By ANDREA LOPEZ and BETHANY SHERROW
Muleskinner Staff

(WARRENSBURG, Mo., digitalBURG) — Nyemah Etienne loves people and she is not afraid to show it.

PHOTO SUBMITTED BY NYEMAH ETIENNE
Nyemah Etienne spins in a field near Blue Springs lake.

She will memorize your name and talk to you like you have been friends for years. She is a self-proclaimed eccentric who promotes positivity.

“My friends say that I’m different,” Etienne said. “Some of them say that I’m positive energy and that I’m good to be around and I love that.”

Whether she is spinning in color guard, studying social work for her future plan of being a school social worker or volunteering with the United Student Housing Association, Etienne goes about her daily life gracefully and happily.

“If you ask anybody from five years old to near death what they want in life, they’ll just say that they want to be happy,” Etienne said. “Happiness is hard to find and happiness is really hard to find when you’re surrounded by pessimist(s) and negativity and just darkness.”

With a religious background, Etienne let’s her beliefs guide her on a daily basis.

“My mom is religious and taught me to be the light, because I’m a child of light, so why would I ever want to be darkness?” she said.

Her motive comes down to being an open ear for her fellow peers.

“Here, college has taught me that sometimes people just need someone to listen to them,” she said. “When I help people out now, I just sit there and let them talk to me, and if I have a solution, I give them a solution. Then, the whole social work aspect means that we’re a resource. If I don’t have a solution, I will point them in the direction of someone who can help them.”

Etienne enjoys interacting with people so much, that she accepted a position to be a community advisor in the residence halls beginning next semester.

“I want to leave this campus knowing that I’ve affected many freshmen’s lives,” she said. “I want them to feel like they’re capable of doing something.”

However, even Etienne said all days aren’t always bright. So when she has a rough day, she does something about it.

“I pray, I talk to my mom or I talk to my boyfriend,” she said.

“If I don’t feel like I’m hot stuff right then or I’m being negative, I’ll reflect back on my life. I’ll figure out what isn’t working out in my life that is getting me down and then I’ll ask myself if things are always going to be that way. The answer is always no – it is not always going to be this way.”