Business Sterling Scholar, Brighten Braegger, is a hard working, motivated and authentic individual. She first became interested in business through the business club, DECA. Soon after Braegger discovered DECA, she also found herself joining FBLA, or Future Business Leaders of America. DECA and FBLA teach students real-world business skills through the use of prepared presentations and impromptu roleplays.
“As a sophomore, it was a super welcoming environment for me and I loved how fun it was to compete and hang out with friends at competitions,” Braegger said.
Through her experience with DECA and FBLA, Braegger was able to create the Women’s Empowerment Career Conference, also known as the W.O.W. Conference, alongside Elli Fiddler, another senior. The W.O.W. Conference invites every seventh grade girl in Weber School District to attend and spend a day at Weber State University, hearing from different women in a wide variety of different careers, from computer science to law enforcement.
“Our first year we had about 1,000 girls attend and it was amazing to see them interact with all the different breakout speakers at the conference,” Braegger said.
Braegger is interested in all types of business, but specifically management.
“It has so many different facets and so many different skillsets it requires,” she said. “You need to have effective communication skills, a good eye for visual aspects, and solid adaptability. It’s both challenging and rewarding in the best way.”
Braegger’s biggest role model is Brittany Broski, a YouTuber and podcaster whose main goal is to show how multifaceted women truly are.
“She’s completely self-made, and has built her success by identifying what she loves and what she’s good at and now has built a brand out of it,” Braegger said. “She networks in a way that authentically creates connection with hundreds of people, and is able to market herself in a way that creates connection with her demographic audience as well.”
After high school, Braegger plans to finish her associate’s degree at either Utah State University or Weber State University. Afterwards, she hopes to attend an LDS mission for two years. Once she gets home, she would like to attend Brigham Young University business school and major in either Marketing or Experience Design.
