Brown Center for Students of Color

Ajeé Schaeffer is an African American, Native American, and Puerto Rican woman born and  raised in the Bronx, NY. After attending Dalton, a Manhattan Private school, from kindergarten  to 12th grade, Ajeé completed her undergraduate degree at Rutgers University-New Brunswick.  Starting out at Dalton as one of four children of color, Ajeé chose to attend Rutgers University as  a way to immerse herself in a diverse environment that was different from her previous 13-year  experience. This was the first step in creating her own identity and finding herself as a young  adult. With a major in Linguistics and a double minor in Africana Studies and English with a  concentration in Creative Writing, Ajeé took full advantage of her time as an undergraduate.  Beyond the classroom, Ajeé danced on Rutgers elite Hip-Hop dance team, Chaos Theory, and  became a sOPhistiCated sister of Omega Phi Chi Multicultural Sorority. Joining a sorority was  not something she ever dreamed of but OPC played an integral role in making her the woman  she is today and Ajeé currently serves as the organization’s National President.  

Growing up in a low-income neighborhood while attending a wealthy private school, showed  Ajeé the true disparities in education. Although she thoroughly enjoyed her time at Dalton, there  was always something missing; people that looked like her and understood all that came with  being a person of color. This is what fuels Ajeé’s passion of working in education. With the  hopes that she could be the type of school leader she wished she had as a student, Ajeé began  working in education in 2013. From teaching dance to working in school operations and then  moving on to being an assistant principal and founding dean of students, Ajeé thoroughly  examined all sides of K-12 education. On April 1, Ajeé will complete her Masters of Science in  Organizational Leadership with a concentration in Education at Northeastern University.  

With her free time, Ajeé loves being a full-time dog mom to her Cavapoo, Mars. She enjoys  hitting the gym, dancing, and anything that has to do with spoken word. Still relatively new to  Rhode Island, Ajeé is always looking to explore what Providence has to offer!