Diante Vance-Jewett is in his second year at UW-La Crosse studying Organizational and Professional Communication with a minor in Philosophy, he is from Milwaukee, WI…oh, and he’s a Nicki Manaj fanatic. Keep reading to find out why that is and more about this awesome UWL sophomore!
*PGPs: He/Him/His
J: Do you have any nicknames?
D: My parents call me Dee, but I hate it… like… I hate it. Some people call me DJ and some people call me King Diante.
J: So tell me a little bit about yourself …
D: (chuckles) I’m Diante, I’m from Milwaukee, WI. I went to Rufus King HS and graduated in 2014. I first went to school for a year at UW-Stevens Point but I disliked it… a lot, so I transferred here. I come from a very diverse family! My mother, believe it or not, is Vietnamese and was born in Saigon, Vietnam during the Vietnam war. She was adopted by a Caucasian family, so my family is Caucasian and my father is Native and Black.
J: So I hear you’re a huge Nicki Minaj fan … what about her makes you like her so much?
D: Her ambition. I thrive off of ambition, and it is very appealing to me. Also, umm … she is a phenomenal rapper, phenomenal artist; She is very talented.
J: What’s one thing that no one knows about you?
D: I like to swim in the ocean; I like the atmosphere of just being in a serene place. But only the ocean, though. I really don’t like lakes. Lakes are just so nasty, just ugh, and it’s also really harsh on my skin.
J: Are you a part of anything on campus?
D: Ah! Black Student Unity!
J: Where can people usually find you on the weekends?
D: [laughs] … At the TURNUP!!
J: Who is your biggest inspiration and why?
D: I’m going to say my mom, mi madre porque …. Because of her determination to get from the bottom to the top—to get her PhD.
J: Do you have any special talents?
D: Does swimming count? I can perform all the strokes in swimming.
J: Who’s your Best Friend and why?
D: Rebecca Lenski. We’ve been best friends since our freshman year of high school. Um…. We are honestly the same person … Different people, same personality. We do everything together. We even go to school together (UWL).
J: Are you so excited for Valentine’s day or what?
D: Actually yeah, because me and my squad are getting each other chocolate and we are going to spend time with each other.
J: How do you feel about the controversy on Beyonce’s Formation Video?
D: I really haven’t looked too much into it just because … 1. There’s a lot of bias, 2. Theres a lot of strong feelings involved in talking about it … However, the video was fierce!! It gave me life, and I SLAY, ALL DAY.