By BETHANY SHERROW
Assistant News Editor

(WARRENSBURG, Mo., digitalBURG) — Heather Mynatt is not your typical sugar and spice and everything nice type of girl.

She said a recipe for herself would contain about 99.365 percent sass.

“I would say, humor and sass – that is how I get through my day,” Mynatt said. “Also, with confidence and creativity.”

Mynatt said she likes to express herself in a variety of ways including her style of hair, makeup, tattoos and fashion. Mynatt said changing up the shade of her hair is an easy way to express herself.

“Currently, my hair is blond with purple and I’m about to re-lavender it,” she said.

“My hair has been red, carrot, blond, brown, teal, purple and orange, but that was a mistake on calculations.”

Seven hair colors may seem like too many to fit into one college career, but Mynatt is actually a sixth-year student.

“I changed my major my senior year,” she said. “I went from history to communication studies – which added two years.”

Mynatt seems to have found her niche as she said she’s a big fan of the communication studies department. In fact, she’s interning with the department this semester.

“I know all of my professors,” she said. “The majority of them all know my name – because I work with the department a lot. They’ve given me a lot of life lessons and a lot of help for after graduation.”

Mynatt said she thinks she has come a long way from who she was when she began her journey at UCM.

“I’ve been involved in so many things,” she said. “ I’ve been able to meet so many people, and I’ve gotten so many experiences that I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise without being here at a small- or medium-sized university.”

She said she plans to stay involved through some kind of alumni program after graduation.

Mynatt’s future plans are to work in some form of media or as an advocate and educator regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersexual issues. She said she is primarily interested in working for human rights campaigns or organizations such as the Trevor project, a nonprofit focusing on suicide prevention efforts within the LGBTQI community.

“Being somebody who identifies in the LGBTQI, I want to better my community,” Mynatt said.

She said she believes many people want to be educated but simply do not know where to start. That’s why she wants to help educate others.

“I just want to make a change and be the change I want to see in the world,” Mynatt said. “I’ve learned where to put my energy and where to prioritize things in my life. I just feel like an adult, about to make that next move of being a real adult.”

Mynatt’s dream is that her next move will take her over a thousand miles away from Warrensburg to New York City.

“It’s one of my favorite cities. It just speaks to me.”