BY ANNA MORSE
If you walk into UNC Greensboro’s Bryan School of Business and Economics, you’re met with television screens showing you a ranking of Bryan Gold participants. If you’re a student, you know this is your competition for the semester. If you’re anybody else, you may be wondering what Bryan Gold is and why Bryan students feel so passionate about this optional extracurricular.
The Bryan Gold Career Readiness Challenge is an app-based challenge that allows students to earn points and badges by attending conferences and career fairs, partaking in UNCG’s cultural events, going to Company Spotlights and more. These tasks contribute to an e-portfolio highlighting their skills and professional materials for future employers. At the end of each semester, Bryan Gold’s top scorers receive unique prizes ranging from Bryan School merch to a shout-out on social media.
The idea of Bryan Gold was born when employers reported that young professionals lack the necessary skills to be successful in the workplace. The solution? Creating Bryan Gold through Suitable, a customizable mobile software students use to complete activities and track points through a user-friendly and engaging experience to enhance the following skills:
- Leadership & Collaboration
- Relationship Management
- Career Development
- Intercultural Engagement
- Beyond Business.
“We know that the goal for our students is to graduate with a job offer; not just any offer, but an offer for the job that they want! By logging in, completing tasks, attending events, and standing out in our leaderboard competition, you are setting yourself up for success by building skills and enhancing your brand along the way,” says Maggie Breitenbach, Manager of Undergraduate Professional Development Programs. “Students who see the value in building their professional portfolio and use Bryan Gold as a guide have seen incredible success early in their careers.”
In the past year, Bryan Gold has received some significant upgrades. With rollouts of all new badges (and more to come), new events and activities, and the opportunity to connect your accomplishments, badges, and competencies to LinkedIn, Bryan Gold is becoming more competitive than ever. Pooja Tadepalli ‘24 (Business Administration), has been placing in the top 20 for the Bryan Gold challenge since she began at the Bryan School in 2022, frequently making it into the coveted Top 5.
“Bryan Gold is like Duolingo,” says Tadepalli. “It gives you a structured way to make progress towards a goal.” In Tadepalli’s case, the goal is to progress towards becoming a well-rounded professional – including perfecting and putting into practice her professional development skills.
Tadepalli says that participating in Bryan Gold made her more goal-oriented, encouraged her to step out of her comfort zone and get more involved around UNCG and the Bryan School. Since landing at No. 2 in the Bryan Gold rankings during the Fall 2023 semester, she has been asked to present on the benefits of Bryan Gold to undergraduates, built up her reputation and personal brand, and has been offered a job at Dell as an Assistant Consultant.
During the Fall 2023 semester alone, Bryan students completed nearly 3,000 activities, letting them become more involved with the Bryan School and UNCG while having fun gaining valuable professional development skills. To learn more about the Bryan School’s award-winning Career Readiness Program, contact Breitenbach via email at [email protected].
