Wendy Osefo, best known for her role on The Real Housewives of Potomac, has succeeded in many areas. From being a respected political commentator to running a candle business, she now takes on an exciting new role as a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Wesleyan University.
Her latest venture involves teaching a course focused on the Sociology of Reality TV, blending her academic background with her real-life experiences on television.
In an interview with Black Enterprise, Osefo expressed her enthusiasm about her new position and how it connects her passions for education and media. She revealed that the course inspired her desire to combine her professional academic career with her current work in reality television.
“I want to teach a course in which I can marry my academic career with some of the work I’m doing now, and that is on reality TV,” Osefo explained. “So I just started writing and writing, and one sentence led to two, and then two sentences led to four pages. And then eventually I had all of these pages where I was like, I want to do a class. And I wrote up a class, and it’s titled The Sociology of Reality TV.”
How Wesleyan University Embraced Osefo’s Vision
Once the course was designed, Osefo began searching for a university that would support her vision. She initially planned to pitch the course to several institutions but found immediate success with Wesleyan University.
“I had the readings and I had these themes for each week, and I was like, ‘Let me pitch this to different universities to see who will be interested in this,’” she said. “And, you know, lucky for me, the first university I pitched it to, they were like, ‘We love this.’”
Wesleyan not only embraced her course idea but also offered her the prestigious title of Distinguished Visiting Professor. This recognition holds special meaning for Osefo, who has not always felt valued in her academic career.
Feeling Valued as a Distinguished Professor
Osefo expressed deep gratitude for Wesleyan’s belief in her and their decision to honor her with such a distinguished role. “They [Wesleyan University] were like, ‘No, we want you to be a Distinguished Professor.’ And that is something that is just so rewarding because in my career as a professor, one thing I didn’t mention was I didn’t feel appreciated,” she said.
She added that her experience at Wesleyan marked a turning point in her academic journey. “I didn’t feel like people saw the value in what I brought to the institution, but for Wesleyan, as much prestige as they have, to see me and to say, ‘Not only do we want you, but we want you to have the title of Distinguished Professor,’ I was like, this is a sign.”
Where to Watch Wendy Osefo
Fans can continue watching Wendy Osefo on The Real Housewives of Potomac, which airs every Sunday on Bravo and is available for streaming on Peacock. Her new role as a professor adds another dimension to her multifaceted career, showcasing her ability to succeed in diverse fields.
