Photo Credit: http://www.oldwestbury.edu/
Wayne Edwards, a Media and Communications professor who recently assumed the position of American Studies chair, has had his share of life journeys that landed him where he is today. Born in the Melrose Projects in South Bronx, he referred to himself as the creative, risk taking middle child of his family.
Edwards attended Hunter college and received his B.A. and Masters degree before moving to CUNY Graduate school to earn his doctorate and second Masters. Like many students, he was unsure of the path that he wanted to take. He spent years as a musician in a band called “Inner Roots”, so naturally, he thought he would major in music. After switching majors a couple of times, Edwards embraced his true passion : creative writing. He was an author in various publications, and wrote his own novel, titled Can’t Touch This: Memoir of a Disillusioned Music Executive. Edwards had a rewarding career as a music executive, and is now living his dream; writing and teaching.
He began as a faculty member at SUNY Old Westbury in 1999, and was appointed Dean of Students after five years. In 2009, he assumed the same role at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, where he worked to provide the best educational outcome for his students. Edwards returned in 2014 to serve as the Vice President of Student Affairs and Executive Director of the Old Westbury College Foundation, which both ended in late August when he became the chair of American Studies.
As a driven and dedicated individual, he loved learning. As a person of color, he thought his education was a crucial part of being able to navigate through many situations. “There’s something to be said about having the confidence to hold your own in any conversation with anybody; whether they look like you or not, whether they come from a similar background or not, whether they embrace the same sexual orientation or not. As a person of color in America, I don’t have the luxury of walling myself in. I’ve got enough problems with other people trying to put me in a box that’s comfortable for them. I refuse to do that to myself. Internalized racism is the most destructive kind”, Edwards explained.
He grew up with a brother and a sister, and considers his parents to be his greatest role models. Their value of education and unwavering work ethic was instilled into all of their children, who were encouraged to think at a higher level. His mother had a great love for travel, which was passed down to him when he spent several years as a senior level music executive who traveled the world with celebrities.
Edwards refers to his road to success as a fun, amazing journey that he never could have imagined. He experienced joy and pain as a single father for years, trying to assume the role of both a mother and a father. He learned a multitude of lessons from his time of raising his son alone, and instilled them into his four daughters that he became a father to after getting married. Now a father of five, he teaches his children that success at any level requires sacrifice and hard work.
His love for music still carries over into his current position. He had his own show at the Student Union Radio Center, and stated that he “had a ball doing that and was delighted to discover students enjoyed listening to it. They didn’t know their Dean of Students, which I was at the time, could flow like that.” Edwards’ was blessed to have many different life passions, and continues to take joy in them.
He takes great pride in helping students become successful, productive individuals. Rather than dwelling on his past mistakes, he uses them as motivation to grow stronger and do better. There is always more to learn, and he encourages students to absorb the lessons that life throws at you. He continued by saying “Be kind to people and good will come your way. Study. Book knowledge makes you well rounded. Travel. See as much of the world as you can and honor and respect the differences you see in different cultures… At the end of the day you’ve got to challenge yourself to step outside whatever box you were born into. When you can do that you become enriched in so many ways that life takes on a whole new meaning for you and everyone in your orbit. That’s who I want to be until it’s time to pack it in.”
If there is one great lesson that we should take from Wayne Edwards , it’s this : “You can’t plot out your life, but if you do the best you can with the opportunities that present themselves, good things will happen. I’m living my dream now – writing and teaching – but it was a long and winding road to get to this point.”
