Kaya HammondMass communication sophomore Taurus Bromell has always had an abiding interest in politics. In grade school, her principal suggested she should eventually study law.
In her high school, Lucy C. Laney in Augusta, Ga., she was a cheerleader, a class vice president and, as a senior, served as the student body president and Ms. Student Council.
And now, at N.C. Central University, she’s still got the political bug: Becoming the vice president of her sophomore class and determined to improve things here.
“One issue with Central that I want to address is the community feeling. Central is doing a great job with getting students engaged and having a nesting environment,” said Bromell. “But I want to get students closer than that by getting them involved with faculty and staff and break the barrier.”
“I feel it’s very hard to get a personal relationship especially when we’re taking classes back to back because some of us have a full load and some of us don’t so it’s really hard to get closer to the staff.”
Bromell said her interest in politics and improving things goes back to her childhood. While her mother was serving in the military she was being raised by her grandparents. She described that experience as “kind of crazy” and says it forced her to become independent at an early age.
According to Bromell, she had her own schedule as a toddler. At an early age, she had a lot of self-doubt and negative feelings set in.
“I just did what I wanted to do. I’ve always done what I wanted to do. Eventually, I changed my mindset from always negative things and turned them into positive things,” she said.
“Like in middle school, I started getting more involved in my school, getting into more activities.”
Bromell says her experience helps her understand what she considers to be one of the main issues facing students.
“I feel a lot of students don’t get involved or fail academically because they doubt themselves and don’t push themselves to the potential that they have,” she said.
Bromell has a number of issues she wants to promote at NCCU, one being student financial literacy.
“A lot of students are off campus this year and making sure finances are correct and having that information going into college is something that I feel needs to be highly addressed,” she said.
Bromell recently hosted a financial literacy event in the LGBTA Resource Center. Another event Bromell would like to bring to the campus to help students financially is a credit-building class.
“You need credit for everything in life so I want to get Central students educated on financial literacy and transitioning to the next level in life,” she said.
Bromell also wants to help students register to vote and then to vote. Bromell said this election is not just important to her, but “the future of the generations after us.”
Voting, she said, gives citizens the right to decide the local and national leaders of our country.
“I feel that if you are 16 or older at any institute you should look into getting registered to vote and voting because that is your right.”
After graduation, Bromell wants to use her degree to work in sports communication, perhaps working with ESPN or the NFL in public relations. She’s also considering becoming an on-field content creator.
“Central has been overwhelming with giving me opportunities to gain experience working with … behind-the-scenes game footage.”
