Meet Bria Spaulding

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bria Spaulding.  

Hi Bria, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I am currently working as a higher education professional, basketball coach, and a DJ/Event Host. It may sound like a lot for one person to handle however, each activity I do outside of work is very important to me in it’s own way. I have been playing basketball all of my life, so naturally, I fell into coaching. I love the impact that I can have on my players and the mentorship piece of being a Varsity Girls Coach. My career as a higher education professional and my DJ/Event hosting life actually came about at the same time. While I was a student as Central State University I became a part of Campus Activities Board or CAB. While in CAB, I found a love for planning and executing events at my institution which sparked my initial love for higher education. Now, while I was working with CAB, we had an event that went south very fast, which caused me to pick up a microphone and host the event. Quite frankly, the rest is history. I started falling in love with the art of hosting events and practicing drops and ways to bring songs in. I enjoyed working closely with the DJs to create the best experience for all of the patrons at the events we were at. After about a year of my practicing, I started traveling and getting booked in many different cities, at many different universities, and different events! While hosting and going to school in undergrad, I experienced a number of issues where life was just…. ough. I fell into a deep depression and suffered from severe anxiety. Through this time period, I decided to take a step back from hosting and school to do what I needed to do for myself. I felt lost and alone and I started falling out of love with hosting. However, after a year of taking a break, I suddenly started feeling much better. Once I re-enrolled in school, it was like I came back with a vengeance! I began hosting again and killing it in school! Once I got closer to graduation, I became so grateful for my administrators who helped get me through my dark times. Also during this time, I was also name The Number One Female HBCU Host in the nation which made me grateful for my trials and tribulations that I had to get through in order to receive the accolades I received. After graduation, I quickly began my career in higher education. One of the reasons why I wanted to become a higher education professional was due to the love and support I received from my mentors at Central State University and my affinity to want to be that person for another student who may need support as well. Fast forward to my first job in higher ed, I stopped hosting events as much to keep me focused on my career. During this time, I truly went through a mini-identity crisis because I was still falling out of love with hosting, and I felt out of place. I believed that I could have the duality of being a professional and a host. Around this time, I purchased my first DJ board and started practicing. Ever since then, I have found my love for hosting again, and I started falling in love with DJing. Also, through all of these trials and tribulations, I have became quite an academic. I have received my Master’s Degree and am currently working on my Doctoral Degree, all while still DJing, hosting, being a basketball coach, and still being in my career. That story may have been a tad sporadic, but everything comes together in a beautiful way (in my opinion). 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been far from smooth. As I stated earlier, I endured some moments of anxiety and depression, which set me back quite a bit. I also experienced some interesting situations with me being a female in a male-dominated field. The party-promoting field is very fun; however, as a woman it does come with it’s own set of challenges. It also adds a different set of challenges when (like me) you are a part of the LGBTQ+ community. Although there were some challenges one of the reasons why I fell into coaching and higher education is for me to be a mentor for young girls who may want to do things that may be challenging and let them know that they have support. I also embrace and appreciate all of the things I have been through over the past 6-7 years because without those experiences I would not be the woman I am today. 

Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Again, I am a DJ/Host, higher educational professional, basketball coach, and Doctoral student. One of the things that sets me apart of other people I believe is my work ethic. A lot of people may thinks event hosts come in events, grab a microphone, and just start talking. Although that may be the case for some hosts, that is not the case for me. I often spend time in my car listening to new songs, thinking of new schemes I could use to surprise and “wow” the crowd and I will practice those until it is almost perfect. the same goes for DJ’ing. I take pride in being as versatile as possible. I may not be the best but I definitely take the time to practice and prepare for each and every event I do, which I believe sets me apart. One of the things I am the most proud of is my story and the overall theme of perseverance. 

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I can’t say that there is one quality or characteristic that I feel is most important to my success. However, there is a poem that I can attribute to my successes; Don’t Quit. 

Contact Info:

• Website: djbrithebull.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/djbrithebull?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Other: linktr.ee/brithebull.com