It’s clear that in an age of increased divisiveness, in which the discourse is harder than ever to navigate, sophomore mass communication major Ian Brady isn’t discouraged from adding to the conversation. In fact, he’s energized.

“Both of my parents, in different ways, are both lovers and such givers and I think my primary skill is in language and in communicating,” Brady said Monday. “And so my intention, with their influence, is to use rhetoric to influence people positively, in whatever way that may be.”

His dad works in occupational therapy and his mom is a preschool teacher. “They’re basically doing the same job, except that my dad’s clients are dying,” he said, laughing.

It’s his passion for communicating that drives just about everything Brady does and everything he is most interested in. He considered studying theater or English, but at the end of the day, he came to love the idea of mass communication as a major.

“I feel confident at the end of four years I will have the opportunity to walk into a job with a degree in mass communication because it’s so broad, and I’m learning so, so much from various different professionals,” Brady said.

He feels he can still do English and theater on the side, and he feels like they’re not so different anyway.

“At its base, all of those things are communication,” Brady said.

Over the summer, he worked at “Scallywags” in Erie, Pennsylvania, a pirate-themed cruise filled with in-character swashbucklers like “No Beard McNugget,” Brady’s alter ego. As strange as it may sound, Brady does feel that even his adventures as Mr. McNugget were helpful for his professional endeavors.

“More than anything, I learned to just be passionate there,” Brady said.

Reporting contributed by Carley Bonk, Co-Features Editor.