Love Island USA fans are buzzing about the reunion that aired Monday evening. Since leaving the villa, cast members have made several media appearances and have shared more about their lives prior to participating in the show. Fan-favorite Olandria Carthen answered questions from fans ahead of the reunion and talked about attending an HBCU.
Olandria Carthen attended Tuskegee University
The 27-year-old shared her academic achievement on the show and later added more detail. In a recent TikTok Live, she told fans that her time on campus were some of her best years.
“The best five years of my life, literally. A lot of people would ask: Why would you choose to go to an HBCU? I’m like, I have the rest of my life to be a minority. I wanted to see how it felt to be a majority,” she said. “When I walk around, I wake up… everybody looks like me, you know? The rest of my life, I have that to be a minority but it truly felt good to be a majority.”
Olandria graduated from Tuskegee University in May 2022 with a Bachelor’s degree in supply chain management. She is also the first person in her family to graduate from both high school and college.
“Figuring out this journey day by day with no guidance has by far been the hardest thing I’ve done,” Olandria captioned an Instagram post. “Mother Tuskegee thank you for breaking me down and building me up into the strong fearless woman that I am today.”
Where did Olandria Carthen work before ‘Love Island’ Season 7?
Hailing from Decatur, Alabama, Olandria worked in the elevator and escalator industry. She was a sales associate at Otis Elevator Co. in Houston prior to joining the show, according to her LinkedIn profile which has since been taken down, Marie Claire reported.
Olandria also had modeling experience, a career she hopes to pursue more in the future, she said in an interview with Teen Vogue.
