Meet DuShaun Branch

DuShaun is the Assistant Director of Student Involvement at North Central College. She has held positions at Dominican University, Pivotal Chicago, GrubHub, Nordstrom and the Oprah Store. She holds an MBA in Marketing and is a solopreneur in event planning and marketing. She is an activist, emerging DJ, mom, knitter and yoga lover.

Q+A

What expression or saying do you love? (or which one do you hate?)
Currently my favorite expression is “DO YOU BOO!” In work and life you come across people who ask for your opinion but don’t really want it so my new reply is DO YOU BOO and it is just so perfect. People are going to do what they want and sometimes that is just best. My daughter, friends and family have started using the phrase against me so I may have to retire it soon.

Who do you admire?
I admire my 8 year old daughter Amira! In May of 2015 she was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and she has been the ultimate trooper since diagnosis. In the hospital I was losing my mind and she advised that I take some time to go regroup, all while they were putting needles in her little arms and while she looked so sick! I was speechless. Since then she continues to amaze me, she has learned to take her shots, handle odd questions and just take this new challenge like a champ. That is why, it is now so important for me to learn as much about Type 1 Diabetes and be an advocate for my daughter and others living with Type 1 Diabetes.

If you had to change careers what would you want to do? 
I think if you read my resume you would see I have changed careers a few times over and honestly I wouldn’t want to change again. I love the fact that I can do event production and social media in the higher education space and work with some of the most amazing young people ever. I feel like my winding career path led me here and I am ready to build on this. This is such an interesting and exciting time to work in Higher Education and I am glad to be there, especially for the girls who look like me who don’t see people who look like them in roles like mine.

What is your favorite song?
FORMATION: I am currently patiently waiting for the arrival of the new Beyonce album and still listen to her last album daily but Formation is holding me over. The song, the video embodies everything I love, Beyonce, New Orleans and Activism.

Who helped you get here?
I was thinking about this the other day and I have been so blessed in my life to have had a tribe of Seriously Badass women who paved my way. My mother and grandmother who raised me. All of the women in my family who I continue to see do great things for their families all while being able to have a good time.

My college professor and advisor who always pushed me to do more than I wanted to. Two of my bosses and my coworkers from Nordstrom (some of them, NOT all), My bosses at The Oprah Store. My friend and creator of this blog, and my boss at Dominican have all been amazing women who took the time to ask me questions, encourage my work, tell me that I could be and do more and who have still been a source of support.

Because I have had such a dynamic group of women inspire me, I now love working with students and inspiring them and giving them any bit of advice that I can. I see so many young women who think that they are supposed to have their lives figured out at 22 and I am always telling them I am 32 and still don’t know. Trust the process, enjoy the journey. All of those statements are so cliché but so true.

Want more? Connect with DuShaun on Twitter and LinkedIn