- Name: Brian Lee Mansfield
- Major: Computational Informatics with a minor in Tinder
- Year: Senior
- Hometown: Rick’s Stage, Ann Arbor. (Okemos, MI)
- Relationship Status: In a relationship
- Fun/random fact: Both my brother Jeremy and I were adopted right after birth, and we’re not blood-related. It’s interesting though, because people that don’t know I have a brother here will frequently approach me and say “I saw this boy that could’ve been your twin today, he looked/dressed/talked EXACTLY like you,” referring to him. I guess it’s because we have the same mannerisms, et cetera.
HC: How can girls get out of the “friend zone”? Do you think it’s even possible?
BM: Definitely. Speaking from experience – start teasing him more, don’t be afraid to give a guy some crap. Put the idea in his mind, but don’t overplay your hand – start slow, and say things/do things that make him wonder whether you meant them platonically or romantically. Don’t be afraid to show him a part of you that he’s never seen before.
HC: Describe your ideal girl.
BM: I tend to be more attracted to girls that have darker features, but as cliché as this may sound, a gorgeous personality and synergy (in terms of character/values) will overwhelmingly outweigh any surface aesthetics. Everyone has feelings that aren’t necessarily always reasonable, but being able to articulate those emotions and work through problems is very important to me as well. Also, a girl that adequately appreciates sleep and napping gets bonus points – because I certainly do, and who likes to sleep alone?
HC: Is it intimidating to date a girl who is intelligent/knows what she wants out of her career?
BM: Definitely not, but I also wouldn’t say that it’s necessarily a bad thing if she’s still unsure of exactly what she would like to do. Coincidentally, I’ve learned to appreciate Michigan girls and the intelligence that’s pervasive at this school a lot more over the last few weeks – on Spring Break, you could tell a lot of the ladies from other schools were a bit lacking in the cerebral department and it was an immediate turnoff. I feel like the general consensus is that intelligence is sexy, not intimidating – at least at Michigan.
HC: Where would you take a girl on a first date and why?
BM: It would depend a lot on how comfortable she was with me. For dinner, I would probably take her to Jolly Pumpkin – their menu is relatively simple, but they do everything quite well, and the atmosphere is conducive to casual conversation. I would rather take her to Pacific Rim or Logan if I thought it wasn’t too overbearing for her, though, as their food is amazing. I have the biggest sweet tooth ever, so afterwards, we’d make a stop at Cherry Republic for some chocolate covered cherries. If the meal went well, we would go out on South U together later that night.
HC: Who’s your celebrity crush?
BM: Natalie Portman. Intelligent, beautiful, talented, and successful.
HC: What’s the coolest thing a girl has ever done to show she likes you?
BM: I love seafood, and it’s always awesome when a girl will try oysters on the half shell or mussels for the first time with an open mind.
HC: What’s your dream job?
BM: CIO of a Fortune 500. Although I have a technical degree, I don’t want to be engineering my whole life, and optimizing a team is way more enjoyable to me than optimizing code.
HC: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
BM: I’m moving to the Bay Area of California in the summer, so I would imagine I’ll still be living somewhere there. If not in Cali, I would almost certainly be in either Seattle, Chicago, or New York. I would love to pursue a fun project in the technology industry, so I maybe would be working with a startup, but I would be content if I was still with Cisco Systems. I’ll be in some sort of beginning people-management role either way.
HC: Who did you select to win it all for March Madness?
BM: I gotta plug my fidelity here – obviously Michigan!