Each fall, hundreds of young women enter the gates of 350 Spelman Lane with the understanding that Spelman is more than a college; it is preparation for leadership.

That understanding shapes how they study, how they lead, and how they prepare. By the time they graduate, they leave not only with knowledge, but with conviction that Spelman has nurtured them, sharpened them and equipped them to meet whatever challenges lie ahead. They enter the world knowing that when and where they enter is never accidental.

For Brady Stephens (C’2015), that preparation shaped a career built on strategy, creativity, and intentional growth.

“I know there are girls who teeter the line of what college they want to go to,” Stephens said. “But I always knew I wanted to go to Spelman. It wasn’t a decision I made, it was the only opportunity I wanted to pursue.”

Her early certainty was shaped by an environment that celebrated historically Black colleges and universities. Her grandfather worked in higher education and often spoke about Spelman alumnae with admiration and expectation. Mentors and family members reinforced that vision.

Long before executive meetings and corporate leadership, Stephens understood that if she could see the destination, she could reverse engineer the path. At Spelman, Stephens found academic rigor, attending as a Presidential Scholar. But what shaped her most happened beyond the syllabus.

“It’s what I call the resourcefulness curriculum,” Stephens said. “The relationships, the networking, the figuring out how I’m going to get from point A to point B — that’s what truly prepared me for the rooms I enter now.”

Stephens combined economics and English, strengthening both analytical thinking and communication. She immersed herself in leadership experiences, including Programming for Unique and Lively Spelman Experience (PULSE) and serving as 2nd Attendant to Miss Spelman College.

“Serving on the Miss Spelman court was like my capstone of leadership training,” Stephens said. “I didn’t have a traditional business track, so I had to build one. I learned how to lead, how to organize, and how to move from vision to execution.”

What she did not expect was the discipline of becoming — the resilience that comes from navigating ambiguity and building without a blueprint. That clarity shaped her first professional decisions after graduation.

“To be quite frank, I wanted to find a role where I could make a lot of money and learn a lot,” Stephens said. “And somewhere that would pay for me to go to graduate school.”

For Stephens, financial freedom was not superficial. It was strategic.

“I was building infrastructure,” Stephens said. “Once I built that foundation, I would have the freedom to choose what came next.”

During her first five years after college, she developed operational leadership skills, earned her MBA from the University of Georgia while working full time and began building long-term financial stability. She invested early and purchased her first home shortly after graduation.

“You don’t just go anywhere,” Stephens said. “You go somewhere that builds you.”

That philosophy later guided her transition into the tech industry. After completing her MBA at the University of Georgia, Stephens joined Uber, seeking work that felt dynamic and forward-looking.

“I never want to work on something where I’m bored,” Stephens said.

She approached her role strategically, networking across the organization, pursuing cross-functional exposure, and positioning herself for growth. Her career progressed from program leadership to serving as chief of staff for U.S. and Canada mobility. Today, she leads Uber’s Experiential Strategy and Integration Team, an entrepreneurial function within the mobility business.

“This role brings together everything I’ve built toward,” Stephens said. “From leading customer insights teams to translating complex narratives into business strategy and operating at the heart of a fast-moving organization.”

A full life beyond the title

Outside of work, Stephens continues to build.

“My husband and I joke because we always say we are serial entrepreneurs,” Stephens said. “If we have an idea, we always chase it until it doesn’t make sense anymore.”

In this season, she is also navigating marriage and motherhood, and she is honest about what “balance” looks like in real life.

“Honestly, there is no balance,” Stephens said. “We ask God for a full plate, and He gives it to us. Recognizing that there is not really balance and being okay with just doing your best with what you have is really the mentality.”

Stephens’ success has not come without its challenges.

In her 20s, while building her career and pursuing graduate school, she became a caregiver for both of her parents.

“Losing both of my parents in my 20s was super challenging,” Stephens said.

Beyond the emotional toll, the experience reshaped her sense of independence.

“You think about who pushes you, who guides you,” Stephens said. “I had to become the person who finds the answers for myself without someone directly guiding me. That forced me to grow.”

Through that season, Stephens gained clarity about what truly matters.

“Everything else is simple,” she said. “It’ll be figured out. Health is wealth. Anything beyond that, we can work through.”

Stephens later founded the Gina Maria Dozier King Foundation (GMDK), which helps families facing cancer treatment access transportation and lodging so they can reach care without financial barriers in honor of her late mother.

When asked what it means to be ready for the future, Stephens returns to preparation.

“I ask myself, ‘How do I stay current? What do I need to learn next?’” Stephens said.

For her, readiness is not about predicting what comes next. It is about remaining disciplined enough to meet it by staying curious, building community, and moving with purpose.

“I’ve never entered a space by accident,” Stephens said. “Every move I have made has been intentional, guided by purpose and rooted in the preparation I received at Spelman. When and where I enter matters. And I carry that with me everywhere.”