‘Amazing Race Canada’ sisters create award for business students

Even before competing on the Amazing Race Canada, sisters Franca and Nella Brodett called themselves ‘Franella.’ 

“We’re only 18 months apart and have been best friends since we were born,” says Franca, ‘12 BCom.

Their closeness proved to be the sisters’ secret weapon as they competed as Team Franella in the reality show’s 8th season in 2022. The power siblings were a cohesive unit as they solved clues and performed challenges to move to each new location in all 11 episodes of the season. 

“We were able to really push each other and communicate well because we knew each other so well,” says Nella. “That was actually the difference maker — our edge in the race — because others couldn’t do the same during times of conflict, high tension, or pressure.” From the starting line at Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, to the finish line at BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, the sisters were a force to be reckoned with. After a tight race, they came in third place.

Their other advantage is that the sisters are tenacious and hard-working by nature. As the Amazing Race Canada’s first-ever Filipino team, it was important for Franca and Nella to exemplify the strengths of their community and represent one of Canada’s fastest-growing populations. Through kindness, authenticity, strategy and grit, Team Franella succeeded beyond most expectations attributing success to their Filipino heritage. 

Nella, the younger sister, is a talented athlete who played collegiate hockey for universities in the US and Canada. In the seven years since earning a Bachelor of Commerce degree, Nella has led a turbo-charged career in the tech space and is now a senior leader with Communitech and the CAN Health Network — supporting the adoption of Canadian health technologies nationally. 

Her sister Franca has advanced rapidly in the fundraising world since finishing a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the Alberta School of Business 11 years ago. Now, she serves as Assistant Dean of Development for the U of A Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, a role that makes good use of her passion for community work and talent for fundraising.

The Brodett sisters attribute their early success to their mother, who immigrated to Canada in 1992 when they were babies. 

“For a period of time, she was a single mother in a new country, trying to make things work,” says Franca. 

For the first few years, their mother studied dental assisting while raising two small children and keeping the family afloat — a tough gig for anyone, but especially someone laying down roots in a new place. “I think that’s where our work ethic comes from, as well as our striving to be better and trying to utilize the resources we do have,” she adds.

Franca and Nella say their mother also instilled in them a keen desire to help other people and their community at large. That’s why they recently created a scholarship for U of A undergraduate business students called the Brodett Student Impact Award, in honour of their inspiring mother. The annual $3,000 award recognizes students who have demonstrated leadership, community engagement, volunteerism or passion for extracurricular activities, prioritizing social impact over GPA.

The sisters explain that preference will be given to students from BIPOC and other marginalized groups facing systemic barriers, as well as those who’ve had to navigate mental illness along the way. Both sisters know what it’s like to manage depression as students with hectic schedules involving academic work, part-time jobs, community work and — in Nella’s case — athletic commitments. 

In creating the award, they also hope to inspire other young professionals to donate to causes and organizations they believe in. The stereotypical donor is wealthy and decades into their career, but Franca points out that more modest sums given over time can make an incredible impact, too. 

“You don’t have to wait to build your legacy — you can do it now,” she says.

In all aspects of their lives — from philanthropy to career management to their participation in the Amazing Race Canada — the sisters refuse to be limited by convention, much like others of the millennial and ‘Z’ generation. “We follow our own rules,” says Nella. At the same time, she knows that women and BIPOC people benefit from seeing people like themselves succeed. The award is as much about supporting students financially as it is about encouraging them to persevere in their goals. 

“We want to pave the way and be role models for younger people to start stepping up and making a difference in the World, whatever that might mean,” says Nella.