Rising Stars: Meet Brianna Goodwin

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brianna Goodwin. 

Brianna, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My story begins in a condo outside of Chicago, Illinois. When I was 4 years old, my parents filed for bankruptcy and we moved to North Carolina with what we could fit into a minivan (including two adults, myself and my brother who was an 8-month-old at the time). When we arrived in Lumberton, we were homeless and moved in with my grandparents who have been some of the most influential people in my life ever since. As you can imagine, life was an uphill battle for our family as transplants in a small southern town who also happened to also be interracial. 

Both of my parents are brilliant in their own ways, but neither are college graduates which, interestingly enough, made them even stronger advocates for me to receive the best education that they were able to access at their income level. As an employer, I never say no to my staff when they have opportunities to show up for their kids because I distinctly remember how my parents juggled being providers with being present. 

By the end of high school, I had endured more trauma than I have fully uncovered, even now, at age 30. Following a string of constant moves in and out of public housing, my parent’s dysfunctional marriage, a succession of financial crises, and a pending diagnosis of clinical depression, I felt stuck. 

Despite my academic success lending itself to opportunities at colleges across the state, I landed at our local University, UNCP, and attempted to be a commuting student. A few months into my freshman semester it became evident that my role as the glue of the family and success as a college student would not coexist. Couple that with unreliable transportation and failure loomed over my trajectory. In a desperate attempt to give college my very best try, I moved out into an apartment for the spring semester and two weeks later my younger brother was hospitalized for the first time with a severe diagnosis. I immediately became his advocate and vowed to show up to every single visit even when my perpetually exhausted parents couldn’t. In that same year, my parents’ marriage crumbled and again, my classes went unattended and my focus on my future waned. 

I spent the next few years as a former academically gifted student with the label of “college drop-out.” One of the most difficult periods of my early twenties was when I dated a young man who was on a sure path to law school. The words of his fraternity brothers linger with me to this day “Why would you date her? She is a loser, and you are bound for success.” I am still great friends with that man to this day and I will forever appreciate that he saw my value when no one else could. 

That same man encouraged me to go back to school because, in his eyes, the world would never see me that way that he did without a degree. UNCP welcomed me back with open arms and provided all of the guidance I could have asked for. I was working full-time as a long-term substitute for the English as a Second Language Department and back in college. The success that seemed so impossible finally offered a glimmer of hope. One semester in with a straight A finish, I got a call from my younger sister who asked me if she could come live with me. While I knew she wouldn’t ask unless she needed me to say yes, it was easily the hardest yes of my life. 

Needless to say, it was time again to put my dreams on hold, including my relationship. Overnight I went from a pretty standard young adult to a single guardian of a teenager. I left my relationship, my beloved students, and my hope of a college degree behind once again. I sobbed every day for months until one day the tears dried up and it was then I decided that, by God, if I couldn’t get that darn piece of paper, my sister would get the best one that this state has to offer (sorry Duke fans). 

Life was survival, work was survival and my dreams turned into distant fantasies. Years went by, I got married and that teenager became a young adult who received a full scholarship to UNC-Chapel Hill. Moving her in was one of the most painful days I can recall. Who was I if not a caretaker? It was time to finally focus on my dreams. Unfulfilled in my then position as a property manager, I had an opportunity to take a job with a non-profit as an Administrative Assistant. It was a significant demotion in pay and title, but it was my dream to work for a non-profit and I needed to get my foot in the door. After closing on my beautiful home at age 25, I accepted the position with the understanding that it would be a “cake” job, my husband would be there to support me and I would, for the third time, go to college and finish so that I could finally chase my dreams with no barriers. 

Six months after I took the Administrative Assistant position, a second flood plagued our community as well as my new home and I began the process of a divorce. Meanwhile, at work, my “cake” job turned into much more and I was promoted to Asst. Director of Operations. Many dreams were shattered, yet one flourished. I fully immersed myself in community joining service organizations, volunteering, and putting my heart and soul into my work at the Center. After a year and a half of serving as the Asst. Director of Operations, the powers that be took a risk on a 28-year-old minority woman with a high school diploma and a BIG vision for the community. On December 4th, 2020, I became the Robeson County Church and Community Center’s youngest Executive Director. Our budget, staff, and impact have tripled since that fateful day. 

Ayesha Siddiqi once said, “Be the person you needed when you were younger,” and the basis for all I do is rooted in that statement. Although I have come to flourish and live out the life of my dreams, no one in our prosperous society should struggle as hard or as long as I did to reach their goals or nearly lose their life to suicide because of the overwhelming despair that adversity can bring. Along the way I have served as the President of the Robeson County Arts Council, Chair of Kiwanis Young Professionals of Robeson County, President of the Robeson Family Counseling Center, founder of Ministers for Justice, Investing in Leaders of Color Fellow, and many more titles that I hope people simply translate to “someone who cares.” 

On my healing journey, I became a photographer and visual artist, two small businesses that I am incredibly proud of and also use as mechanisms to serve my community through storytelling, sparking joy, education, and exposure. My story is that of the underdog, the person who had even counted themselves out after so many years of adversity. A quote I live by is “If we have the ability to worry about the future, it also means we have the ability to imagine a better one.” There is rightly a lot of emphasis on the horrific things that happen in life and around the world, but as people we decide what world we are creating for ourselves. If cycles can be formed, they can be broken, if love can be lost, it can also be found. Even on an individual level, we have the power to intentionally, incrementally change the world. 

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I think my backstory certainly answered this one, but no, it certainly has not been easy. 

Fortunately, it is only after experiencing hardship that we truly appreciate success and ease. No matter how cliche it is to say, there is no sunshine without the rain. 

The beauty of life is experienced by comparing it to all we know could be otherwise, health, companionship, joy, plenty, these are all things we recognize and are able to fully take in only for having experienced their counterparts. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Though I do take extraordinary pride in my full-time work as an Executive Director, I believe that I identify most as a creative because that’s the outlook and energy I bring to all of my work. In most everything I do I am known for being colorful, literally and figuratively. I am happy to take the risk, reach for the hot pink, and do what others don’t (yet) have the bravery to do. My hope and prayer is that others may also come to live an authentic life and be all they can be through my influence. 

Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
With transparency, I do not have an abundance of positive childhood memories. I have always been a huge lover of animals so when my older sister married into a farm family, I got to spend my summers on their farm in Kernersville. My happiest days were spent in the horse pasture and in my homemade rope swing over the creek. Overall, I’d say that my favorite childhood memory is actually my adulthood because now I can recreate memories around holidays, theme parks, and everyday life that the little girl in me always deserved and had to forfeit. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.briannagoodwinartistry.com
• Instagram: BriannaGoodwinArt
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/briannagoodwinart 

Image Credits
Avonne Photo Studios