Ms. Brittney Walker
Coordinator of Campus Activities
Tell us a little bit about your background, interests, hobbies?
I grew up in the Elgin area and currently live in St. Charles. As a child/teen, my career aspiration was to be Oprah. I now realize that wasn’t exactly a job title. I studied Broadcast Journalism at Columbia College Chicago for undergrad and Organizational Leadership at Judson University. My Senior year of College, I was engaged and became a certified Wedding and Event Coordinator to better plan my own nuptials. This fun certification followed me throughout my career of working in colleges and high schools, planning a variety of different events in addition to my daily tasks. For the past 12 years I’ve worked with teens and young adults in College and Career readiness. The majority of my career was spent at the high school I attended; preparing students for their post secondary education, planning events and running cultural programs.
I thoroughly enjoy event planning from the brainstorming stages all the way through to the big day. I especially love picking out small details of a theme and turning it into a major focus of an event. I also enjoy working alongside my students in bringing their own ideas to life.
Outside of throwing a good party; my hobbies include recreating Youtube challenges with my kids, weight lifting/kickboxing and Live Band Karaoke!
What is your favorite IMSA memory so far, in just the short time you have been with us?
My absolute FAVORITE memory in the 6 months of being at IMSA has to be our Festival of Lights Tour. Not only did I actually get to meet students and staff IN-PERSON, but I overcame a slight fear. I do NOT like driving long distances, especially alone. The Lights Tour made stops in Aurora, Rosemont, East Peoria and DuQuoin, which is just over 5 hours away. The drive was intimidating, but the opportunity to actually see our students made it so worth it. The drive also wasn’t even that bad.
While on tour, I was able to meet some of my club board members, Sophomores were able to make connections and I was able to see colleagues outside of our Zoom boxes. This event was a small reminder of IMSA experience students have been craving while in the remote setting. We offered prizes, a photo booth and lots of smiles underneath those masks.
What is your biggest motivation?
My children, Kiren (9) and Nylah (6), are my biggest motivation. I hope to contribute enough into the world that my own children have the opportunity to thrive. This comes in many forms, but my focus has always been on our youth. If I can help educate today’s young adults, they will become the doctors, engineers and politicians as my own children grow older. I often volunteer my time, promote diversity and inclusion so that my children are raised in a community that is accepting of them and all others. They are being raised to be kind, educated little humans who will grow to be decent adult humans.
What are some of the biggest challenges you face?
Currently, my biggest challenge is planning and engaging students in activities while in a remote setting. It has been an interesting start to Student Activities, to say the least. None of us could imagine how this year would unfold, so we couldn’t really plan events and activities as they have been in the past. Understanding how important traditions are at IMSA is also at the forefront of my mind when coming up with different ideas for student engagement. I know that this year has been completely different for a lot of reasons, I just hope to keep pushing to create experiences that leave a positive lasting memory for all IMSA students.
What is your personal vision for IMSA?
My personal vision for IMSA is to continue in the direction of being Inclusive and understanding the need for Diversity. Our students will go off into their adult lives and meet a variety of people with more differences than similarities. I hope that we have equipped them enough to not only be academically prepared for the world, but changers of the world. Leading the way for the next generation of Titans to come.
