When asked what he wants to be remembered for, Nic Brinza replied, “being a nice kid.” And that, quite frankly, may just happen, as Brinza is known (or maybe unknown) for his enduring kindness, involvement, and curiosity.
Brinza has fond memories of his last six years at Benilde-St. Margaret’s, and is appreciative of all the people he has met over the years. “There are just so many amazing people, and such a huge variety, and we’re all awesome in our own ways, and have been supportive of me, and in school, I’ve never felt alone, I always felt I belonged, that I had other families,” said Brinza
Brinza has been heavily involved in activities at BSM, since junior high. He’s been on the speech and debate teams since seventh grade, math team, RKVC, went to Guatemala last summer with the mission trip, and has been in every spring musical for his high school career––including his freshman year when he was the mayor of Whoville in Seussical, and darkened in his mustache with mascara for the role.
While he leaves his activities and various teams behind, he does have a wish for their futures: “I hope that the activities I’ve been involved in stay strong. I hope they stay committed to having a good time while not being overly focused on winning. Integrity. It’s about what you do, not whether you win or lose at it,” said Brinza.
For the last three years on the speech team, Brinza has been performing alongside his brother Matt in the category of Duo Interpretation, where two students act out a book or a play. Although most siblings might find it impossible to work with each other, Brinza believes that he and Matt work well together. “Matt’s a fun person to be with. It’s been interesting, Matt’s more focused on ‘let’s win’, and I’m more focused on ‘let’s have fun’. It’s like a yin and yang sort of thing,” said Brinza.
Apart from working with his brother Matt in speech, Brinza considers himself close with his sibling. “We’re pretty close. My brother hates it when I sing, and sometimes he gets embarrassed around me,” said Brinza.
Brinza and his brother’s closeness manifests itself in the video game that Brinza has been steadily creating and playing for the last six years.
It’s called “Might Matt, the Video Game.” “It’s a platform-shooter with monsters and whatnot. It’s hard, but it’s fun to do. It’s nice visualizing something and then being able to recreate it outside of your mind,” said Brinza.
For the game, Brinza uses his creativity to create the music, sound effects, art, and logic of the computer game, in order to make the story of his brother Matt come alive as a video game superhero.
One of Brinza’s defining and admirable traits is his curiosity. If you’ve ever had a class with him, or been in an activity with him, you’d know he asks a lot of questions. But every time he asks a question, it’s either interesting, or somebody else probably has the same question and is too afraid to ask it, but Brinza never lets anyone or anything stand in the way of him getting a better understanding of the concept, or his search for the truth. Nic Brinza has a heart of gold, and only wants to share it with whoever he can.
Apart form attending St. Thomas University next fall, Brinza has no distinct plans for the future. “My plan for the future is that I’m going to make a plan for the future. I really don’t know,” said Brinza.
