Andrew DePass

“Just because someone’s out here not wearing something that’s deemed normal by white society, doesn’t mean that you’re ghetto or raggedy or not as high achieving as someone else.”

Toyloy Brown III

The afro is the physical feature that distinguishes Anderw DePass from others in a crowd. As his hair grew longer, its symbolism grew as well. The hairstyle that was originally sparked from his middle school curiosity is now a symbol that embodies the saying don’t judge a book by its cover. “You would typically associate (my afro) with being raggedy and ghetto, but then you hear me, you see what I do (and I debunk the stereotype),” Andrew said. “Just because someone’s out here not wearing something that’s deemed normal by white society, doesn’t mean that you’re ghetto or raggedy or not as high achieving as someone else.” Andrew actively disproves these false notions as a senior double major in biology and computer science, with a minor in math at Quinnipiac University. Aside from academics, he’s the executive chair of the Multicultural Student Leadership Council (MSLC). When Andrew graduates, he will have left an indelible mark as a student leader at this university. However, that wasn’t always in the cards. By the time his freshman year concluded, he had serious doubts on whether he belonged at QU. “I still wasn’t able to sort of find that place of belonging for me, even though … I was able to reach out to people, I still felt out of place because I didn’t have anyone that looked like me.” Andrew is from Freehold, New Jersey, a predominantly white neighborhood. He decided to attend Quinnipiac because of his positive interactions with professors on his visit. The school was also what he was looking for from a size perspective. Many who know Andrew are familiar with his accomplishments in the sciences. As a sophomore, he received an award for his cancer biology presentation at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was also named an American Association for Cancer Research Awardee for 2020-2021. Despite his achievements, Andrew is acutely aware that there are not a lot of Black people who progress in this field, which can be disheartening. Fortunately, he’s had childhood experiences that have prepared him for such a reality. Before he delved deeply in biology, the first extracurricular activity Andrew got involved in was taekwondo back when he lived in Brooklyn, New York. His Black instructor explained to his young students the context of being Black in this country. “It was more than just learning techniques and moves,” Andrew said. “It’s like, ‘no, you got to be disciplined and learn how to act in this white society.’” Andrew’s mentor at his first experience specifically in the sciences at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio was a Black doctoral student named Kimberly Wymberly. Her presence alone greatly helped Andrew. “Having the opportunity to do my first experience under the direction of a mentor that looked just like me and that could relate to me, that carried me through all of this. It kept me motivated,” Andrew said. Part of Andrew’s decision to attend Quinnpiac was also influenced by the reality of its majority white population. “One of the things that I sort of feared going into college is having to deal with the culture shock again,” Andrew said. “I went from the predominantly Black community in Brooklyn to the predominantly white community in Freehold when I was eight years old, and I remember that was a horrible time for me.” After having a hard time fitting into a dramatically different environment in New Jersey, Andrew eventually got accustomed to being a part of a community where he was one of few Black people. That is not to say he didn’t like or enjoy being in a mostly Black community. But at that point in his life, he was worried that the challenge of remaining in a place that wasn’t predominately white would bring another harsh wave of culture shock that he didn’t feel he was ready to experience again as an 18 year old. “The thing that I really underestimated when considering demographics was that when I lived in Freehold, I had a Black family I would always come home to,” Andrew said. Andrew overlooked the fact that at QU, he was not guaranteed to be around people he can relate to culturally on a daily basis. “So it came to a point after freshman year where I was considering, ‘you know what, why don’t I transfer to an HBCU in spite of all that culture shock stuff,’” Andrew said. “Black Student Union and African and Caribbean Student Union … made all the difference because if it wasn’t for those two organizations, I might not be here right now.” These two clubs gave Andrew the community he was “starving” for since he stepped on campus. “They gave me not only a sense of community, but an actual community, an actual Black community to talk to.” On one hand, Andrew is glad to have certain experiences that have prepared him to face the reality of being one of few Black people in an almost entirely white setting. But on the other hand, he does think that in the process of adapting to these environments, he did lose some clarity as Black person. “When I had that upbringing in Brooklyn, I had definitely a lot more of a sense of self,” Andrew said. “I had pride, for where I came from. And when I moved to a white community, a lot of that got washed away. There are a lot of things that make you feel inferior and lesser than. And that’s just one of the things that you deal with when you get into these spaces — a lot of things that make you feel like an imposter.” Fortunately, the BSU and ACSU helped Andrew reaffirm his sense of self, continuing his growth and influencing his work as the executive chair of the MSLC. “Prior to college, I was just a person that was able to just exist in a predominantly white space and just deal with everything without making a change,” Andrew said. “What I’d say the big difference in college is that I know how to utilize the tools at my disposal to make spaces and communities for people of color.”