Megan McCabe, sophomore

 Hair blowing in the wind, Friends University sophomore Jessica Brandt sits on a wooden bench and wonders, “How do I describe my family? You don’t describe them very often, so how do you describe them?”

“I love ’em lots.”

Junior Amelia Lepping recalls Brandt’s first year at the University with a big smile.

“I just remember thinking, ‘I’m so excited I get to live with her because we are so similar.’”

Lepping, then a sophomore, was a resident assistant for Green Hall when Brandt — a history education turned history turned sociology major — moved into the same suite. The two hit it off immediately. Both have been involved in the Center for Student Missions, and that kick-started their first conversation. They learned that they shared a passion for people.

“I remember thinking, ‘This is going to be a solid friendship,’” said Lepping.

Brandt’s life is seen by everyone close to her as something unique and something powerful. She devotes tremendous amounts of time to serving others — usually people she has never laid eyes on. Her whole heart is evident in every conversation she holds — that heart filled to the brim with the love of God. No one walks away from her without feeling lifted. She runs into people she barely knows and greets them with a warm hug and a smile.

“They can just instantly see that she genuinely cares for them. She has a love that’s astounding and greater than most,” said Lepping. “If they don’t recognize it, they’ll learn it soon.”

Lepping was not Brandt’s first swiftly made friend. Friends senior Courtney Pitts said her first impression was that, “She is bubbly and fun and is one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.”

“Bubbly doesn’t even describe the amount of enthusiasm she has for people,” Lepping said. “There are always people around when she’s around.”

Lepping and Brandt are still roomies, now in the Village. Smiling, Lepping described times when she or another roommate invite a few friends over and 30 people show up in the apartment.

Friends ask what happened to the small gathering, and she replies, “Well, Jessica found out about it and invited some people.”

Brandt and Lepping keep each other young. Hide and Seek is one of their favorite things to play in their apartment. The apartment being rather small, they compete to fit in the smallest cupboard or nook.

“One time we tried to fit her in a suitcase,” Lepping continued, laughing, “I don’t know if she wants me to tell you that.”

Brandt counts her roommates as sisters. They play together, but they also confide in each other about struggles and family issues, talk about the future, and discuss their faith and their passions. Brandt’s main passion is people.

Over the winter, Brandt worked at the Warming Souls Overflow Shelter in Wichita. The shelter, having no permanent home, moved from church to church every couple of weeks, and Brandt was there every time. She is one of those people who can make any anyone feel at home, even in a traveling shelter.

One of her favorite things to do was ask people at the shelter how their day was or what they did and watch their amazement as they inquired, “Why do you want to know?” To this she responded, “Because I care.”

She does care.

People’s passions, their dreams, their emotions and what they want in life are all questions she seeks answers to.

“You gotta talk to people,” said Brandt. “You gotta find out their story.”

That was something she verified during her summer with CSM in Chicago last year. Youth groups gathered there, and she led them on various service projects. They learned about and spent time with people of different cultures, races and social classes and asked for their stories.

“It was like being a bridge between people and seeing that, when you take out these stereotypes, how much God can show you beauty,” Brandt said of the experience, “and when you look through your heart instead of your mind how much more you are able to relate with people.”

Brandt has dealt with diversity from birth. Born in McFarland, Calif., a small farming community, she was in the minority. The majority of the town’s population — 95 percent to be exact—is Hispanic. She grew up surrounded by a culture different from her own, which probably helped her become more open to all cultures.

When she moved to Wichita in 2008, she met Courtney Pitts, who has become a good friend. One night they were talking and Pitts told her that there are no gangs in her hometown.

Brandt was shocked.

Every town she knew of in California had a gang. It gave her hope to see that was not the case everywhere.

“Those precious innocent kids,” she said, thinking of young gang inductees. “And those people who are recruiting were those kids.”

This revelation also tacked another hurting group of people onto her heart.

“My heart’s just a little everywhere and that makes it a little difficult, but I also can’t do without any of it.”

Politics and the injustice from within press on her heart. The justice system is something she would love to help improve after she finds out how to do so.

“It’s so frustrating to see politics come before the needs of people,” she said.

With everything on her heart, it is hard for Brandt to see clearly where she might be 10 years from now. She could be working in the justice system. Guatemala or some other country could pull her heartstrings all the way over there. She could even see herself in social services working with kids or the homeless.

“I don’t know where God’s gonna go with my passion ’cause He keeps giving me new ones and I go, ‘But what about this one?’”

She does feel that God is calling her to an inner-city place where she can mentor kids and continue ministering to the homeless.

Speaking to everyone, Brandt said perfectly and succinctly: “Let’s put on love first.”

Lepping sighed and smiled, “Oh, Miss Jess. Oh, what a lovely lady she is. That really is a good word for her: lovely in every way.”