic in serving Black and Brown students at institutions that are too frequently left behind and guided by Paulo Freire’s “pedagogy of the oppressed.” My HBCU upbringing served as a career blueprint, utilizing those experiences to showcase the value of student success practices in transforming the lives of the most minoritized. Attended graduate school because there is a lack of voices with the lived experiences of those that we seek to serve. Now, I get seat at the policy table where my real-life insights are utilized to address long-standing higher education structural mistakes and inequities. I enjoy testing higher ed concepts and campaigns on my young children to see if I can bypass the jargon and make ideas resonate at a foundational level. My outlet is comedy, with a superpower of remaining stoic in any environment while cracking up on the inside or kicking colleagues under the table. Rarely a day goes by when I don’t end my evening by watching or listening to a new or classic stand-up comedy routine. Life is too short not to laugh.