Today we’d like to introduce you to Benjamin Collier II and India Collier.
Benjamin and India, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
India and I both attended college at Spelman and Morehouse, where we met freshman year. I remember the first time I saw her. I instantly knew that this was the girl that I would marry. It still blows my mind to this day because I didn’t know much about her, but I quickly began asking questions in order to learn her story. After graduating from high school and starting at Morehouse, I had the goal of doing really well within my field of study and working to become a member of my fraternity. By the time sophomore year rolled around I chased India on a regular basis.
Fourteen years later and we are married, and just birthed the love of our lives, Tatum Linsey Collier. India is a Board-certified Orthodontist, practicing here in Atlanta, and I am a corporate professional. We both find joy in giving back to our communities, and sharing from past experiences to help people grow, develop, learn, and lead. The name “Bendia” was created by our friends who thought it was funny/creative to merge my name, Ben, and my wife’s name, India, together. Since then, we have honestly just owned it.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Neither of our lives has been a smooth road, but our adversities have helped to shape us into the people we are today. Ben is the first male on both sides of his family with a bachelor’s degree. He was primarily raised by his two older sisters that made sacrifices early in life. His mom has battled drug addiction on and off her entire life. His father was in prison for 15 years of his childhood. Ben is now ten years into his career, a corporate professional, a father, a husband, a brother, a son, and a leader. His life is filled with challenging moments, but he works hard to keep going and to show the youth and others around him that beating your adversities is possible.
India lost her mom at the early age of eight due to breast cancer. Losing her mother and being raised by a single father, who worked to get his private dental practice off the ground has been a challenge. India was denied into her top choice dental program post-college. Rather than stopping, India continued to push forward. She worked for a year gaining more experience in her father’s dental practice and reapplied. Within four years, India finished 4th in her dental class and was the second African American to be accepted into her Orthodontic Residency program. She now practices in private practice at Atlanta Orthodontic Specialists.
We now have our first baby, a ten-month-old beautiful baby girl. Raising a newborn is a struggle within itself, but balancing very demanding careers and striving to help those around us can also be challenging. We work hard to provide for our family and to ensure our marriage is secure and built on a strong foundation. We continue to overcome our adversities and hope to share how we were able to do so with the greater community.
Please tell us more about your work. What do you guys do? What do you specialize in? What sets you apart from competition?
India is a Board Certified Orthodontist. She endured almost seven years of post graduate education to specialize in the field of Orthodontics after completing dental school. She took additional exams after completing residency to become a Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics. She now practices in the Atlanta area with Atlanta Orthodontic Specialists, which now has five practice locations. Their team of seven doctors has more collective clinical experience than any other practice in the state. They are proud utilize state of the art technology and are known for using SureSmile technology to create customized experiences for each patient that ensures exceptional treatment outcomes and shorter treatment times. India treats patients mainly in the Sandy Springs and College Park locations and welcomes you to join her family of patients.
India also started her art business, ILC Canvas Creations, in 2018. She has been an artist her whole life, but decided to share her talents with others with the creation of her art business. She commissions custom acrylic paintings, as well as sells prints of her work on Etsy and via her personal website. She is best known for her portraits, but has a wide range of collections including dental art work and scenery from around the world. India finds joy in using her hand skills along with her creativity to create acrylic canvas paintings for others to enjoy.
Ben is a corporate professional who has over a decade of management consulting experience and now serves as a human capital professional for a privately held company here in Atlanta. Ben and India are both passionate about helping people find their way within their relationships, as well as their careers, which has ultimately led us to creating our shared blog space www.BendiaBlog.com.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bendiablog.com
- Email: bendia.collier@gmail.com
- Instagram: bendia.blog
- Facebook: BendiaBlog
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