To frame Nichelle Brunner in the context of any single word would be misleading. Impassioned, intellectual, funny, stunning, driven, and womanist may allow for a more developed insight into her character, but only slightly so. Now studying Communications in her junior year at Temple University, Brunner’s career aspirations serve as an extension of the dynamic and compassionate person she is.
This past summer, she sojourned in South Africa through Temple’s School of Media and Communications South Africa program. Inspired by an assignment in her Developmental Research class in which she studied rape culture in South Africa, Brunner decided to apply for the six week summer program. From witch killings to child marriages to the rape epidemic in South Africa, she realized there was a plethora of issues affecting women to study. While still passionate about rape culture, the focus of Brunner’s studies became gender based violence.
Her trip evolved into a continually intriguing array of inspirational encounters with selfless non-profit leaders, quickly developed bonds between fellow Temple students and housemates, Janice Durrant and Cambriae Bates, and a prestigious lunch date with the CEO at the Commission for Gender Equality, Keketso Maema.
Sporting her signature dark lipstick, Brunner discusses one encounter which she found to be particularly saddening but uplifting. The students in the summer program visited the house of a woman named Ntombi who ran a nonprofit organization. Despite personal struggles of her own, Ntombi opened her home to blind children to teach them how to live independently. Her perseverance and generous spirit epitomizes the woman Brunner aspires to be, “[to have] my heart being that giving, that full.”
Brunner’s trip furthered her desire to cultivate a career based on her feminist/ womanist ideals. With plans of studying Human Rights in law school, Brunner then wants to become an advocate for children that have been victimized by child marriages. “I say feminist/womanist because the womanist aspect is wanting equal rights for black women,” says Brunner. Before pursuing a law degree, Brunner aims to work with nonprofits that cater to women and children of color. If given the opportunity to return to South Africa, Brunner would further expand her research on gender based violence and seek work with nonprofit organizations.
Brunner has continually immersed herself in constructing the future she wants. Her first internship was with PBS in Arlington, Virginia during the summer prior to her to her sophomore year. With a second summer of reporting under her belt, Brunner’s diligence didn’t cease upon returning to American soil this past August. For over 2 years, Brunner has played an integral role on the News Team at WHIP Radio whose regalia she sported at the interview. She is also a Big Sister in Temple’s Big Brother Big Sister program. In addition to her commitment to student organizations and a full course load, she was recently promoted to a supervisor position at Jimmy John’s in Center City. And with her future in human rights law in mind, Brunner’s applied to a summer program at The University of California, Berkeley which will focus on International Public Policy. Surprisingly, she’s been able to incorporate sleep into her schedule.
“I do sleep. I cry a lot. I’m not even going to lie, I cry a lot. But once I’m done, it’s so therapeutic…I pray a lot. My mom prays on the phone with me. Crying and prayer and just being able to talk to somebody, it works… I recommend that to everyone, just cry. If you’re like ‘I just can’t do this, I’m going to breakdown,’ breakdown because once you breakdown the clean slate begins. You can just become new and keep it moving,” says Brunner.
“People think that’s a cliché, but what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” said Brunner. And if you’re familiar with the relaxed and positive energy she emits, you wouldn’t guess the hardship she endured while growing up in D.C. Her father passed when she was younger and later, her younger brother. “I tell everyone this, 2008 was the worst year of my life. My mom’s job was removing so she lost her job and then my little brother died. So everything was coming at me at once. And I was beginning high school so it was like how do I balance all this, how do I smile through all this when I know what’s going on at home…Those were the hardest obstacles of my life and they still haunt me to this day.” But Brunner’s credits her strength to continue pushing forward to her mom, “…I think my mom’s amazing, she should be everyone’s mom.”
While Brunner’s greatest role model is her mother, she finds her daily rhythmical inspiration in the recent collaboration for the “Flawless Remix” by Beyonce and Nicki Minaj, both of Brunner’s celebrity idols. “I put that song on in the morning, I’m going to have a fabulous day,” she beams.