HFC welcomes Brianna Pannell, who has a passion for helping adult learners succeed

HFC Adult Student Recruiter Brianna “Bre” Pannell has a passion for helping people achieve their goals.

“I am very patient with assisting people as they navigate the college-going process, especially people from my community and first-generation college students,” said Pannell, of Detroit. “I knew I could break that barrier to help students and their families obtain a post-secondary path.”

Committed to a lifetime of service, scholarship, and camaraderie

A Detroit native, Pannell is the youngest of six and the only daughter. An alumna of Pershing High School in Detroit, Pannell earned her bachelor’s degree in health communications from Grand Valley State University. She intends to pursue graduate work soon.

Pannell is an active member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, a historically African-American sorority founded in 1922 at Butler University in Indianapolis, IN. The sorority was founded by seven educators. Sigma Gamma Rho has become an international service organization that includes women from every profession.

Today, Sigma Gamma Rho has more than 100,000 members with more than 500 undergraduate and alumnae chapters worldwide. Pannell serves as co-chair on several committees and has recently been appointed chaplain of the Kappa Kappa Sigma alumnae chapter in Southfield.

“This is a lifetime commitment,” said Pannell. “Our goal is to continue our service, scholarship, and camaraderie for a lifetime.”

Motivated to remain in school and help others do the same

Originally, Pannell wanted to go into the skilled trades, following the path of her late father, Frank Pannell. That could have been a great path.

However, her mother, Pattie Pannell, encouraged Brianna to explore traditional college programs after being offered scholarships during her college application process. Her mother knew her goals would require a broad skill set developed over time.

“She told me that I need to focus on a career that would be meaningful to the change I want to make in the world,” recalled Pannell.

Both her parents were diagnosed with cancer when Pannell was very young, and this had a tremendous impact on her. Her father passed away the day before she began her freshman year of high school.

“Losing my Dad at a young age has been a strong motivation for me to do well in life,” she said.

Pannell vowed not to let up in school after her father’s passing, determined to channel her grief productively. Not only was she the class president, captain of the softball team for two years, and the highest-ranking ROTC female cadet, Pannell graduated third in her class with a GPA of 3.89.

“I considered going into nursing,” said Pannell. “My father’s hospice nurse didn’t have a personal touch. I thought I would study nursing to provide the personal touch that is needed during the care of a family member to assist patients and their families with healthcare literacy.”

Filling in the gaps

More than halfway through her undergraduate education, Pannell changed majors and decided to pursue health communications.

“My mom had cancer during my time at GVSU, so it was really difficult for me to be studying cancer while I was also a caregiver,” she recalled. “I spoke to my advisor and switched to health communications. My advisor pointed out that while I wasn’t doing the practical side of medicine, I still could help families with advocacy and literacy.”

Pannell was active in the Student Senate for two years and was the president of the Black Student Union. She also worked as a financial aid assistant. After graduation, she became a financial aid counselor at GVSU.

She moved on to spend four years in human resources at Rocket Mortgage in Detroit. Then she served as a college counselor at Mumford High School for four years before coming to HFC in early June.

“I pursued a career in higher education because I saw the disparities in students coming from high school to college. Many students didn’t have a good grasp of the enrollment process. I wanted to be that bridge between high school and college. I am a gap-filler who assists students with admissions, financial aid, and whatever they need to enroll and start that path to success,” she explained.

In Pannell’s free time, she serves as an educational advisor to No Barrier 2 Success in Detroit. NB2S offers employment and training services for Detroit youth ages 16 to 24, in an effort to eliminate barriers to achieving academic and career success.

Opportunity to learn and grow

Pannell spoke about what attracted her to HFC.

“It was the opportunity to see what I could learn and accomplish at the transitional level of education, joining a 2-year educational institution that offers associate degrees and skilled trade certificates. This would be a great extension to my experience, especially since I aspire to become a program director in the future. With this opportunity, I could speak to every aspect of education,” said Pannell.

Her duties include:

• Recruiting
• Collaboration with stakeholders
• Programming for recruiting adult learners
• Outreach
• Cultivating a culture for adult learners

“I’m super excited to be here. Everyone in and out of my department has been very friendly, insightful, and steadfast to assist me,” said Pannell. “So far, I’ve been getting my feet wet. Once the school year begins in the fall, I’ll be sure I can swim in my new role as an Adult Student Recruiter.”

Pannell reports to HFC Director of Admissions and Recruiting Tracy Perry.

“Bre showed a lot of creativity during her interview, which was pretty impressive,” said Perry. “She has a passion to recruit adult learners to come to the College. She has also taken the initiative to reach out to various organizations and build bridges across the campus. I’m excited to have her on the team.”

Aspiring to elected office

Pannell’s career goal is to one day become the United States Secretary of Education.

“People need someone in that role who cares and who has the passion, vision, and experience to help students further their education,” she said.

Although Pannell has only been at HFC for a short time, HFC On-Campus Recruiter Delphine Davis has had many opportunities to work with her.

“The wealth of experience that Bre has and her compassion for students of all ages is a welcome asset to our team,” said Davis. “From what I have seen and heard, she enjoys investing in students with her time and wisdom.”