Andrea-Rose Oates, a sophomore majoring in policy studies, recently joined alumnus John Boccacino ’20 E.M.P.A. for his ’Cuse Conversations podcast to talk about what motivates her to serve as a student leader and why she hopes to encourage fellow students of color to explore their heritage.

Dylan France, a senior majoring in finance and real estate in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, also joined the conversation.

Oates leads Dimensions, a peer-to-peer mentoring program geared toward self-identified women of color. Ever since she was a child, Oates has been inspired to do good and make her community a better place. But that drive intensified in the summer of 2020 after George Floyd died in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

“That’s when I became passionate about my advocacy work…talking about the issues affecting the Black population within America and the world, really focusing on that and getting more involved with not only my advocacy, but also my direct action to bring about change in these issues,” says Oates, who is also majoring in public relations in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.