For the first ever UConn Senior Spotlight, meet UConn senior Brendon Field, a Connecticut native from New Hartford! Brendon is a student in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, studying journalism and political science with a concentration in creative writing. Brendon is also the student who submitted the winning name for the 2015 Senior Scoop, S’more Husky Pride! To learn more about Brendon, read on!
What are your post graduation plans?: I plan to live in a major metropolitan city, developing myself as a stand-up comedian and creative writer. In an ideal world, I’ll have a job as an arts journalist, writing stories and reviews on movies, music and literature. Before that though, I want experiences. I want to travel, immerse myself in different cultures and meet unusual people. I want my dreams to be like a Jackson Pollock painting: abstract, zany and with a thousand different things happening at once.
What is your favorite UConn memory?: I’m going to with the Daily Campus banquet at the end of my sophomore year. That night, I ended up hanging out with a few people also going through difficult times for various reasons. My friend who was graduating the next week said that night, life felt like a movie, and it really did. It was after that night that I knew I wanted to be a writer and go into journalism. The type of evening that carries a whole lot of significance.
Why did you become a Husky?: My Dad went to UConn in the early ‘80s and brought me up to campus several times when I was a kid. He would take me to his old dorms, classrooms, and Ted’s, which is probably his favorite place on the planet. I had the glowing vision of the college experience instilled in me at a young age, and I never wanted to go anywhere else. I applied to other schools, but acceptance into UConn was a straight shot of euphoria, and I knew right then and there I was going to be a Husky.
What is your favorite place on campus?: This is weird because I’ve never lived there, and maybe have only been there a handful of times, but the basement of Sprague Hall. Certain spaces just emit positive vibes, and I feel instantly at home down there. It spacious, cozy, I love the lighting, and it’s a recurring location in my dreams. I’ve got to be sure to pay it a visit before May. Just to sit on a couch and read a book.
What have you been involved in at UConn?: I’ve been with The Daily Campus as long as I’ve been here and am now the Associate Editor of the Life section. I also joined SUBOG my freshman year and this year’s Fine and Performing Arts Chair. I am a member of Poetic Release, UConn’s spoken word poetry group, and have participated in their poetry slam series. This year, I joined WHUS where I host a folk show on Thursday nights and a music/talk show on Sunday nights. I also frequent the Nutmeg Writers Group, and was the student intern leading the workshops for a while.
What will you miss the most about UConn?: There are a lot of people on this campus that are dear to me, and it’s amazing living in a place where they’re all a modest walk away. I suppose it’s not something specific to UConn, but the tight-knit nature of a college campus, being spotted by acquaintances to and from destinations, is comforting.
What was your biggest accomplishment while at UConn?: I’d say just reaching the finish line with all the extra weight I’ve strapped to myself. There have been periods of several weeks where I’ve been over-stressed, sleep deprived, fighting depression, and just begging for a time where I can lie on my couch, stare at the ceiling and think about nothing. But I’ve endured, and the remaining weeks number in the single digits.
What advice do you have for underclassmen?: Savor your time here, and don’t take it for granted. UConn has been amazing, and it goes by in a wink. Go to the Benton, traverse Horsebarn Hill, and eat everywhere that offers food. Be sure to balance your load and never rule out that a few more tasks will be unexpectedly tossed onto it.
What is one little known fact about you?: Not much about me is “little known.” I’m a pretty open book, the type that flips through its pages in front of anyone who even examines the back cover. My go to with these types of question is I’m albino, but everybody on this campus knows that. I guess it’s that I have an excellent audial memory. I can remember almost entire conversations I have with people, that is if I’m talking to someone interesting enough.
Anything else?: I owe a lot to my parents, not only for the financial help that they’ve provided, but for preparing me for the heavy workload that I would be facing here. I’m a drastically different person now than I was moving in those four short years ago. I’m proud that I’ve been able to get control of some of my eccentricities and have matured a lot in my time here. College is this strange halfway house to the real world, and I’m grateful for it.