Claire Keller Busco is no stranger to success, both in the classroom and in the workforce. As a strategy student at the BYU Marriott School of Business—a place where she has found opportunities around every corner—Keller attributes it all to a habit she can’t seem to kick: saying yes.
Keller has always loved trying new things. When she first heard about the strategy program after returning from her church mission in 2020, she dove right in. “I was very excited about it. The people who I met from the very beginning were fantastic. It's a very tight-knit group of students,” Keller says.
As she immersed herself in the strategy community, Keller found herself signing up for every opportunity she came across. She said yes to Sandbox, a program in which small teams of BYU students join together to create and launch startup companies. From there she accepted a Sandbox leadership position. She said yes to participating in Cougar Consulting Group, said yes to an internship at the leadership development company Campfire, and said yes to becoming a teaching assistant for STRAT 411, a notoriously difficult junior core class.
Taking on new challenges—even when she doesn’t have the time—has grown into a bit of a habit for Keller. “I think that might be a problem of mine,” Keller admits. “I want to try everything I come across. I’m still learning when to say no.”
Keller said yes when she was offered the Levinthal Fellowship—a prestigious and competitive scholarship that gives select Sandbox students the opportunity to learn about international business through a funded study abroad. Through the fellowship she built deep personal connections with the people she traveled with. “I met a ton of fantastic peers who are now some of my closest friends,” Keller says.
Getting involved with groups around campus has been exciting and incredibly rewarding, Keller says, but stretching herself so thin can be very difficult at times. She credits the support of mentors for helping her push forward. “The strategy program is incredible, and the amount of camaraderie is outstanding,” Keller says. “Everyone goes above and beyond to show their support.” When she takes on too much, she leans on the faculty and students in the strategy program to help her balance it all.
During junior year, as she prepared for internship interviews with McKinsey—a prestigious strategic and management consulting firm—Keller recalls how her support system came to her aid. “My friend Brady took time out of his own preparations to help me practice. I tried to cancel because I was so embarrassed about how bad I was at mock interviews, and he would show up at my door anyway and say, ‘You're not allowed to cancel.’ He really helped push me to a place where I felt ready for interviews.”
After months of hard work and prep, Keller got the position and spent the summer interning at McKinsey’s Denver office, where she plans to take on a full-time position after graduation this spring.
Keller hasn’t stopped saying yes as she nears the end of her undergraduate education. The more she takes on, the more she reaches out to others for help. “I think people often feel that you have to do something for somebody, and they owe you, and that's how you build your network,” Keller says. “One of the most important lessons I've learned is that building your network just means saying yes to help and saying yes to people when they offer their guidance. It might seem backwards, but rather than reaching out to people who owe me a favor, I think of all the people who have helped me and are invested in my success.”
As an upperclassman, Keller wanted to give back as a mentor to honor all the people who have supported her along the way. “I would not be where I am without the people I have interacted with,” Keller says. “This year I've tried to return a little portion of what I received.”
Despite a job offer, a full class schedule, and a bright future ahead, Keller couldn’t quite bring herself to turn down a position as a director of Cougar Consulting Group when she was offered the role. She says she loves being a mentor and finds it very fulfilling, despite working with her limited time.
“To be honest,” Keller says, “A lesson I'm still trying to learn is how to balance it all when I just want to say yes to everything. It's hard, but ultimately, when I’m working alongside such incredible peers and mentors, I feel like I could accomplish anything.”
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Written by Shayauna Putnam
