Global Business Center News 

Since the Wilford A. Cardon International Sponsorship was initiated in 1986, the program has enabled more than 400 students from more than 50 countries to earn graduate-level education from the BYU Marriott School of Business. As they enter to learn gospel-centered business principles, they prepare to go forth and serve in their home countries.

After working for almost ten years in technology development and engineering, Fabian Serradell knew it was time to take his business skills to the next level. So he quit his job and moved his young family more than 5,000 miles to a foreign country to join the MBA program at the BYU Marriott School of Business.

In the Netherlands, BYU Marriott School of Business students visited a multinational company in the morning, then rented bikes to ride through Amsterdam in the afternoon. In Italy, they attended classes in the morning and headed to go see an evening football match or an opera in Milan. Regardless of the location or the activity, BYU Marriott students who participate in the annual Business Semester in Italy and Europe make connections while immersing themselves in new cultures.

Brigham Young University student Grady Call thought the motto “The world is our campus” was a little cheesy when he first arrived to campus. But when he competed in the Computers for Change Case Competition hosted by the BYU Marriott School of Business’s Whitmore Global Business Center, he realized the phrase held some truth for him. “Here we are learning about Africa from Provo,” says Call, who’s studying international relations and economics. “It’s been a really cool feeling to be able to work on things that can have a real difference there.”

During the fall 2024 semester, BYU Marriott School of Business students Ellie and Trevor Lowry rode the bus home from class every weekday—not from the Tanner Building, but from Pforzheim University in Germany.

When Veronica Stoltz was a student at BYU, she didn’t think she was a likely candidate for a study abroad—she grew up in a single-parent home where money was tight, so she had few opportunities to travel. Despite her challenges, she decided to apply for a program, and her experience abroad sparked a passion for travel and learning that she now channels as the international program coordinator at the BYU Marriott School of Business Whitmore Global Business Center.

Every year the Whitmore Global Business Center at the BYU Marriott School of Business honors first-year MBA students with the Eccles Scholars Award, which includes $9,000 to support students with a strong interest in and commitment to international business. With hometowns ranging from Orem, Utah, to Paraná, Brazil, and speaking languages like Tagalog and Italian, this year’s recipients were chosen for their academic performance, prior international experience, second-language fluency, and focus on developing an international career in business.

While case competitions are competitive by nature, that didn’t stop participants in the 2025 Business Language Case Competition from making connections. Students taking selfies with one another and the overlapping sounds of Spanish and Mandarin floating through the air were just some of the signs of the relationship building and skills development that occurred during the course of the event.

It was in the aftermath of a devastating 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Talcahuano, Chile, that Josue Bustos—then serving as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—realized what he wanted to do with his life: help those in need.

Fifty-eight high school teams from across Utah were given three weeks to develop a new marketing plan for the nonprofit organization Busankam Wola Foundation. The challenge? None of their work could be in English.

During an internship in Berlin made possible by the Whitmore Global Business Center, Finance senior Emilio Ramos Barrios has learned that determination will take you places—literally.

Senior Dasha Samá Román Villanueva has firsthand experience in the global aspect of the global supply chain management program. Though her experiences span multiple countries and languages, Román focuses on building personal connections one at a time—no matter where she is.

BYU Marriott School of Business dean Brigitte Madrian announced Shad Morris as the new director of the Whitmore Global Business Center effective July 1, 2024. Morris is replacing Bruce Money who has served as the center’s director since 2014.

Many faculty at the BYU Marriott School of Business travel with and teach students on semester-long trips to other parts of the world. But on their separate visits to the African continent, Tom Meservy and Kristin DeTienne didn’t teach courses or sightsee with students. Through the Faculty Development in International Business program, these professors researched the business practices of other countries and returned with new insights to bring to their classrooms and their research.

The Whitmore Global Business Center at the BYU Marriott School of Business named 11 first-year BYU Marriott MBA students as 2024 Eccles Scholars. The Eccles Scholars Award offers financial support to MBA students who are interested in and committed to international business.

As a graduate of the MBA program at BYU Marriott, Christian Da Silva knows that education opens the door of opportunity. With the help of loving friends and family and a Cardon International Sponsorship from the Whitmore Global Business Center, Da Silva discovered ways to continue his education and shape a better future.

In an increasingly connected world, learning how to interact with different groups of people can open doors of opportunity and learning. That’s why Bryson Schellenberg, student at BYU Marriott, spent a year studying and working in Germany where he connected with people from all over the world.

In March the Whitmore Global Business Center at the BYU Marriott School of Business hosted the 2023 High School Business Language Competition (HSBLC). The competition invites high school students from across the state to apply their language skills outside the classroom in a business environment. A total of 32 teams—made up of 114 students from 11 schools—participated in the event, with students creating and presenting marketing plans in Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, or French.

The Whitmore Global Business Center at the BYU Marriott School of Business named 13 first-year BYU Marriott MBA students as 2023 Eccles Scholars. The Eccles Scholars Award offers financial support to MBA students who are interested in and committed to international business.

With nearly three decades of experience at BYU Marriott, Christine Roundy diligently seeks to care for and inspire confidence in students. As the academic program manager for the MBA program, she does that by meeting students’ needs one by one.