BRI’S MANAGER STORY
‘Driven to Create Strong Community’
We’re so glad you found this story on one of our incredibly impressive student managers– Bri Clemens. At University of North Carolina Charlotte, she is one of the seven dedicated student managers keeping our program running smoothly— and that is no simple task. Bri plays a crucial role— because without her, UNCC student Creators would not have the strong, supportive, tight-knit community that they do. This community is constantly expanding, and finding support in each other thanks to Bri.
Hi, everyone! I’m Bri, the Community Engagement Manager at UNC Charlotte! I’m a senior majoring in Communications with a concentration in Mass Media and also pursuing two minors in Journalism and English. I’m from Wake Forest, but I love Charlotte and hope to stay here after graduation, which, honestly, is much sooner than I’d like it to be.
I learned about Student-Made through one of my best friends, Meredith, who is a manager at Student-Made NC State. She inspired me to bring Student-Made to my campus at UNCC through her description of the organization as being bright, supportive, and creative. As I reached out to people to form our campus’ branch, I developed a passion for connecting with individuals at UNCC and providing a place for them to experience entrepreneurship while also doing what they love—being creative.
Being responsible for running a business and fostering its community is more difficult than I originally thought, especially on top of being a student. While there will be challenges with everything we do, the most important thing is that we have fun. My Campus Manager, Caroline, and I always say that Student-Made should never be the thing that stresses you out. We say this over and over, even to our other managers. But, at the end of the day, everything we do is for the creators. What motivates me the most as a manager is the trust that is put in me by the creators and the drive I have to help them succeed. Student-Made has offered me so much experience and numerous skills, but out of everything, the most important aspect to me is the community. The people are what matter the most and I’m so fortunate to go through this experience with our UNCC managers and creators.
I live by the mantra to be better than I was the day before. Everything can be improved, even when you think nothing could be better. And when things don’t go as planned, give yourself the grace to make mistakes and learn from them. Student-Made is a growing community and as long as we work to improve individually and as a team, we can accomplish more than we imagined.
Joining the Student-Made community has made my college experience just that much more meaningful. For our UNCC creators, this would all be nothing if there were no you, and I’m so fortunate to be on this road with you. For my creative committee, I hope you’re all proud of what we have accomplished so far because I definitely am. And, for the future of Student-Made at UNCC, I hope the community stays strong so that when I graduate, I can watch it flourish over time.
