Date November 13, 2024
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Student Spotlight: ​​Déja Todman ’24.5

By Nancy Kirsch

Déja Todman's journey from Brown undergraduate to entrepreneur was a long and winding road. After a six-year leave of absence, she returned to complete her studies in International and Public Affairs (IAPA) and is currently serving as a liaison for Vera Krichevskaya's virtual workshops on political propaganda.

Enrolling at Brown University in the fall of 2015, concentrating in international relations was meant to fulfill Déja Todman's dream. "At the time, I had a dream of being a diplomat. I thought it was my path to help people," said Todman. "I was born and raised in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and I remember feeling that we, as a community, were invisible. I always joked that we were the orphan children of the United States, as we only had some rights that U.S. citizens have." 

In December 2017, financial and emotional stresses — in part due to two back-to-back category V hurricanes damaging the U.S. Virgin Islands — led Todman to take a leave of absence from Brown.

What Todman initially envisioned as a one-semester leave turned into six years. During that time, she traveled the world and studied several healing modalities, including Caribbean bush (herbal) medicine, yoga and meditation. She also launched a media company, Bananaquit Media LLC, and Déja Chaniah Wellness, where she works with female executives to heal their bodies of stress or trauma to create sustainable lives. 

A chance encounter with one of Todman's yoga students encouraged her to return to Brown to complete her degree. "I came to Brown believing that I needed to advocate for others, but I actually needed to find worth and value in what I thought was important," said Todman. "I had doubts about whether I could successfully return to Brown. I felt too old, and I thought that I had divorced two parts of myself — one a student, the other a healer and a traveler." 

Setting aside her reservations, Todman returned to Brown as an International and Public Affairs (IAPA) concentrator. This semester, she is a liaison for Vera Krichevskaya's virtual workshops on political propaganda. In that capacity, she finds sources to support each study group session, including documentaries, books and articles that will provide virtual workshop participants with deeper insights.

Being surrounded by people at Brown who were so vocal and motivated to do things, I learned the power of speaking my voice and having the ability to create the world I want to see.

Déja Todman IAPA Class of 2024.5
 
​​Déja Todman ’24.5

Todman credits her initial experiences at Brown with empowering her to open up. "When I came here, I was only 17. I didn't know what I wanted out of life, so I did what I thought I should do," she said. "Being surrounded by people at Brown who were so vocal and motivated to do things, I learned the power of speaking my voice and having the ability to create the world I want to see." 

Working as a women's peer counselor for first-year students who identify as women empowered Todman. In fact, it was the genesis for later launching Déja Chaniah Wellness. Discovering the toll that stress was taking on her body, including weight and hair loss, Todman began researching how stress impacts women's hormones and central nervous systems. After Todman had hosted small groups in her dorm room to share what she had learned, Dean Gail Cohee, the executive director of the Sarah Doyle Center for Women and Gender, encouraged Todman to serve as a women's peer counselor. "She was so liberated in how she ran the center, which is still pretty revolutionary — creating a space for women to just come together and be," said Todman. 

Juggling a full-time schedule at Brown and managing her role as chief executive officer and executive wellness consultant has taught Todman to forgo perfection. "When I was just a student and working at jobs to pay my tuition bills, I would obsess over the assignments and try to get perfect grades," said Todman, who said she now benefits from brief naps and meditation. “That led to heartache and turmoil. I've learned to work smarter, not harder. I'm better at managing my energy and focus.”

As for the future, Todman hopes to own a piece of jungle property that can serve as a family home and a holistic retreat center where "people can come and find healing." "They're not too sensitive or lazy to need to slow down," she said. "When they leave, they will have some sort of blueprint to achieve their mission in a sustainable way."