Be Remarkable: Meet Elizabeth Bragg
“Salem has not only survived, but thrived. There is something to be said for concentrating your mission. We are tailored to the education of girls and women, and that’s always been our focus. It’s never waned or wavered. I see it being here another 250 years.”
Elizabeth Bragg, payroll and systems administrator at Salem Academy and College, traveled the world before returning to her family’s heritage in Old Salem in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
She and her family lived overseas for seven years doing relief work, first in Sudan and then in Jordan. When they returned to North Carolina, Elizabeth’s children headed off to college, and so did she, earning an associate degree in business administration.
She then began working for Old Salem Museums & Gardens, the historic district surrounding the Salem Academy and College campus. As an interpreter, Elizabeth wore period clothing and taught visitors about Old Salem and the Moravians who settled the area and founded Salem Academy and College. As she learned more about Salem’s history, she discovered that the Butner family, who owned the Butner Hat Shop, were her ancestors. Her husband also came to work for Old Salem Museums & Gardens, and they lived in an apartment above the Butner Hat Shop for several years before Elizabeth retired.
Her retirement lasted only a year before Salem Academy and College’s CFO contacted her and asked for her help updating the institution’s payroll system. “I love business, and I love systems,” Elizabeth said of her motivation for returning to work. “It was a divine appointment bringing me back to my history and heritage.” In her role, Elizabeth streamlined Salem’s human resources and payroll information into one system.
“I just love being around the business of it all.”
Elizabeth’s experience at Old Salem Museums & Gardens gave her unique insight into the history of Salem Academy and College, and she loves sharing her knowledge with anyone interested in learning more. To Elizabeth, Salem Academy and College is a remarkable place because, she said, “The fact that it has survived so much: the American Revolution, the Civil War, World Wars I and II, and two pandemics. It’s a place rooted in history and tradition, but it’s not afraid to evolve and change. It started as a one-room schoolhouse, with one teacher. No one was excluded; if you were a girl, you could come here to be educated. There were indigenous students and students who had been enslaved. In the 1800s, families would send their girls to Salem from as far away as Texas and Florida to be educated.”
Elizabeth is passionate about her role at Salem and said, “I know every employee. I’ve either onboarded them or met them to talk about a need they have. I get to help them with their needs; HR is basically customer service, and the customer is the employee. We want it to be the best experience.”
In addition to helping keep human resources running smoothly, Elizabeth is taking classes at Salem College. She is working toward a bachelor’s degree in business administration and said, “My heritage is here, and to be a Salem College alum would be the icing on the cake for me. It’s a personal goal.”
For Elizabeth, earning her Salem degree will bring full circle a journey that has taken her around the world and back to her family’s roots. From interpreting the history of Salem to supporting the people who carry its mission forward today, she has found her own place in the story of an institution she believes will continue to educate girls and women for generations to come.