Student Spotlight: Samuel Lawrence Brainard

Where are you from? - "I’m from Georgetown, Texas. It’s a suburb of Austin about 30 miles north."
 

What grade are you in? What is your graduation year? - "I’m a sophomore, graduating in 2027."

What is your major, and why did you choose it? - "My major is Human Relations Communication, formerly known as Interpersonal Comm. I’m seeking to build on what I’m good at: public speaking, interviewing, individual communication, writing, et cetera. Outside of a professional setting, I can sometimes be shy, so feel free to say hi if you see me. I’d love to be involved in the American political scene someday, and communication is the foundation for that; filmmaking is another massive area of interest for me, and writing and speaking is coincidentally also essential for that."

What’s your favorite Moody class you have taken? - "Interpersonal Communication Theory, taught by John Daly. The content is very assertive and pragmatic - you learn a lot about the external world in communication, and how to manage the way others perceive you. I highly recommend it!"

What are you involved in on campus? - "I spend a lot of my free time working out and writing poetry and philosophy. I’m also a screenwriter in a film organization called Beyond Frames Productions for students that are serious about getting into filmmaking… they make a couple of short films per academic year. Some friends and I are trying to find startup accelerators around UT and Austin to get a tech enterprise into the development phase. I keep myself busy."

Where is your favorite place in Austin? (Can be restaurants, activities, parks, etc.) - "Probably the venture capital firms! Austin is a great place to get a startup off the ground, and all of the meetups have successful, talented people you can really learn a lot from. The capitol is excellent too."
 

Where would you love to travel to next? - "Germany! I intend to travel there in the next couple of years."