BRITTANY MACK ’12

Brittany Mack, who will graduate from Marygrove next May, embodies the concept of Distinguished Alumna of Tomorrow as demonstrated by her academic achievements, campus leadership and services to the College and her fellow classmates. Her Marygrove degree will include double majors in Political Science and Business—she converted her minor in Business to a major. According to Dr. Theodora Williams, Chair of the Business & Computer Information Systems department, “She was astute enough to figure out that developing business acumen would prepare her for her dreams of becoming a lawyer and mentoring other young disadvantaged lawyers by establishing a business incubator model.”

Brittany campaigned for an elected (formerly appointed) student government and won election to the presidency in April 2011. She and the remaining three officers see student government as “the voice of the students and a conduit to President David Fike and the administration.” They expect to increase student retention and to foster cross cultural experiences. When school resumes, Brittany hopes that student organizations, departments and sports will be represented by “senators” to student government to broaden the impact and better serve both students and the administration.

A graduate of Detroit’s Southwestern High School and class Valedictorian, Brittany was accepted by the University of Michigan, her longtime dream. But a tour of Marygrove College and a personal call from Dr. Fike convinced her that Marygrove was the place for her. Each year has deepened her conviction of the correctness of her choice and she is now a passionate advocate for the College.

Brittany works 25 hours a week in the Office of Admissions as a tele-counselor and a tour guide among other duties. Last winter she was a research assistant in the Office of International Programs assembling data on the number of international students, developing graphs of their country of origin, world region, major and whether they completed a degree. Her supervisor, VaNessa Thompson, commented, “Brittany is always there to help out with Admissions events and tasks. She is honest and humble with students and their families and provides an excellent example by using her personal experiences at Marygrove.”

With the support of her professors, Brittany took the initiative to establish a Marygrove chapter of Pi Gamma Mu, the International Honor Society in Social Sciences, because she saw a void in honors programs for social science majors. It is the first chapter of Pi Gamma Mu chartered in Michigan.

According to Brittany, Marygrove offers personal attention that is not usual in the other colleges and universities she considered. “Marygrove lets us explore — ‘We have your back’ — which keeps us on track.” She says, “We are in constant contact with our professors in person or via email. Even faculty who have never taught you know who you are and are ready to help.” She also notes that the College sends student leaders to training programs and gives them exposure to a variety of settings. Brittany says that every student at Marygrove is groomed for leadership; it is imbedded in every class and discipline.

Dr. Theodora Williams wrote, “Because of her academic (GPA 3.703) and leadership skills, Brittany was selected as the Business Department’s Comerica Scholar for 2011.”

Brittany has been heavily involved with the Marygrove Women’s Leadership Institute, a program developed by Dr. Carolyn Roberts. Brittany calls it “a judge-free zone” where young women feel empowered and intelligent. She has facilitated workshops on self esteem and issues such as “dressing for you and not for them.”

Brittany loves to read and covers a wide range of interests from fiction to history. Like most young women she finds shopping a great stress reliever. An only child, she lives in Southwest Detroit with her mother and grandmother. She has been spending a lot of time advising her younger cousins who are just beginning college. She loves to travel and has her sights set on a European tour someday. The glowing reports from faculty, staff and administration as well as the endorsement of fellow students predict that Brittany will reach whatever goals she sets for herself.