Sophomore student turns her passion into profit.

By Shayla Norgaard

Allegra Rose Berger shuffles up the muddy rocks, sacrificing her Bull Boxer wedge boots, tightly clinging to her Canon Rebel camera to find the perfect lighting and backdrop for her photo shoot.

This is nothing out of the ordinary for Allegra.

The sophomore officially founded Allegra Rose Design Company in the spring of 2015 when she combined her social media platforms, YouTube channel, Wanderlogue blog, and design and photography interests into a unified business.

Running her business involves spending hours shooting and editing videos and photographs, while designing and producing custom art. Rose has collaborated with more than 50 companies, including bloggers and authors like Dr. Low Dog, an author who writes for National Geographic, PB Teen and Minnetonka Moccasin.

Her business began with her passion for photography.

“I wanted others to see beauty in themselves when they didn’t see it before,” Berger said. “I used to not see beauty in myself, until I saw it in others.”

In her dorm room, Berger turns her twinkling lights on, puts Noah Gundersen’s latest album on, and goes to work at her desk finishing projects. Berger thinks having a higher education degree will only benefit her future, which is why she chose to major in art and graphic design at Bethel.

“In the past year she has grown so much,” Berger’s friend and model Nicole Sward said. “She could branch out and do so much more if she wanted to.”

Sward has done photoshoots with Berger since they met in eighth grade at New Life Academy. Over time, Allegra had Nicole stand in -15 degree Minnesota winter in a dress to capture the perfect shot.

“She has a style. She knows how to pose and capture a person,” Sward said. “Her photos are fashionable, but they are still about the person.

Berger is able to pick which companies she collaborates with through her agency Social Stars. She primarily works with organic food or make up companies and fashion companies. Her dream is to grow her business into a design empire.

She spent a Saturday this fall at Minnehaha Falls capturing pictures for her most recent collaboration with Shore Projects. Her boots and camera survived the muddy conditions.

Even though the photoshoot is over, Berger will spend the next week editing her photos and posting them on her social media platforms. She loves that work.

“What makes someone pretty is not physical beauty; it is when you capture someone’s soul in a single instant,” she said. “That is why I love photography.”