Brianna, or “Bri” as she likes to be called, is a very outgoing, bubbly, energetic, intelligent young woman, who at a young age has many cultural and ethnic experiences. Originally from the south, specifically Georgia, at 12 years old she moved up north, to Canton, Ohio. She now lives with her partner in Reynoldsburg along with many pets including Josh the Corgi, four cats, two guinea pigs and a few fish!
Born in America from an immigrant father from Togo, West Africa, Bri has always had to navigate two very distinct cultures and languages: French (Togo) and English (American). Being very mindful of the cultural differences, she tries to not appear to be too American in her African relatives’ presence and vice versa. She did learn to speak a small amount of French, but not her indigenous Togo language.
She attributes her love of cooking to her cultural influences. “Cooking is my love language,” Bri begins. “I love cooking for people. Two of my favorites are West African cuisine and southern cooking. I always offer to cook for my friends, rather than go out. I find it so much more enjoyable!”
As a student leader, Bri met Annalies on Learning Unboxed through an episode with WOW (Wonders of our World) where she previously worked. WOW is a collaborative outreach education program between active scientists and elementary school teachers sponsored by The Ohio State University’s College of Arts and Sciences. Now in its 25th year, WOW brings the excitement of science and engineering into elementary school classrooms.
“I never thought I would enjoy going into schools and working directly with elementary students, but I do!” Bri shares. OSU. “I had the privilege of supporting students in underserved communities.” Working at WOW during the pandemic was a challenge as they changed the classroom model to providing take home kits and curriculums.
“I was not familiar with PAST but after learning about PAST from Annalies Corbin, PAST’s President & CEO, I was very interested. As Annalies suggested, I connected with Ashley Price, Director of Student Experiences about job opportunities. Ultimately, I was hired as a summer instructor the summer of my senior year at OSU.”
Earning her Bachelors in Criminology with a minor in Forensic Anthropology, Bri put her career skills as an investigative intern at the BMV (Bureau of Motor Vehicles) to work right away by running a forensic science camp at PAST. “While my work at the BMV was interesting, at times it was a challenge to manage the emotion.”
“When pursuing my interest in PAST, I was very persistent and knew I wanted to work here. I emailed Ashley several times and my determination paid off. I was hired in May shortly after I graduated. I am very persistent and as a Capricorn I am very head strong!”
Bri enjoys working for PAST for many reasons especially because she is always learning new things. “I built a laser printer! Andy Bruening, Chief Innovation Officer, unpacked the printer and handed it to me to build. That experience, while a bit scary at first, was a very cool experience. I have been able to have new experiences like block coding and 3D printing.” Bri has always been a STEM person but early on she had some poor experiences with teachers so she moved to the softer sciences, but look at her now.
“Clearly my biggest challenge was the PILs (Portable Innovation Labs), which are free resources that help teachers provide unique educational opportunities to their students. These experiences provide diverse hands-on lab experiences and were created to nurture STEM identity. The PILs were a new product and needed to be figured out. I am very excited to be working through this implementation and having a chance to be the catalyst of change. Some of my challenges were trying to get acclimated to PAST partially because of my inexperience in the field of business. I was given the permission and latitude to own this project and I have found the experience to be truly amazing because the PAST climate is so enthusiastic and supportive. Every tribe member wants to assist in my success,” Bri reflects.
She chose the Investigator of Intellect as her meta title because of her forensic science background, she is a Gemini rising, she loves to find answers to problems, and that she also liked the alliteration of the title.
Looking to the future, career-wise she is very focused on expanding the PILs helping them become accessible to all educators and students. This program is already experiencing more growth than expected and rapid growth it is. Working with the Columbus Metropolitan Library system, an abbreviated PIL offering is available to visitors at many Columbus locations. “I want PILs to be everywhere across the nation and the world. This project has the ability to spread the great work that PAST does, everywhere!” With Bri’s effervescent personality, her determination, and enthusiasm, that just might happen.
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