Déjà D. Rollins

“When I dare to be powerful — to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.” – Audre Lorde

Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, I made the small leap to East Texas to pursue my undergraduate education. I earned an Associate of Arts degree in Advertising & Public Relations from Tyler Junior College in 2010 before transferring to the University of Texas at Tyler, where I graduated in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism and a minor in Speech Communication.

My broadcast career began at the age of 19 as a full-time on-air personality for East Texas’ only rhythmic radio station, The Blaze, where I achieved number one Arbitron ratings for hosting the best night show in the region. After graduation, I transitioned to television news, working as a multimedia journalist and producer for CBS19 News, a local station in East Texas.

In 2014, I transitioned to a career in higher education after experiencing microaggressions and navigating newsroom politics. I served as the Assistant Director of Student Media for six years while earning a master’s degree in Emerging Media and Communication. This period allowed me to explore psychological and media effect theories related to my lived experiences and gain the tools to critically examine them further.

Currently, I am a doctoral candidate in the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. My research focuses on media effects, with an emphasis on social media, race, and their emotional and cognitive outcomes.