Sandra Brinson has lived in Glenville her entire life. Her parents bought a home there when she was four years old and her sister still lives in the house today. Brinson, a retired Cleveland Metropolitan School District elementary school principal and special education teacher, now lives closer to 窪蹋勛圖厙, but still in Glenville, just north of campus. Im always proud to say that Im from Glenville, she says.
Growing up, Brinsons parents would drive her past 窪蹋勛圖厙 and tell her that it was a college, but she had also heard stories that Black students werent welcomed. So when it came time for Brinson to attend university, she didnt consider 窪蹋勛圖厙. Instead, Brinson earned both her bachelors and masters degrees, as well as an Education Specialist Degree from Cleveland State University.
Shortly after Brinson and her husband moved to the home theyve now lived in for 30 years, she started walking to campus and through University Circle. She also took her young daughter to dance lessons at the Music Settlement and to art classes at the Cleveland Institute of Art. I started utilizing the campus in another way, she says. So then I started thinking to myself, You didnt go to Case [Western Reserve] but you did go to Case [Western Reserve].
Today, as co-chair of the Neighborhood Advisory Council, Brinson says that she is learning even more about the university and she is committed to connecting the community with the university in a way that didnt exist when she was a child. Its my job to represent the community to the university, she explains. And I want to enhance the thoughts and mind of the community, just like I did for myself. Things have changed over time and my mindset has changedand Im happy about that.