{{short description|American educator (born 1972)}} {{use mdy dates |date=April 2021}} {{Infobox person | honorific_prefix = | name = Marijuana Pepsi Vandyck | birth_name = Marijuana Pepsi Jackson | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1972}}<ref name=JS2009 /> | birth_place = [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], U.S. | nationality = | citizenship = <!-- use only when necessary per [[WP:INFONAT]] --> | education = {{ubl|[[University of Wisconsin–Whitewater]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])|[[Georgia Southern University]] ([[Master of Education|MEd]])|[[Cardinal Stritch University]] ([[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]])}} | occupation = Educator | years_active = 1994 – present | employer = [[Beloit College]] | organization = | agent = | known_for = Sociological study of uncommon Black names in the classroom, Her name | notable_works = | title = | term = | spouse = Sawyer (div)<br/>{{marriage|Fredrick Vandyck|2017}}<ref name=JS2019/> | partner = | children = 4 including 3 stepchildren | parents = Maggie and Aaron Jackson | awards = | website = }} '''Marijuana Pepsi Vandyck''' ({{nee}} '''Jackson''', born 1972) is an American educational professional. Vandyck earned a Ph.D. from [[Cardinal Stritch University]] in 2019 with a dissertation on uncommon [[African-American names|Black names]] in the classroom.<ref name="TheHill">{{cite web |last=Folley |first=Aris |date=June 20, 2019 |title=A Woman Named Marijuana Pepsi Earns Doctoral Degree with Dissertation on Uncommon Names |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/449573-a-woman-named-marijuana-pepsi-earns-doctoral-degree-with |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210221102841/https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/449573-a-woman-named-marijuana-pepsi-earns-doctoral-degree-with |archive-date=February 21, 2021 |access-date=June 20, 2019 |work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]}}</ref><ref name="HuffPo">{{cite web |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/marijuana-pepsi-phd-black-names_n_5d0b8e7be4b0859fc3da80e7 |title=Woman Named Marijuana Pepsi Earns Ph.D with Dissertation on Uncommon Names |last=Amatulli |first=Jenna |date=June 20, 2019 |work = [[Huffington Post]] |access-date=June 20, 2019 |archive-date=June 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621001746/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/marijuana-pepsi-phd-black-names_n_5d0b8e7be4b0859fc3da80e7 |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Early life and name == Marijuana Pepsi Jackson was born in 1972 to Aaron and Maggie (Brandy) Jackson, who chose her name. She lived in [[Chicago|Chicago, Illinois]], until she was nine years old; then she moved to [[Beloit, Wisconsin]], to live with her mother after her parents separated.<ref name=JS2009>{{cite web |url=http://archive.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/40874017.html/ |title=A Woman Named Marijuana Plays It Straight – And Wins |last=Stingl |first=Jim |date=March 7, 2009 |work= [[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]] |publisher=Gannett |access-date=June 20, 2019 |archive-date=July 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190705095246/http://archive.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/40874017.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=JS2019>{{cite web |url=https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/columnists/jim-stingl/2019/06/18/stingl-her-name-marijuana-pepsi-and-she-just-got-her-doctorate/1477709001/ |title=Stingl: Yes, Her Name Really Is Marijuana Pepsi, and Now She's Dr. Marijuana Pepsi to You |last=Stingl |first=Jim |date=June 18, 2019 |url-access= subscription |work= [[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]] |publisher=Gannett Co |access-date=June 21, 2019 |archive-date=June 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621044155/https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/columnists/jim-stingl/2019/06/18/stingl-her-name-marijuana-pepsi-and-she-just-got-her-doctorate/1477709001/ |url-status=live }}</ref> She has two sisters, Kimberly and Robin.<ref name=JS2019/> She first realized her name was unusual at age nine.<ref name="BBC">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48616759 |title=Dr Marijuana Pepsi: The Woman Who Refused to Let Her Bullies Win |last=Sini |first=Rozina |date=June 21, 2019 |publisher = [[BBC News]] |access-date=June 21, 2019 |archive-date=June 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622022034/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48616759 |url-status=live }}</ref>
She said her mother told her "your name will take you around the world", and that her mother insisted on correcting a school spelling bee award certificate that read "Mary Jackson".<ref name="BBC"/> She described being bullied in high school over her name, crediting her family with helping her learn to embrace the name.<ref name="BBC"/> Despite her name, she said that she does not smoke [[marijuana]] nor drink [[Pepsi]] and chose to keep her name as an example of overcoming stereotyping.<ref>{{Cite web |author = Andrew, Scottie; Ries, Brian |date=2019-06-21 |title=She Knows You Think Her Name Is Different. But Dr. Marijuana Pepsi's Work Speaks for Itself. |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/21/us/marijuana-pepsi-doctorate-trnd |access-date=2025-11-15 | publisher = [[CNN]] |language=en}}</ref>
She moved out of her mother's house at age fifteen, staying with friends and focusing on school. She graduated from [[Beloit Memorial High School]] in 1990 and received a scholarship for college at the [[University of Wisconsin–Whitewater]]. She majored in education and became a teacher after graduation.
