Ballard Center News 

While it may seem risky to turn down a great job offer or leave graduate school early, Brian Hill doesn’t harbor any regrets. His drive to improve others’ lives has led him to start his own company, Edovo, with the sole purpose of helping those who are looking for a second chance—a passion he discovered through the Ballard Center for Social Impact at the BYU Marriott School of Business.

Ashley Wallace's passion for service and learning has led her from the cliffs of Ireland to the people of Madagascar. Now, as a senior studying entrepreneurship at the BYU Marriott School of Business, she knows the programs at the business school have prepared her to serve better and more responsibly.

This summer, four BYU Marriott School of Business students were paired with financial literacy startup FinLit for an internship. The partnership came about through a social impact project (SIP) at BYU Marriott’s Ballard Center for Social Impact, which provides students with opportunities to develop business and personal skills while applying social impact principles in real-world settings.

At the Ballard Center for Social Impact in the BYU Marriott School of Business, students are learning how to solve the world’s most pressing social problems—tackling issues such as poverty, homelessness, environmental sustainability, and more. Jess Dansie Anderson, the center’s managing director of marketing and communications, is working hard to reach and inspire more students across campus to become changemakers.

The impact of growing up in Palestine sparked a desire in Zein Mosarsaa to work in healthcare. However, she did not decide which specific medical career to pursue until her recent student internship at the Ballard Center for Social Impact at the BYU Marriott School of Business.

While on a business trip in Shanghai, Kurt Brown discussed business opportunities and social needs in the area with a friend. The pair recognized the potential to improve working conditions for local factory workers and realized they could start a business to help meet that need. Their idea blossomed into an impact investing venture, a topic Brown also teaches as an adjunct professor in the Ballard Center for Social Impact at the BYU Marriott School of Business.

When Alyssa Asplund transferred to BYU from BYU–Hawaii in 2018, she knew she wanted to continue making a difference for those in need. Asplund found a way to do so through the Ballard Center for Social Impact at the BYU Marriott School of Business. In the process, she also discovered how to improve herself.

Meeting refugees during his mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Tokyo solidified Cade Hyde’s desire to have a career in social impact. His ability to pursue his goals increased through opportunities at the Ballard Center for Social Impact at the BYU Marriott School of Business.

Eighteen years after being hired as the second student employee at the Ballard Center for Social Impact at the BYU Marriott School of Business, Aaron Miller now helps lead the center as an associate managing director. Through his nearly two decades worth of experience in encouraging and supporting students as they “Do Good Better,” Miller also spends his free time teaching others about the benefits of helping people.

“The three greatest problems that currently face the world are gender inequality, climate change, and extreme poverty, all of which intersect in our global supply chain.”

Ballard Center employee Hannah Koford was recently honored as the 2022 BYU Student Employee of the Year.

Many college students often have to turn off social media in order to do their homework. However, social media is homework for four students at BYU. These students use social platforms to help their social impact project partner Video Volunteers find individuals sharing personal stories of living in underrepresented communities.

As a child in Arroyo Grande, California, Sydni Dunn crafted woven purses out of empty Capri Sun pouches to sell to her friends, a pet project of hers that was a preview of things to come in her career. While this BYU Marriott School of Business graduate had dreams of helping run a business, she did not know that she would grow up to empower artisans around the world to sell their own handcrafted products as a way to reduce poverty.  

Do you want to work in a consulting firm but don’t know how or where to start? BYU Marriott School of Business 2020 MPA graduate Alyssa Clark and BYU 2020 political science graduate Jennica Collette share how the skills they learned during their time at the Ballard Center for Social Impact helped them transition into social impact consulting.

BYU students seeking to make a difference in the world no longer need to choose between pursuing a fulfilling career or a well-paid profession. Todd Manwaring, director and founder of the Ballard Center for Social Impact, shares that across the world, nonprofit organizations are merging with corporate businesses to maximize the long-term positive impact created through philanthropic efforts. This adjustment has created the need for updated instruction among academic institutions, and the Ballard Center combined with the Romney Institute of Public Service and Ethics, housed in the BYU Marriott School of Business, is rising to the challenge.  

A day of work for BYU Marriott School of Business alum Tanner Clawson might look different than what most people assume someone in “business” does. Through the Ballard Center for Social Impact at BYU Marriott, Clawson’s career in business has led him across the globe, helping with projects that are solving pressing social issues.

Since completing a social impact internship in Mexico City in 2012, Nathan Noble has charted a career path dedicated to serving others and helping people in need. The BYU Marriott School of Business entrepreneurship alumnus still feels the ripples of his foundational experiences during his time at BYU Marriott in his current efforts to reimagine and improve the lives of foster children.

This summer, Walmart challenged four BYU Marriott School of Business students to create a sustainable alternative for a supply chain process through an internship with the school’s Ballard Center for Social Impact. These social impact projects (SIPs) enable students from all disciplines to create lasting solutions to global challenges. 

The more Breann Hunt learns about social impact causes, the more she envisions businesses changing the way they operate forever. The BYU Marriott School of Business strategy senior hopes to change the industry as a social impact consultant who helps businesses take on bigger roles in making a difference in their communities. Hunt is studying strategic management at BYU Marriott because she believes the program will give her the tools to help companies make those changes.

After drinking a soda on his way home from campus, BYU Marriott School of Business alum Ryan Smith was surprised to find his student apartment did not have any way to recycle his empty can. After reading a BYU survey that showed the majority of students also wanted to recycle, the 2016 strategy alum started thinking of the idea for Recyclops, a gig economy recycling company. Running his own business while taking classes allowed Smith to learn much more from the strategy program. Although Recyclops almost failed, applying the principles he learned in the classroom to his work helped Smith produce a multimillion-dollar company.