This week we bring to you our new Miss Hampton University 2017-18, Brooklyne Baker. Brooklyne Baker is a graduating Senior, Journalism major, Theatre minor from Richmond, VA. She is currently a member of the Greer Dawson Wilson Student Leadership Training Program, a Senior Class Officer, College Girls Senior Ambassador, and a proud Spring ’17 initiate of the Gamma Iota Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She tirelessly continues to show her dedication and hard work throughout everything she does. Brooklyne enjoys dancing, empowering Black women, blogging, writing screenplays, and bonding with her sisters.
HC: What sparked your interest to become Miss Hampton University?
BB: What sparked my interest was my mom. She was a first generation Hamptonian, so I’ve known the campus for a while and basically when I came here my freshman year I hated Hampton. Girl I did not like Hampton at all and then I just realized like Brooklyne you’re either going to be here and participate or not. I always tell people Hampton is what you make it, so you just really have to throw yourself in here and just figure it out. Once I started joining organizations, first I was on Ebony Fire, then I joined SLP and everything else. I became a class officer and that’s when I really fell in love with Hampton. I really think Hampton cultivated me into the woman that I am today genuinely. Being Miss Hampton University I feel that I can help cultivate other young women to fall in love with Hampton and become the leaders of today.
HC: How do you plan on balancing Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and being Miss Hampton?
BB: That’s a good question. Delta and the work of Miss Hampton kind of go hand and hand. We believe in service first and with my title this year I just plan on working, just serving in every capacity. So my sisters can even come with me and we can do things together or I can do things separately. I just think the work goes hand and hand with Delta. I am the journalist for my organization, so pretty much I just do the social media aspect on that hand. It’s still a big task, but it’s definitely something that you can also have other obligations with.
HC: Being a Richmond, VA native did you always want to attend HU?
BB: NO! My mom wanted me so bad to come here. I thought the campus was absolutely beautiful, but I didn’t always know I wanted to go here. Once you come here and then you just feel the love and the family environment then you fall in love with it. I feel like once you’re an alumna or alumni, you just love it and you just have to figure it out for yourself.
HC: Where did you want to go to school?
BB: I didn’t want to go anywhere. I honestly, genuinely did not want to go anywhere. I’m into musical theatre, I’m a theatre minor so genuinely I wanted to move to New York, go audition and just pursue my Broadway career. Then my mom was like, Brooklyne let’s try this college thing out and I’m like ugh ok mom, so we made a deal and we said we’re going to try a year. I tried a year and fell in love with it and now I’m Miss Hampton so my mom was like see I told you so.
HC: In honor of Homecoming Week, and being the face of Hampton University, what are your top three events you are most excited for?
BB: Well it’s so crazy that I’m looking forward to the coronation. It’s just so crazy, I saw my face on the flyer and I’m just like oh my gosh like this is real. So coronation definitely that’s on Monday and my mom’s coming she’s so excited. I’m also looking forward to the Fashion Show, a lot of my close friends are the chair of the fashion show and they put so much hard work and dedication into it, so I’m extremely excited to see that come into fruition. The Greek Step Show too, my sisters have also put in a lot of hard work towards that so I’m extremely excited about that.
HC: What are some of your responsibilities as Miss Hampton University, especially during homecoming week?
BB: Okay so I had no clue that it’s the anniversary of Miss Hampton so I’m the 60th Miss Hampton. It’s going to be a whole float of all of them. That’s going to be super cool that I get to meet everybody, so to see something they love so dearly in my hands that’s a huge obligation to me. When it comes to homecoming, for the most part being the face, especially with it being such a monumental year. It being the 150th anniversary and President Harvey’s 40th anniversary. Just making sure that I am doing everything that I’m supposed to be doing, speaking well on our behalf and answering any questions, comments or concerns that alumnae have. Making sure that they have the best experience possible.
HC: Do you ever feel pressured to live up to your sister’s accomplishments?
BB: Absolutely, girl yes! I have two amazing sisters that I’m literally obsessed with, but they’re extremists. My older sister, she just graduated from Columbia University which is an Ivy League and my little sister just dropped out of school. She’s pursuing her rap career and she’s having major people looking at her so we’re just so gracious that God is moving us in such monumental ways. Then I’m in the middle, I’m Miss Hampton, I feel like God is just really moving on all of our behalves. It’s not so much of pressure because they’re literally my biggest cheerleaders. It’s more so just I know if I tweak or whatever that my sisters will be there for me and same vice versa.
HC: Is there any friendly sibling rivalry? Do you push each other to be better?
BB: Absolutely! Literally, without my sisters, I would not be anything. They are my absolute everything. When it came to my talent you know Braxton is highly musically inclined, so she pretty much made up my dance along with my line sisters so that was a big thing. Braxton, of course, is extremely smart you know in order to rap you have to have metaphors and all that craziness. I don’t know how her mind goes that fast! Then, my other sister, she’s extremely intelligent. She was my interview coach and Jesus she interviewed me all the time. That just shows no matter what field you’re in you can come together and make a dream happen and that’s what they did for me.
HC: Where do you see ‘The Good Girl Movement’ in the next 5 years?
BB: That question used to stump me OD because pretty much it originally started off as a blog and I just thought that people would maybe feel me I wasn’t sure you know. I just know that this was something that I thought God wanted me to do, but now I have two collegiate campus organizations at two different campuses; one at Shenandoah University and Mississippi University, and I’m about to have one at Winston Salem University. The fact that, that’s just happening so rapidly, I just started this last year is just crazy to me and now that I’m Miss Hampton I can really implement it here at Hampton University. I feel like the sky’s the limit for ‘The Good Girl Movement’. I did not know that it would take off the way it has. I just still want to instill the humbleness, but I mean we’re going up right now *laughs*.
HC: What do you want to do with your degree?
BB: You know I’m a senior now and I was so lost over the summer time so I went on a fast and I was like “God, where am I supposed to go because I’m about to graduate?” So I figured out that I’m applying to film school now and I’m praying to go to film school when I graduate because I realized that I wanted to be a filmmaker. I want to tell stories. I think that’s so amazing that everybody on this earth has a story and I want to be the one to tell that story. My degree with journalism has helped me be able to write plays. I’m actually writing the BHX play that’s happening during Black History Month so that’ll be my first time really launching my creative juices for the world to see. I’m super excited about that, shout out to the Student Leadership Program. When it comes to my theatre minor, I am into acting. I know exactly how to direct, I’m in my directing class now and I know how to tell my actors what to do because I’ve been there. I feel like both my minor and major are really helping me. I didn’t realize that God was really aligning my life to work out the way that it is going.
HC: Dave East, Meek Mill, or A Boogie?
BB: Girl, Dave East is fine like OD fine. I’m not hip to Dave East’s music unfortunately, I have to do better. I just know that he’s fine and I follow him on Instagram and like every picture.
HC: If you could give any advice to your high school self what would it be?
BB: I would say to trust the process. That’s literally the advice I would tell anybody ever in life genuinely because when I was in high school I was trying to find my way like I’m still trying to find my way. Even my mom, she’s going through things right now and she’s on the way to her breakthrough; so it’s just to trust the process genuinely no matter what stage in life that you’re at because God has a plan and where there’s a will there’s a way.
Be sure to follow Brooklyne on Instagram @hello_brooklyne & Twitter @HelloBrooklyne, & be sure to also follow ‘The Good Girl Movement’ on Instagram @thegoodgirlmovement!