While she was teaching elementary school in Atlanta, she studied for a masters degree at [[Georgia Southern University]], then returned to Beloit with her young son from her first marriage.<ref name=JS2009 /> Marijuana companies constantly ask to work with her, but she always refuses unless it was for educational purposes.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-10-01 |title=Woman Named 'Marijuana Pepsi' from Birth Will Never Change Her Name {{!}} New York Post|url-access = subscription |url=https://swns.live/stories/163460/ |access-date=2025-12-07 |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Education == Vandyck earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater.<ref name=JS2009/> After two semesters and a summer, she earned a master's degree from Georgia Southern University,<ref name=JS2009/> before earning a Ph.D. in leadership for the advancement of learning and service in higher education from Cardinal Stritch University in May 2019.<ref name=JS2019 /> Her dissertation, titled "Black Names in White Classrooms: Teacher Behaviors and Student Perceptions",<ref name="TheHill"/><ref name="HuffPo"/> was inspired by prejudice she saw while working as a teacher. A co-worker had complained that her upcoming class would do poorly, based on the list of students with mostly "black-sounding" names.<ref name="BBC"/><ref name="CNN">{{cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/21/us/marijuana-pepsi-doctorate-trnd/index.html |title=She Knows You Think Her Name Is Different. But Dr. Marijuana Pepsi's Work Speaks for Itself. |last1=Andrew |first1=Scottie |last2=Ries |first2=Brian |date=2019-06-21 |publisher = [[CNN]] |access-date=2019-07-06 |archive-date=August 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819202029/https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/21/us/marijuana-pepsi-doctorate-trnd/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Career == Having previously worked as a teacher, Vandyck directs a program for first-generation, disabled and low-income students at [[Beloit College]], in addition to owning a performance-coaching agency.<ref name=JS2019/><ref name="CNN"/>
In the fall of 2019, Vandyck sponsored the Marijuana Pepsi Scholarship for first-generation African-American students at UW–Whitewater.<ref name=JS2019/>
== Personal life == Vandyck was previously married to a Mr. Sawyer. The couple lived in Atlanta and had a son in the early 2000s. Their marriage ended in divorce and Vandyck returned to her hometown of Beloit, Wisconsin.<ref name=JS2009 />
As of 2019, Vandyck was married to Fredrick Vandyck and living on a {{convert|3|acre|ha|adj=on}} farm in [[Pecatonica, Illinois]], with her son and his three children from a previous relationship.<ref name=JS2019/>
== References == {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Vandyck, Marijuana Pepsi}} [[Category:Date of birth missing (living people)]] [[Category:1972 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:20th-century African-American academics]] [[Category:20th-century people from Georgia (U.S. state)]] [[Category:20th-century people from Illinois]] [[Category:20th-century people from Wisconsin]] [[Category:21st-century African-American academics]] [[Category:21st-century people from Georgia (U.S. state)]] [[Category:21st-century people from Illinois]] [[Category:21st-century people from Wisconsin]] [[Category:Cardinal Stritch University alumni]] [[Category:Beloit College faculty]] [[Category:Educators from Atlanta]] [[Category:Educators from Chicago]] [[Category:Georgia Southern University alumni]] [[Category:People from Beloit, Wisconsin]] [[Category:People from Pecatonica, Illinois]] [[Category:University of Wisconsin–Whitewater alumni]]