Masonya Joy Bennett, a native of Morven, received the Doctor of Philosophy in Global and Sociocultural Studies from the Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs at Florida International University, Miami, Florida, on April 28.

Her dissertation topic was “The New Black in the New South: Negotiating Race and Space in North Carolina’s Immigrant Communities.” The major professor guiding Bennett’s Doctoral Committee was Dr. Andrea Queeley.

Bennett is a 2003 graduate of Anson High School. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a bachelor’s in Africana Studies and International Studies. She later earned a master’s from UNCC in Latin American Studies.

Fluent in Spanish, Bennett immersed herself in Spanish-speaking countries, prior to attending Florida International. She first participated in a study abroad experience in the Dominican Republic where she studied at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre Maestra.

Following her graduation from UNCC with the undergraduate degree, she taught English at the St. John’s Bilingual School in Puerto Cortez, Honduras, for one year.

After earning her master’s, she taught English for two years at Universite El Norte in Barranquille, Colombia.

Bennett is teaching Africana Studies courses at Central Washington University, in Ellensburg, Washington. She is the daughter of Nelson and Winnie Bennett of Morven and has two siblings, Adrienne and Paul.

Masonya Joy Bennett
https://ansonrecord.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/web1_IMG_3107.jpgMasonya Joy Bennett

The Anson Record