Humans of Bryant is the latest social media sensation trending at Bryant! Humans of Bryant mimics the Humans of New York blog but is of Bryant’s very own students! They started their blog on Instagram about three weeks ago and already have about 440 followers. Their Facebook page has over 200 likes! Check it out for yourself on their Instagram @humansofbryant and Facebook page @humansofbryantuniversity. Continue reading to meet the masters behind it all!
Name: Cassandra Priante
Grade: Freshman
Graduation Year: 2019
Major/Minor: Undecided
Hometown: Natick, Massachusetts
Name: Emily Bullock
Grade: Freshman
Graduation Year: 2019
Major/Minor: IB Marketing Major/Spanish Minor
Hometown: Brockton, Massachusetts
HC: What inspired you guys to start Humans of Bryant?
EB: We have always been huge fans of the Humans of New York blog and I actually had a dream that I was chasing Brandon Stanton (creator of Humans of New York) down the streets of New York and that I wanted to talk to him. After that I thought, hey why don’t we start this. There was already a Humans of Bryant page but it hadn’t been active in a few years, so we decided to restart it! Personally, I was really quiet in high school and missed out on opportunities to get to know people and this helped me so much. We really want to inspire people to do the same and break beyond the small talk.
CP: It’s just a really cool way to connect people and bring them together and even for us to meet people. We want to do this so everyone can get to know the amazing people around them that they might not get the chance to meet otherwise. I was very friendly in high school, but there was a lot more I could have done looking back now. I could have gotten to know people on a deeper level. Through this, I have met a lot of amazing people!
HC: How do you decide who you want to interview?
EB: So, we don’t really have a criteria. We find someone in our general area and ask if they are interested. We usually ask someone who is sitting alone. We think that someone is more open to talk if they are by themselves than with friends because they might be scared to speak their mind in front of others. We try to do different locations and get people of all walks of life to interview.
HC: What is the process of how you interview? How do you decide what questions to ask?
CP: When we first go up to people, we ask them if they are familiar with Humans of Bryant and if they are comfortable being interviewed. Then we start with an open floor, like if there is something they want to share then we let them run with it. We also have a list of questions or come up with them on the spot if the interviewee needs guidance or help getting started. The next question builds off of their answer and then it becomes a fluid conversation. Our idea is that everyone has a story to tell if you give them the chance to have a voice.
HC: Have you faced any challenges with starting this?
CP: No, there have been some rejections when we ask people to be interviewed but they are very polite about it. Some people are just not 100 percent comfortable with the idea of being interviewed by a complete stranger, which is totally fine!
EB: Overall we are blown away about how accepting people are! A lot of people want this to be a club, but it would be really hard to open that up and would make it less personal. Humans of Bryant is all about making a connection and we don’t want it to be too structured or feel like a chore. That doesn’t mean that people can’t do this on their own if they want to.
CP: Also, people think that they have nothing worth saying and that just breaks my heart! Everyone has something to say and should have the opportunity to voice their thoughts!
HC: What kind of feedback have you gotten from the Bryant community?
CP: We have gotten very positive feedback! Everyone has been super accepting of it. Someone said to me once, “Wow you guys really have a good thing going here!” and it just felt great to hear that. It’s not every day that people have a complete stranger genuinely want to hear what they have to say. We try not to facilitate the interview too much, we just want the interviewee to say what they want. I’ve talked to professors about it and they think it’s a great way to bring the Bryant community together.
EB: At first the interviewees found it hard to get out of their shell but then after the interview they would thank us for listening to them. If anyone has anything they want to talk about, this is their chance! Humans of Bryant is a judge free zone!
HC: How do you guys know each other?
EB: It’s a funny story actually. We met through our mutual friend Katie. It was finals week last semester and long story short, we ended up staying up until 3 am studying and hanging out together.
CP: Yeah it really just happened at once. We clicked and have been best friends ever since!
HC: What are your goals for the future of Humans of Bryant?
CP: Eventually we want to open up Humans of Bryant to faculty, professors; basically anyone from the Bryant community who helps make it possible for us to go here. We are all equally important.
EB: To go off of that, we want to recognize everyone in the Bryant community and this is a way of saying thank you and showing appreciation. And what are the chances of all of us coming from different backgrounds, but then all ending up in the same place? There is something very beautiful in that.