The Observer, November 9, 2007
Volume XL, Issue 10
Student Profile: Brittany English
click to enlarge
Katie Chioran: Why did you choose Case?
Brittany English: I chose Case because my mom works here and speaks highly of it, and I liked the fact that it was big, yet felt like my high school where everyone was close. When I originally came to Case, I wanted to do engineering, and what better place for that?
KC: What are you involved in around campus?
BE: Right now I'm in the Sigma Psi sorority (this is my first semester active), I'm the president of the Spartan cheerleaders, and I'm the Springfest chairperson for concerts. I also work in the Center for Women and the neurobiology lab, and I recently joined Phi Alpha Delta, the pre-law fraternity.
KC: How did you start cheering?
BE: I started cheering when I was about four years old. My brothers played flag football for our small town, and my mom said since I didn't do anything in the fall, I should sign up for cheerleading.
KC: Why did you decide to start cheering at a school where athletics aren't prominent?
BE: Just because I've had such a love for cheerleading throughout my whole life, and I came here and realized it wasn't a varsity sport. Cheerleading's not quite that big in my life that I would switch schools because of it. We're turning it around; it's getting better.
KC: Are you trying to do anything to promote sports around campus?
BE: From the cheerleading perspective, we've been putting on cheer clinics to try to get family members involved. We had a lot of siblings and cousins come for that. We're trying to do more community-involved things. We participated in the Homecoming parade and the tailgate, and we're going to try to do things outside the Case community like volunteering at a shelter.
KC: How did you choose your major and make the shift from engineering major to a psychology and sociology major?
BE: I had always wanted to go into law or Crime, and really wanted to go into forensics. When I researched forensics I decided it wasn't for me, and I decided to do biomedical engineering because I like biology… that didn't work out. All the engineering classes were so different from high school, and I just didn't like it. A lot of my sisters told me about sociology, and I checked it out and thought it was interesting…and while deciding to go into that I thought I would go into law.
KC: Why the pink hair?
BE: My favorite color is obviously pink, and this summer I decided you only live once, so I might as well try it. Most of the freshmen, who were pretty much the only ones on campus, will probably remember because it was mainly pink, and then I dyed it back, and missed it, so…[I dyed it back to pink].
KC: What's the one thing you would change about Case?
BE: The one thing I would change about Case is how there isn't equality in all aspects. Like you said, there isn't that much focus on athletics, but I'm sure half the campus doesn't know the football team just won the UAA conference, and how there's such a difference between engineering and the rest of campus. And even within engineering, there's a huge difference between the number of guys who take it and the number of girls.
KC: What's the most important thing you've learned from Case?
BE: Definitely balancing social life and school life. I didn't have a problem with that in high school, but here the workload is so different. Getting involved is the most important thing. Between my freshman and sophomore year, becoming more involved made it a lot easier.
