Destination Success | Briana Smalley | Watch HPU

Chapters & Transcript

0:00

Hi my name is Briana Smalley. I'm originally from West Palm Beach, Florida. I graduated from HPU in December of 2019.

While at HPU, my major was criminal justice with a double minor in women and gender studies and community engagement in social innovation. I went on to earn my Juris doctor degree in 2023, and I'm currently an assistant district attorney with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, specifically assigned to the office of special narcotics prosecutor.

Growing up in West Palm Beach, Florida as an only child, I was very apprehensive about going to college, but coming here becoming so independent here made me less afraid when I went off to New York City where I now live and work. Um, I feel independent there and now I'm refining more of my professional skills that I learned here at High Point University in my current role.

0:58

When entering High Point University as a freshman you're all given success coaches and my success coach was Hila Cook, she was amazing. Always made herself available to me. I was between two majors when I first came here: criminal justice or psychology. Without her and her guidance I don't think I would have been able to make the decision alone.

During my time here at High Point University I definitely made lifelong friends and made lifelong community relationships. I was a Bonner leader with the Bonner leadership program, and my community service site was High Point Community against violence. Jim Summy the former director was my mentor.

1:29

He was like a grandfather to me. Dr. Bobby Little also was a huge mentor to me in the criminal justice department, exactly what classes to take, what other advisers go talk to to ask for advice, and also what classes outside criminal justice to take that would make me a more well-rounded student.

I don't think many university students get the opportunity to grow roots in a community while they're attending college, usually they're just going straight to their classes, straight to the library and straight back to their dorms. I was able to go to the classroom then go to work and build those community relationships and still have those community relationships after graduating High Point University.

2:07

When it came time to applying for internships, going to Career Services and interacting with Kelly who went over my resume countless times, my cover letter countless times, did mock interviews with me, make sure that I was wearing the appropriate outfits. Um, those are things that you're really not going to find at another college campus. You're not going to be a little fish in a big pond. You're going to be interacting with somebody one-on-one that's going to know your name, that's going to see your emails and remember the conversation that you had with them.

Coming to college I came here very apprehensive but I left independent and I left feeling very liberated by the community, the professors, my mentors, my friends being able to come to college and really connect with community leaders outside of the educational sphere. Um, was really important to me and so I'm glad that I was given that opportunity here at High Point University. Um and so I feel very, very blessed to have left here so independent and so liberated.

3:03

During convocation Dr. Qubein said to the incoming class: leave it better than you found it. And so I made that my goal, not just the university itself, but High Point, the community in general. When I was being sworn into the New York Bar, that's something that the Justice said was: leave this career better than you found it. And so I thought that was a beautiful integration between what Dr. Qubein said to me and what I was told when I was sworn into the New York Bar.

3:30

Choose to be extraordinary means to me thinking outside the box, putting yourself out there, really making yourself known in the community, making yourself known in the classroom. That's what choose to be extraordinary means to me.

Briana Smalley shares her journey from High Point University student to assistant district attorney with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. She highlights how HPU's success coaches, faculty mentors, Career Services, and supportive community helped her develop independence and professional skills. Through her experiences with mentors like Hila Cook and Dr. Bobby Little, and the university's emphasis on community engagement and the motto "choose to be extraordinary," Briana describes how HPU prepared her for success in her legal career.

Destination Success | Briana Smalley

Destination Success | Briana Smalley

How does High Point University prepare students for success?

How do HPU success coaches help incoming freshmen?

How do HPU faculty mentors support college students?

How does HPU Career Services help with internships?

What advice does Dr. Qubein give at HPU Convocation?

What does choose to be extraordinary mean at HPU?