Game Changers is a series of Q and As with exceptional Humanities undergraduates.

 

Our first Game Changer, Brandon Bernard, is in his fifth year in the Communication Studies program. An accomplished varsity basketball player, Bernard also participated in the 2020 Black Student-Athlete review and is now on the executive of the Black Student Athlete Council. Off campus, he has been a moderator for events with The Reach Series, a collection of events, workshops and resources founded by fellow McMaster graduate Kwasi Adu-Poku.  

 

Tell me a little about yourself

I’m just a kid from Toronto! I’m in my fifth year at Mac. I have four little brothers. I love reading, and I play basketball.

 

Four little brothers! Does being the oldest affect you?

I definitely hold a weight on my shoulders – the sense of wanting to create a good example not only for my little brothers, but everyone around me in my community as well. I grew up at Victoria Park and Eglinton, in the Parma Court neighbourhood in Scarborough.

 

As one of the few people in my community and the oldest in my immediate family to go to postsecondary, I feel like I’m setting an example for my little brothers to show that university is a path that’s open to them.

 

Can you talk a little about your journey to Mac?

I went to East York Collegiate, then transferred to a school in Los Angeles to play basketball. When I came back, I went to Southwest Basketball Academy in London.

 

The year I spent in Los Angeles was a super learning curve – for the first couple of months I was on the phone to my mom every night. But it was phenomenal, not just for basketball, but for myself as a person. I had an opportunity to leave the nest, travel on my own, and take that grand step that not a lot of people get to take, especially that young.

 

I’ve always been the kind of person to take a leap of faith, and be willing to accept a change of scenery if I thought it would offer me a better opportunity to learn. That year made a lot of other opportunities in my life not as intimidating because I’d taken that big step when I was younger.

 

Why did you choose Mac? And why communications?

Basketball was one of the biggest reasons, but I also knew they had really good academics. Even now, basketball is one of my focal points, and the reason I’m here, but my academics and the other work I’ve done outside of basketball have played a big role in my development as a student.

 

I chose communications because, to put it bluntly, I love communicating. People energize me, so communications was something I wanted to do because of the opportunities to interact with people all the time. I love learning about the ways people look at certain situations, and I like bouncing my ideas off of them.

 

What are some of the equity activities you’re involved with?

During COVID, there was a lot of uprising about racial inequities, and that allowed me to get more involved with the school and EDI issues.

 

One of the biggest things was the athletics review, which took place within the athletics department and tried to counterbalance of the racism that had happened. Participating in that allowed me to rise as a leader within the athletics department, which gave me the opportunity to work with the Black Student Success Centre, which then led to helping to create the Black Student Athlete Council.

 

How do you think the university is doing in trying to improve racialized students’ experiences?

There’s always work to be done, but they’re getting there. Nothing’s ever going to be perfect, but they’re taking the right steps. They’re putting things and people in place that can create a connection with racialized students, and that leads to a better connection and a lasting difference for them and the people who come after them.

 

It’s amazing what the Black Student Success Centre has been doing on a daily basis – working with them has been super cool. I’m hoping to work with them more to create different events that bring that feeling of solidarity with racialized students.

 

What are some of the challenges you’ve faced?

I was never even supposed to go to university. When I was at East York Collegiate, I was taking a bunch of applied courses, and no one really encouraged me to strive for university. I didn’t think about higher ed until one of my coaches told me that if I wanted to play basketball in university, I’d better take some university-level courses.

 

Growing up, you don’t get the best examples of what it means to be a young, Black male, especially from the media. Nobody tells young Black kids that school is the best bet for their future.

 

Having one or two really good mentors to help me keep my head on my shoulders was really important. A lot of my friends took different paths that weren’t the best – I don’t blame them for it, though, because when you’re young and you only see certain things, it’s tough not to fall into those situations. I’m very grateful for the people I did have around me.

 

Once I graduate from university, I want to go back to my community and show them that there’s more to life than being an athlete or a rapper, or whatever society is telling us we should be.

 

Navigating university was definitely a learning curve, but as time went on, I got my bearings, got acclimated to the environment, and started making friends. That’s probably the biggest thing that helped me, because people are a lot stronger as a collective than they are as individuals.

 

It sounds like mentors have been really important to you.

One of my best friends, Kwasi Adu-Poku, is also one of my greatest mentors. He was a teammate and housemate, and he was one of the first people that pushed me and my other housemates to get involved in the community and do outreach and equity work. I have to give him his flowers, because if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have gotten into a lot of the stuff I’m currently engaged in at Mac.

 

I will give him shout-outs for the rest of my life because he’s one of the most influential mentors I’ve ever had.

 

Tell me about your mom. I get the impression she’s a huge part of your life.

My mom is my rock – I’m the biggest mama’s boy ever! She came here from Jamaica when she was 18 and has essentially been on her own ever since.

 

The sacrifices she’s made for me and my brothers blow my mind, and I will never, ever take anything she does for granted. She gave us a lot of opportunities she never had as a kid, like swimming lessons – that was part of our growing up in Canada. She’s as close to a superhero as you can get.

 

She’s taught me so many lessons that I remember to this day. Whenever I need counselling or advice, I go to her, because she gives the best advice.

 

A lot of the stuff I do I attribute to her – I do so much and work so hard because she has such a big heart. I want to extend that to other people and hope they can feel the same way that my mom makes me feel.

 

Do you know an undergraduate student with a great story? Let us know! Email Sara at lauxs@mcmaster.ca.