Meet a CyberGRX Intern: Bri Smith

by Michelle Krasniak

We at CyberGRX think it's important to put faces behind the names you may encounter in your interactions with us. We always strive to provide a personalized experience for our customers, and what better way to do that than give you a behind the scenes glimpse into our worlds?

Each month we sit down and chat with a team member about what makes them tick and how they landed here at CyberGRX. We're excited to have a number of interns working with us over the next few months, so we'll be featuring a few of them here. This month we get to know Bri Smith, our new Marketing intern!

Where did you grow up? 

I grew up in Eugene, Oregon, home of the Oregon Ducks! I also went to college there, so you can say that I’m an avid Duck fan. You probably don’t want to stand next to me during college football games, because I’ll absolutely embarrass you screaming at the TV as if the team can hear me.

What brought you to CyberGRX? What do you hope to learn during your internship here? 

In my previous position I ran communications for the City and County of Denver’s information governance committee. As a part of that role I worked with the cybersecurity and data privacy teams on a daily basis! I found a passion for taking these topics and communicating them in a way that was innovative and easy for anyone to understand no matter their background. I decided I wanted to continue my work in the corporate sector, and that’s how I found CyberGRX! 

What was your favorite class in school and why? Least favorite?

In undergrad I got my Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations, English, and Legal Studies. I took a lot of classes in communication, rhetoric, argument, and legal history. My favorite class was by far a graduate-level English course that I took my 3rd and final year at the university – Feminist Jurisprudence. The class looked at the intersection of literature written by women of Afro-Caribbean descent and how it could interact with and inform American legal practices. My thesis project for the class was open to interpretation, so I built out a media campaign based on themes from our books to educate my target population on allowing a space for Afro-Caribbean voices to be heard in our media and legal systems!

What advice would you give to incoming college freshmen? 

My second-youngest sister just had her first day of college on Monday, so I’ve spent my week giving a lot of advice! The first thing I told her was to take every opportunity she can to fully immerse herself in her college experience and to never be scared to introduce herself to someone new. She’s lucky to be going to a small private university that is holding all of their classes in-person this term, so she has the opportunity to meet people face-to-face!

The second piece of advice I gave her was to constantly be taking coursework outside of her major. I found my passion for Journalism/Public Relations when I happened to take an entry-level course in the journalism school for fun! Taking a wide variety of coursework will expand your knowledge, give you a broader skillset, and you might just find your true passion in the process.

What was your most memorable travel experience?

I come from a large family (I have five younger sisters) and started financially supporting myself when I was 17, so I haven’t had the opportunity to travel a ton yet! My most memorable trip was in the spring of 2015 when my grandparents took me on college tours on the east coast for the first time. I was a first-generation college student, and they were so excited for me to continue my education that they saved up to help me travel to New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts to see some schools and visit family.

On that trip my family and I visited the 9/11 memorial museum. This was especially touching for me to see since I was only 2 years old when the event occurred and couldn’t remember it beyond what my parents had told me about it. All of us left the museum in tears and we still talk about the impact that it had on us to this day! Overall, it was an amazing trip, and one of the first times I ever flew on a plane in my adult life.

What’s your hidden superpower?

I like to refer to my “hidden superpower” as “big-sister syndrome”. I have a knack for giving advice, great hugs, wiping tears, and keeping toddlers out of a busy stay-at-home mother’s hair! I feel like I’m constantly the mom of the friend group on FaceTime calls being vented to or asked for input on situations. Honestly, it happens more than I would like to admit given that my friends and I are in our early twenties and my sisters are all aged 9-20.

My resume includes, but is not limited to handling break-ups, sports team drama, high school drama, middle school drama, family arguments (usually fueled by politics), and general teen hormones. However, if I could choose a superpower to have it would definitely be mind-reading. I’m a problem solver and communicator by nature, so this would help achieve those goals in a more efficient manner!