Brooklyn Danner turns engineering into opportunity
As graduation nears, Utah State University senior Brooklyn Danner is looking back at her time at the university, from being a student to a co-founder.
Originally from Houston, Danner shared that she always wanted to go to school in Utah.
“I came up my senior year and toured USU with my dad. I just fell in love with the campus,” Danner said. “Everyone was so friendly. Everyone was talking with the tour guide on tour, and they knew everybody.”
Danner will be receiving her bachelor’s degree in computer science. For the past two years, she has been working at the USU ASPIRE Engineering Research Center on software for electric vehicle chargers.
She is also an ambassador for USU, leading tours for potential students, just like the tour guide who originally inspired her to attend. Instead of taking classes her senior year, she has been in a program called Sandbox, where students are given 15 credits to start a business. The business Danner has co-founded with her cohort is called Optile.
“It’s software for physical therapy clinics. The average clinic loses, like, $50,000 a year just from patients rescheduling. If someone moves their appointment, then it leaves behind a whole hour that they can’t fill,” Danner said. “We go in, and we fill those appointments. When someone moves, we backfill. We know the patient’s availability, we know the clinic’s availability, and we match them together.”
After graduation, Danner plans to move down to Vineyard and work on the business full-time.
Chad Mano is a professional practice associate professor in the USU College of Engineering and someone Danner stated had a big impact on her during her college career. Mano shared a specific instance that stood out to him while having her as a student.
“Brooklyn shattered her wrist when she fell while walking backwards giving a tour to prospective Aggies,” Mano wrote in an email to The Utah Statesman. “Over a year later she got a black eye and broke her nose. When she told me both stories she did so with a big smile on her face like it was no big deal.”
Mano said he thinks being a great presenter and very intelligent technically can be a rare combination, especially among computer science majors. Despite this, he believes her to possess both.
“Brooklyn has grown from a regular student learning new skills in the classroom to literally being a CEO of a tech startup she founded with two of her friends,” Mano wrote. “She came to USU as an ambassador, so she already had leadership experience and skills, but she has increased her abilities greatly, while developing into a top talent technically in her field.”
Another person who Danner shared made a big impact on her during her time at USU is Nicole Larson, the associate director of recruitment for USU.
“I have worked with Brooklyn as her ambassador advisor for three years. She is a hard-working individual with a passion for USU. She has helped recruit out-of-state students to Utah State during our national open houses as well as on-campus events,” Larson wrote in an email to the Statesman.
Larson said she has had students who told her Danner is the reason they decided to attend USU. She wrote about Danner’s calm energy and confidence, which Larson stated usually comes with years of experience.
Danner spoke about her experience as an Aggie as one full of accomplishments and friendships. The only thing she would change would be getting involved earlier.
“There are a lot of opportunities academically that just involve reaching out to professors and things,” Danner said. “My job at the lab I got because I had these connections with professors and other people in my classes. I was delayed in all of that stuff and wish I did it sooner.”
Despite USU soon becoming her alma mater, she plans to visit, even if only to enjoy her favorite Aggie Ice Cream flavor, True Aggie Night.