Donisha Brewer
“Albion to me is love. Albion to me is home. Albion to me is family. Albion to me is resilience. Albion to me is diversity and history, and Albion is so unique. Albion is so unique"
Interview
“I’ll just have you state your name and have you get started with where you are from”
“Okay, my name is Donisha Brewer. I am a native of Albion Michigan”
“And if you wouldn’t mind, could you state your age”
“I am 32 years old”
“Okay and how long have you been a citizen of Albion for?”
“My entire life. I left a few times but also couldn't stay away, so I’d say I am a lifelong resident”
“Okay and then what are you involved with in the community?”
“Holy moly, what am I involved in? Well right now, I am involved in and work for the Albion Rec Department which is now in control by the Battle Creek Family YMCA and that is a job in partnership with the Bohm Theatre. I also work with Play Right Sports Academy, which has a very close place to my heart. I sit on a few boards in the community. So, I work with the United Way, the Chamber of Commerce, Albion Community Theatre, well ACT 2, and I also work closely with 4-H Creative and Expressive Arts day camp. And I actually work one day a week at the brewery, at the Albion Malleable Brewing Company. If you could believe that. Yep”
“So, obviously you're really involved. Can you say why you want to be so involved?”
“Absolutely. I also want to just say that Citizens to Beautify Albion will also always have a special place in my heart, but I guess the reason why I decided to be so involved in the community is because that’s just how I grew up. My extracurricular activities outside of cheerleading and forensics, was just community service, community based work. So growing up, I was involved with 4-H Creative and Expressive Arts and I was also really involved with Volun-Teens, and YAC as well so. That’s just the basis of who I am and how I was raised, and also being raised in church makes a huge difference. Really understanding community and why it’s important to give back and live life outside of yourself. And so, as an adult if I am not doing those things I kinda feel like I am missing a piece of who I am. And right now I have the time; I don't have children. I’m a single woman, and I can’t imagine any other way to pour into my community. So yeah”
“Okay so, kind of moving forward, I had you choose your own location for this interview. So I am wondering why you chose this location?”
“So I chose the Bohm Theatre for a multitude of reasons. One is this is where I find my peace, currently being employed here. Two because this is where the 4-H Creative and Expressive Arts is hosting their program this year, and that is the most important place to me and always has been, is wherever 4H is. And it sounds so cliche, but I had time to think about it, like there was no specific location. It was more so the program, the people who I was around"
“I also really love Burns Park, where the river is, where the fireworks take place. So, I thought about going out there but that is more so my personal space so I didn’t want to make that a work space for me, so”
“Okay so what is Albion to you? This could be specific people, locations, feelings, anything and everything you feel”
“Albion to me is love. Albion to me is home. Albion to me is family. Albion to me is resilience. Albion to me is diversity and history, and Albion is so unique. Albion is so unique, the history of Albion, the people of Albion. The type of love, the passion we have here in Albion. There is no space like it. There is no place like it, at all. Albion is a mindset. Like, Albion is just, I don't know, Albion is just a very peculiar place, and there is no other place like it. That’s Albion to me, indescribable”
“Cool. So you kind of already hit this but I am going to ask you anyways. Would you consider Albion to be your home and why?”
“I would consider Albion to be my home, and it’s because for one this is where my family is but also this is where I alway return back to. This is home base. If my home is not together I don’t feel like I can go about into other communities and do the work. I feel guilty, you know. It’s the sense of your working being undone, and Albion is the place I feel at peace, and where I feel love, and that to me is what home is. You know that comforting place of familiarity that you can just go to and relax and just be who you are. And that’s why Albion is home to me because Albion allows me to operate in my true authentic self and just relax and be who I am”
“So to kind of keep going, if I say one of your favorite memories of Albion, what is it?”
“It’s such a loaded answer”
“It is. It’s a loaded question”
“It’s a loaded question and it’s going to be a loaded answer.
My favorite memory in Albion is, every moment that I had that I got to work with a team. Or I got to work or had the chance or opportunity to work together. And I’ll say that because I look at Volun-Teens that was one of my favorite memories growing up because we actually went into the schools. We created with whole program focusing on students with ADD/ADHD, and really creating an after school experience for them that was catered and designed for them. And so my second favorite memory of course was being a part of 4H. From the time I was in like 4th grade on up it was again just being around a group of people, a bunch of different personalities, the opportunities that we had were like unmatched just being able to travel with this group. We traveled with VolunTeens. I guess just the opportunities I’ve had are all my favorite memories. And traveling, even as a cheerleader in the school system like that was some of my favorite times, some of my favorite memories, so it was always when I was with other people, traveling and just celebrating one another. And again this sounds cliche but this is, these are the things I think about, these are my favorite moments, my favorite memories. Even just the Festival. It’s just being around people. And I like saying I am introvert and I don’t like people. But my favorite moments are with people ”
“In what ways do you think Albion could improve?”
“That’s another one. In what ways do I think Albion could improve? I think Albion could improve in a plethora of ways. But one really being, we need to ask more questions of one another. Whether it be to hold each other accountable or whether it be to just figure out answers to questions and problem solve. I think we always say there is a lot of division in this community, and I spent a lot of the time just kind of reflecting and sitting back and watching it for me. The division comes when there are a lack of questions to get to understanding. I think we also need to understand that I don’t need to like the person I’m working with as long as what we’re doing is going to benefit the greater good of our entire community. So many times we let personalities and different things like that to get in our way of really connecting to get a job done and that’s just my personal opinion. So I think we just need to take a little bit more time to just understand that because again even politically I don’t have to agree with someone, but I will always say though is that what God put in me and for me in my wheelhouse is, is for me. I can’t expect someone else with a different wheelhouse or purpose to care about the same things that I do with the same, you know, intent. Because that is just unrealistic but me and my passion and how I operate and them and their passion and how they operate we may be able to come together to do something great for the community. Or I may be able to say I see you doing what you’re doing, good job. You know? And really supporting one another those are different ways we can improve because it’s all out of love for this community. The passion that we have, the so-called division that we have, it’s because we care so much and we really want great things here and great things to happen, but sometimes it gets in our way. I feel like. Again because there are not enough questions being asked, so"
“So last question I have for you. Which you’ve kind of already done, but I want you to choose one. Describe Albion in one word”
“Describe Albion in one word. Indescribable”