After accepting a full-ride National Merit scholarship, honors student and director of Nuthouse Improv Britta Reumann has made quite an impact on the Pullman community in her time at WSU.
She is graduating with a philosophy major and English minor, with the hope of becoming an editor in the near future.
“The joy in editing is not telling people they are wrong, but making the work the best it can be,” Reumann said. “It is, I think, the mission of an editor to be that invisible presence on each page, drawing from each author the purest expression of their ideas.”
Reumann giggled as she remembered how fixated she was on reading and language as a child.
“I was such an anal little kid,” Ruemann said. “I was insufferable, and I started reading really young because my mom was an English teacher. Very early on, I started catching mistakes in books. I love language. I have always had an editor’s heart.”
Reumann is extremely passionate about the community. She has been the secretary of the Philosophy Club, an avid member of the charity group Circle K International and is the current director of Nuthouse, STAGE’s improv group.
“I just joined [Cirkle K International] on a whim, and I made best friends there. It’s totally community-oriented, which is a nice thing to be a part of,” Reumann said. “We were doing things like partner with the Kiwanis club of Pullman or do pancake breakfasts. One time, we painted rocks to beautify the campus! It connected me a lot more with Pullman as a community. I only left because I joined STAGE and couldn’t keep up both commitments.”
The duties of being a director align with Reumann’s passion for editing, as she is able to help actors say what they want to say. She was introduced to the club her sophomore year, when a friend invited her to open improv.
“I’m sitting with a friend and improv is about to start, and he said, ‘just go in’, and I had such a good time that I never stopped going,” Reumann said. “By next semester, I was cast in Nuthouse and performing every show. I was in Macbeth, and then I was marketing executive. I got to go to KCUTF where we won second place in the improv Olympics.”
Reumann’s dedication to the group, alongside her work as an honors student, is no small feat. The group performs every other Friday and has open improv every Tuesday and Thursday.
She also encourages new students to join the philosophy department and said it is one of the most individualized experiences she has had in a program.
“At Wazzu the philosophy program is small, which has allowed me to have meaningful relationships with my professors,” Reumann said. “I have met many that I both look up to and I know care for me. I unequivocally love every professor I have had here. I am a person to my professors.”
Whatever is next for Reumann, she knows that the relationships she has made at WSU have changed her for the better. She will be taking the laughs with friends during Nuthouse, substantial conversations with professors and the smiles she gathered from community service in stride for her next journey.
