She made a name for herself

Let's all say hi to Dr. Marijuana Pepsi Vandyck.

That is her real name, and who would have given her a name like that?  I mean, "Vandyck"?  Sounds vaguely Dutch, or like Dick Van Dyke.

But seriously, don't try to tell Marijuana Pepsi Vandyck that an odd name will hold anyone back. In fact, she just earned her PhD last month; her dissertation topic “Black names in white classrooms: Teacher behaviors and student perceptions,” looked at how black students with non-mainstream names are treated by the people who run predominantly white schools.

She was the perfect person to look into that matter, for the love of Pete. She was named Marijuana Pepsi Jackson at her birth in 1972.  Her aunt verifies that lots of weed was being consumed in that Watergate Summer so long ago, and Pepsi was popular for cooling a throat that had just torched a mean doob.

Dr Vandyck said her mom had an idea about the name. “She said that she knew when I was born that you could take this name and go around the world with it. At the time as a child, I’m thinking yeah, right. You named my older sister Kimberly. You named my younger sister Robin.”

Her Aunt Mayetta Jackson said, "I thought it was crazy, but they were such fun-loving people that it suited them.”

The fun didn't last; her parents broke up and her home life was rough. She left home at 15, with what few possessions she could round up going with her in a pillowcase, and when she was taken in by friends, her grades and attendance in school went way up and she was on the path to success, odd name or no.

She was graduated from high school in 1990 as "Most Improved Student," and headed to the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater on a scholarship. And she became a teacher, went on to earn a master's degree, and became a real estate broker.  Her FOR SALE signs identified the seller as "MP" because the early versions that carried her full name were often stolen by fans of either marijuana or Pepsi.

She tells a local Wisconsin newspaper that she is married to a welder; they have children, and live on a small farm with pigs and chickens. She's the director of a program at Beloit College for students who are from low-income backgrounds, are first-generation college students, or have disabilities.

She has never tried marijuana.

Her plan is to endow a scholarship at her alma mater for people who are the first in their families to attend college. She wishes to call it The Marijuana Pepsi Scholarship, and I have every reason to believe it will all come true for a woman who was born with a name that stands out, and now has accomplishments to match.

“I’ve grown into my name because I am a strong woman,” Dr Vandyck says. “I’ve had to be.”