When new students come to the Honors College, they’re bound to meet Brittney Kwan. Her space is not hard to find. It’s directly in front of the end of the hall to the entrance of the Honors office and her cabinets are lined with rubber duckies that she won in a single session at Dave & Busters.
While she considers herself an introvert, Brittney’s academic journey is one of adventure and spontaneity.
She earned her Bachelors in Journalism from The University of Tennessee. During her time there, she did an internship at the NBC affiliate in Memphis. That’s what led up to a change in her career path.
“I had an eye-opening experience that it was not the lifestyle for me,” she said. “I was just like, I don’t think I could desensitize myself.”
It’s a story that many undergraduate students can relate to. During winter break of her senior year, she realized she didn’t want to go into journalism.
“I thought, ‘Okay, I’m graduating this semester. This is not good. What am I going to do with my life?’ So, I started looking at graduate programs,” she said.
From there, she completed her Masters in Education from The University of Missouri.
It was on the job hunt when the opportunity presented itself for her to be an adviser at UTA as an Honors adviser.
In a matter of days, she interviewed for the job with the Honors staff on Skype and moved from Tennessee to Arlington, where she feels right at home in a unique academic environment.
“I go to any college campus whenever I get a chance just because I love to get a feel for what the vibe is like and the culture and seeing the architecture on campus – I know – it’s really nerdy,” she said.
When she got to UTA, she knew it was different, primarily because of the diversity.
“I know we talk about that a lot,” she said. “But I tell students: Don’t take it for granted.”
Always keeping her cool through the year, she also expresses her fun but calm character through the various social media channels on the Honors Facebook page, Instagram, and Twitter. Students may also recognize her usual “This Week In Honors” emails promoting upcoming events and golden opportunities.
She said her experience as an undergraduate Honors student also gave her some insight in helping students navigate their own path.
The best part of her job is seeing students blossom up to graduation.
“It’s good to watch [students] develop and grow and see what they come in as and what they’re thinking they want to do and what they end up doing once they leave,” she said. “It’s rewarding.”