Q&A with Candice D. Roberts, Ph.D.

Do you have any pets?  

I am a perpetual pet sitter, foster dog parent, and friend to all animals.   

What is the best place you ever traveled to? 

I can’t pick one. A few of my favorites include Antigua, Lesser Antilles; Bangkok, Thailand; Budapest, Hungary; New Orleans, LA; and Osaka, Japan.

 What is your favorite season? 

Winter. I enjoy outdoor activities in the snow, festive lights, cozy parties, and hot drinks— especially in New York City. It’s magic.

What are your hobbies?  

Devised theatre; sketch/stand-up comedy; paddleboarding; finding the best vegetarian breakfast foods; running; and supporting Philadelphia, PA, sports teams     

What are you passionate about?  

Storytelling—both creating and analyzing. understanding identity, and particularly how marginalized communities are represented in cultural narratives   

What is on your bucket list?  

Surfing in Portugal      

Who inspires you most and significantly influences your life or career?   

Brilliant scholars around the world whom I’m privileged to call colleagues and friends   

What’s your favorite way to de-stress?  

A long walk along the Hudson River  

What’s a hidden talent or skill you possess that most people might not know about?   

I play the saxophone and mandolin.    

What are your credentials?  

I have a Ph.D. in Communication, Culture, and Media from Drexel University. I’ve spoken and presented at conferences across North America, Europe, and Asia on media studies and LGBTQ+ research. My work has been published in journals such as Screen Bodies, Journal for Cultural Research, Journalism Practice, and Film, Fashion & Consumption, and I have been teaching graduate and undergraduate students for 15 years. 

What’s your favorite place on the St. John’s Queens, NY, campus?  

A bench near the Great Lawn where I can take an afternoon break and soak up some sunshine   

What has been one of your proudest moments working in the Office of Equity and Inclusion so far?  

Starting the LGBTQ+ Center at St. John’s with my colleague, Shanté Paradigm Smalls, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Black Studies, and Affiliate Faculty for the St. John’s Critical Race and Ethnic Studies program   

 If everyone in the office had a superpower, what would yours be and why?   

Speaking every language so that I could communicate directly with anyone and understand work written in the creator’s dominant language

What’s your favorite part of working in the Office of Equity and Inclusion?  

Constantly learning and all the cool people I get to meet, within and outside of the St. John’s campus community, as a result of my diversity, equity, and inclusion work