Debonair Oates-Primus, a West Chester University graduate and Assistant Professor of English at the Community College of Philadelphia, recently earned her doctorate from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, writes Kristen Graham for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Oates-Primus, 36, was quick to credit her mother for the success she has achieved in her life.

“It was the road and path my mother put me on,” she said.

Oates-Primus was an exceptional student from an early age. When she started at Philadelphia High School for Girls, she was inspired by all the powerful women and teachers who cared.

After graduating, she went to WCU for a degree in English literature. She got her master’s in English from Saint Joseph and soon began her teaching career.

She joined the Community College of Philadelphia in 2008, and then decided to continue her education. She found a summer-only doctoral program and dove in.

After defending her dissertation examining the complexities of black women’s mental health in fiction, she learned she had been chosen as a graduation speaker.

She focused her speech on bravery, highlighting the importance of doing difficult things even when they are frightening.

Read more about Debonair Oates-Primus in The Philadelphia Inquirer here.