Finding and Sharing your Husker Story

By Brytany Gama, agricultural leadership & political science

Brytany talks to fellow New Student Enrollment leader and Nebraska student in the Union.

One of the many great things about UNL is that throughout your involvement on-campus, you are given many opportunities to share your story. But how can you effectively share your story? I will share some tips on how to best share your story.

Crafting Your Story/Message:

• Reflect on past experiences and identify what you want to share about: We have all experienced something in our lives that shapes us in some way. This can be a life-changing experience, an impactful moment you experienced, or something as small as your interests or hobbies. Taking the time to identify one that most resonates with you is a good place to start in identifying what story you want to share. One experience I use when sharing my story is how being a Deferred Action Childhood Arrival (DACA) Recipient has impacted my life.
• Identify the talking point you want to bring up: Once you have identified a story, think about points you want to bring up. When I share my story, I will usually bring up DACA to make college seem more attainable and encourage me to get involved on campus. It also allowed me to get a job on campus in the Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication Department as a student worker. This job has not only allowed me to work in one of the welcoming offices on campus, but it has given me the opportunity to coordinate Career Development Events for the Nebraska State FFA Convention. Finally, it has allowed me to be more comfortable with who I am and my roots.
• Learn to adapt your story: As we apply for scholarships, jobs, internships, and other opportunities, we will be encountering different questions and interview setups. Learning to adapt our story and sharing more or less information will be helpful. Recently, I interviewed to be a part of a political campaign, and I was asked what issue I was passionate about. I responded immigration and then shared my story of coming to this country and the challenges I faced and how DACA has helped me fight for my dreams and losing DACA could have a huge impact on my life and others, too. So, having different versions of the same topic is a lot of help when it comes to adapting. For example, when I applied for my job on campus, I talked about my background and how I ended up pursuing a career in agriculture. In that time I talked about some of my experiences in FFA and how it played a role in accepting that I was DACA. Since this job worked with FFA, I decided that I would highlight FFA and talked about how it played a role in my life.

Sharing Your Story/Selling Yourself:

• Share what you are comfortable with: If you are someone who likes to keep some stuff private, that is okay.
• It’s okay to show emotion: Showing some emotion, whether it be through body language or fluctuations in the tone of your voice, helps create a connection between you and your audience.
• Be confident: Confidence is key to sharing your story and being comfortable with sharing it.
• Put emphasis on takeaways you took from your experience: This will show others that you have learned something and that you have grown in some way.

Read Brytany’s story through I’m a Husker &

Other Quick Tips and Tricks:

• Make eye contact with your audience
• Remember no one knows your story better than you
• I’m a Husker & is a great platform to share your story. If you want to be featured, send an email to social@unl.edu. Or read other Husker stories here.
• The more you share your story, the more comfortable you’ll get sharing your story
• Always keep 2–3 different stories in the back of your mind
• Everyone has different beliefs — keep in mind that some people might not necessarily agree with your story, so use it as a way to educate someone

I hope these tips are helpful, as you are entering UNL. There are many platforms on-campus that allow you to share your story. Use your story to educate and engage others; your voice matters here at UNL, as you have a place in here.

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