Meet Brianna Smith, formerly known as Brianna Minica.
- Brianna is 22 years old.
- She is from San Antonio TX.
- This will be her 4th year of hosting a local group.
- Before hosting, Brianna competed in the NBB for 11 years, 2010-2020.
- She works full time as a cake decorator at a shop in San Antonio and also runs her own business on the side. Long term, her goal is to work entirely from home running her own bakery, and being a stay at home mom.
Hi Brianna! Welcome to the National Bible Bee Blog! We hope you can share some insight with us! How and why did you start hosting a local group?
- My mom had been hosting our local group for a number of years before I took over. I had already been helping her plan meetings while I was still a participant, so it was a natural transition for me to become the official host after I aged out. She still plays a large part in hosting our group as well.
You participated in the NBB before becoming a host. Looking back, what is most memorable about the years you competed?
- I would have to say two things are about as equally memorable from my time spent participating in NBB – first, the love of Scripture and desire for the knowledge of it that is permanently ingrained in me. It didn’t happen in a day, or a month, or a year. But that makes it even more beautiful and I value it so much the more for the time and process of growth that took place in me throughout my years of participating in NBB. And second, the people I met. The community in NBB is special and unlike anything else. As probably anyone who has participated in NBB can tell you, and particularly at NBBC, there is an automatic connection, even between strangers, when you have both spent so many hours dedicated to the same thing – studying God’s word.
That’s such an amazing testimony about the power of God’s word, it moves in us even if we don’t feel it. And it’s great that you’ve made lifelong friends that also love to study and memorize! What is your favorite part of hosting?
- For me, one of the best parts of hosting is the opportunity and motivation it provides for me to stay involved in NBB since I aged out. I love being able to invest in the participants in our group, and being a former participant myself gives me a unique perspective and ability to identify with and encourage them throughout the study.
What is one thing you’ve learned from your years of hosting?
- One thing I’ve learned from hosting that applies to participating as well – the more you put into it, the more you get out. It’s a simple concept, but I’ve found it important to keep in mind as a host. It’s really easy for me to procrastinate planning meetings and end up doing everything last minute, or reusing games instead of spending the extra time to put together a new one. But when I invest more time and care into the planning, meetings run more smoothly, everyone has more fun, learns more, and goes home more motivated to study on their own.
Interview by NBB Alumnus: Philip Minica
