Classmate Profile: Brea Watts

When asked to describe herself in one word, Brea Watts responds quick and confidently, replying, “paradox”.

“I’m the total opposite of what people think”, Watts says.

Not your normal nine to five; this 21-year-old juggles responsibilities from 9am to 11pm almost every day of the week.

Being a student at San Jose State University who majors in public relations already gives her a lack of spare time.

However, family has a major impact and is a big part of her life, and she has two of them.

On a normal weekday, Watts either attends classes or works as a mentor in SJSU’s Career Center from 9am to 5pm.

After that, she is basically on call for those in her secondary family; her sorority.

From the hours of 5pm to 11pm, she gets calls regarding anything from upcoming Greek life events to a fellow sister’s apartment water leak emergency.

Being a member of Delta Sigma Theta with responsibilities of planning events, she spends much of her free time putting together things like socials, Black Greek Week, and community service projects.

But there’s a lot more to this social butterfly than there seems.

She has a love for words that many of America’s youth lacks today.

Brea reads everyday and loves using poetry to express herself.

The starting point of this love for words, as she recalls, started when she was seven when she wrote her first poem, centered on Black History month.

That point was also the beginning of her passion for equality.

Coming from Oakland, she talks about the city’s poor media portrayal and how it is somewhat deserving. Even though they’re older, her brother and herself always check in and tell each other to be safe.

Within the year of 2010, four of Watt’s friends passed away.

As she looks me in the eye and tells me how hard it was to go through those bad things but how she was able to learn from those experiences, it is clear that she is undoubtedly genuine.

Where she comes from and where she is now, combined with her life’s experiences have made it easier for her to take on such a big load of responsibilities.

She says that after she graduates from San Jose State, “There’s so much that I want to do that I don’t even know…”

Ideas of graduate school flutter from her mouth.

She showed a lot of interest in SJSU’s new New Media program, which will be starting in the fall.

But all in all, she wants to learn more about public relations with hopes of working for businesses like hair salons, clothing lines, or up and coming music industries; all of which she already has connections in, and dreams of starting her own online magazine.