Brooklyn Reddick

I would say a lot of my success goes to my own personal dedication, but I was also extremely dedicated because I wanted to succeed for my grandparents. I'm first gen in college, so I wanted to be one of the first in my family to go. I wanted to dedicate myself in high school and get the grades and be able to go to college and get my scholarships and stay on top of everything. So I would say a lot of my dedication came from wanting to be successful for them. My grandparents are very encouraging - I live with them outside of school time, and they're very important parts of my life. It's nice to have a tribe that rallies for you and believes in you, and that combined with my own momentum and my love for what I do has really driven my success.

The best career advice I received came from my personal finance teacher in junior year, Scott Sievers. I talked to him a lot about where I wanted to go after I graduated from high school. I was still deciding what kind of business degree I wanted, but I knew I wanted to go into the business world. He really talked me through what a finance degree would look like and all the different paths that I could take. That really helped me solidify my decision, and he's just an amazing person in general. His guidance showed me that there are so many different ways to go about the business world, and that insight has been invaluable in helping me find my clear vision.

I would probably give similar advice to what my personal finance professor gave me - show her that there are so many different ways to go about the business world. There's a lot of news and media that portrays big business people as stepping over people or pushing other people down to get up, but it's not like that. You don't have to do that. You can still be true to your values, and there are so many different pathways for you to take. It's okay if you change your mind and you discover something more niche or something that fits your personality better. It's okay to switch up, even if you had a set goal for yourself or a set vision. Just let it take you where it goes. You don't have to compromise who you are to succeed in this field.

I would say the biggest challenge right now is the competitiveness of finance in general. Kelly is so competitive - it's kind of crazy. There's just so much you have to work for, and it's so much harder than you would think. You have to truly, truly dedicate yourself to everything around you and explore all the opportunities. It does take a lot of time and a lot of energy to do that. Being able to balance everything and try to take as many opportunities as you can while also exploring things that interest you outside of the major is really important. Even in my freshman year, it's been crazy, but it definitely helps prepare you for post-grad life and trying to get a job at the major corporations. On the opportunities side, there are so many different pathways you can take in finance - whether it's consulting, wealth management, or other areas - and that variety is really exciting.

I would say my most important values are loyalty, integrity - doing the right thing when nobody's watching and just being true to who you are - and honesty. These values guide everything I do, both in my academic work and in my personal relationships. I believe you can succeed in the business world without compromising these values. You don't have to step over people or push others down to get ahead. You can stay true to your values and still achieve your goals, and that's really important to me.