Amidst the controlled chaos that is UNT’s Union at lunchtime, she sits off to the side, inconspicuous and relatively hidden, at a table almost completely engulfed in shadows. Unlike most of her peers, who are focused on catching up with their friends and grabbing a quick meal, Brittany Sodic is observing the crowd and the complex stories laid before her.
Brittany is a journalism major with a focus in digital and print media.
Although she is a only a junior, she has already had many of her articles and photographs published in UNT’s NT Daily.
“I was on staff at NT Daily, but I’m on hiatus right now. I’ll rejoin them next semester,” she said. She’s taking time off from her job at the newspaper and her former position at UNT’s Orientation and Transition program office to focus on school and her various other freelance passion projects. Most notably, she’ll be devoting four weeks of her summer to the ‘Heart of Mexico’ program.
The Heart of Mexico is a faculty led program with the Mayborn School of Journalism that works in conjunction with the Dallas Morning News to send students to cover topics that get them energized. “I’m beyond excited, this is a great opportunity to build my portfolio and I’ve got a lot of story ideas,” she said.
After seeing her excitement about the program, I asked her what type of issues she’s passionate about. “Well I’m really into women’s rights and a lot of the ways Texas and other states seem to be regressing when it comes to LGBT rights and the regulation of women’s bodies.”
For my final question, I asked Brittany what she would like the world to know about her. Her answer was striking: “I want the world to know that I’m interested and concerned about the plight and struggles of people, and at the same time I have to be true to myself. I feel as though I am one with the world, but at the same time, I am an observer. Sometimes I feel like an outsider, but I think that what makes a writer true to her craft.”