Dorothy Jean Tillman describes herself as “just a Gen Zer.”
She, like many 17-year-olds, likes to dance, paint and hang out with her friends. She’s heading to Amsterdam in March for her 18th birthday, and will graduate in May, standing shoulder to shoulder with her peers.
But Dorothy is not about to finish high school, like most teens her age. She’s graduating from a doctoral program at Arizona State University, having successfully defended her dissertation and earning her Ph.D. in integrated behavioral health.
Her research focused on reducing stigma among college students about using campus mental health services.
Her achievements would be considered remarkable for most adults, let alone any teenager.
A college degree at age 12. A double master’s in environmental and sustainable science at age 14.
The Bronzeville teen dedicated herself to STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) education, and founded the Dorothyjeanius STEAM Leadership Institute in Chicago and the Dorothy Jeanius STEAM Labs in Chicago and West Cape Town, South Africa. She also advises the Ghanaian government on STEAM education and programs for youth.
But her journey hasn’t always been easy. Being in a league of her own with her academics was often isolating, she said.
“Not having the same things that my peers had, not getting to go to school dances and join school groups were what I was really missing out on,” Dorothy said. “I bring that to parents’ attention before they think about homeschooling their kids.”
She credits her “momager,” Jimalita Tillman, for always pushing her. Her educational and entrepreneurial endeavors are just as much her mom’s vision as they are hers.
She has also learned from her grandmother and namesake, former Ald. Dorothy Tillman.
“I wouldn’t be here without my mom,” the younger Dorothy said. “I wouldn’t be here without the intelligence that she has and the way she can foresee things and know they’re going to be big. My granny also taught me a lot, just sitting around with her at the kitchen table and learning from her, I gained so much from that.”
The eldest Tillman, who represented the 3rd Ward for over 20 years and marched in Selma, Alabama, with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., said her family has always valued education.
“Dr. Tillman has a responsibility to carry to be a shining light for young people, for them to know they can do it,” the former City Council member said. “To have the humility that she has with it is very representative of how I tried to raise all of my children.”
Talents displayed early on
“She always wanted to be different,” Jimalita Tillman said of her daughter. Tillman is the global director for the Harold Washington Cultural Center, which houses the leadership institute where she serves as chief operating officer. Her X bio reads, “MomCEO of 17-year-old doctoral candidate @dorothyjeanius.”
Her mom said she noticed that from a young age, Dorothy was beyond her years and could handle more advanced material. Tillman enrolled her in high school-level classes after school when she felt the rigor of her elementary school wasn’t enough.
At 10 years old, Dorothy enrolled at the College of Lake County where she majored in psychology and completed her associate’s degree in 2016.
She excelled in her courses, her mom said, though professors at College of Lake County initially didn’t want to teach someone so young and didn’t think she could handle the material. The president of the college had to grant her permission to attend.
“She proved that she could always keep up,” Tillman said. “She didn’t think the rigor was a big deal.”
She then completed a bachelor’s degree in humanities from Excelsior University, an online school in New York.
Her mom then encouraged Dorothy to pursue her doctorate. She hesitated at first.
“I never really thought that I would do it until my mom introduced the idea to me,” Dorothy said. “But having that support, that person to tell you, ‘I believe in you. I have your back.’ That kept me assured that I was doing the right thing.”
Her schooling at ASU, done remotely, involved 18 hours of coursework per week. Her degree focused on how to integrate behavioral and physical health, and she spent a year researching her dissertation before presenting her findings in November.
Her dissertation investigated whether better outreach from college campuses would encourage students to access mental health resources. She said that although her generation is more open about mental health, more needs to be done to provide young people with resources.
“A lot of students weren’t getting help because of stigma on mental health, but a lot of them [also] weren’t getting help because their school wasn’t really pushing out their mental health resources so they didn’t know,” Dorothy said.
Lesley Manson, a professor at ASU and the chair of Dorothy’s doctorate committee, said Dorothy readily accepted feedback on her research.
“When she was challenged, she always reached out and said, ‘Hey, can I have a conversation? Can I learn a little bit more about what you’re really asking for on this?’” Manson said. “And I always think that’s wonderful. Not everybody does that.”
Dorothy is the youngest student Manson has ever had, she said. Doctoral programs tend to have people from a variety of ages, and some of her students have pushed 90 years old. But the average age in the program is 45.
“She was limited by the stage of life she’s in being so young, but she’ll have more opportunities with what she can do with her degree because she’s so young,” Manson said.
Blending arts and science
The intensity and solitude of her academic work is why Dorothy sought an outlet to develop her artistic side. In 2019, she started dancing with the Happiness Club, a performing arts organization, which also gave her the chance to be around kids her age.
“I did all kinds of STEM and coding programs, and I loved those,” Dorothy said. “But there was an unbalance there with my right and left brain, and I really was looking for an artistic outlet. And my dance group has given me that balance and that social interaction I needed.”
Tanji Harper, the artistic director for the Happiness Club, has watched Dorothy flourish since joining the program.
“The difference in her now from 13 is immeasurable,” Harper said. “It is outstanding. She has become so comfortable with how she speaks about who she is. She has to be formidable to be a young Black woman who is decorated the way that she is.”
And she remains committed to giving back. At the leadership institute, which opened in 2020, one of her programs is a six-week summer camp for kids ages 9 to 15.
Aryn Delette, a 19-year-old nursing student from the south suburbs, has been a counselor for the summer camp since 2020.
“Campers are able to learn and explore every letter of STEAM,” Delette said. “Not every one is a dancer or a theater kid, but we want them to branch out and try new things. You might not love theater, but at least you can say you tried it.”
“A lot of kids are a lot more comfortable in a space where they’re encouraged to be all over the place and figure out what they want to do and want to learn,” Dorothy said.
She’s still figuring out her future. She wants to keep growing her camp, which she self-funds through speaking engagements and bake sales so that kids can attend for free. She hopes to apply what she learned while earning her doctorate to ensure young people have access to the resources they need.
Dorothy also recognizes that she’s become a representative for Chicago’s youth, a role she knows is a big responsibility. She emphasizes that when kids and parents learn about her accomplishments, they don’t have to replicate what she’s done.
“I hope other kids hear my story and know they have their own gifts,” Dorothy said. “They can do whatever they want to do.”
