Five Globally Minded MBAs Awarded Eccles Scholarships

2010 Eccles Scholars: (from left) Daniel Ryan Myers, Thamina Sbai, Caio Pergamo Penteado Correa, Jasmine Jacqueline Palmer, and Aaron Oyler. (Photos by BYU Photo)PROVO, Utah – Apr 8, 2010 – The Kay and Yvonne Whitmore Global Management Center at Brigham Young University named five MBA students as the 2010 George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Scholars. Each student received $10,000 to continue his or her Marriott School education and to prepare for a career in international business.

"The Eccles Scholar award sends a signal to recruiters that these students have a strong interest in international business," says Lee Radebaugh, director of the Global Management Center. "They understand the global economy and want to make it part of their educations, internships and future careers."

This year's Eccles Scholars are first-year MBA students: Caio Correa from São Paulo; Daniel Myers from Salem, Ore.; Aaron Oyler from Bosie, Idaho; Jasmine Palmer from Austin, Texas; and Thamina Sbai from Casablanca, Morocco.

"It was difficult to narrow it down to only five recipients," Radebaugh explains. "All of the candidates were very qualified."

Seven faculty members aided Radebaugh in the selection process by interviewing each of the thirty-four applicants. The scholars were selected based on international experience, career goals, GMAT score, GPA and faculty recommendations.

The George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation was formed in 1960 as a philanthropic work that would continue beyond the donors' lifetimes. The foundation supports a wide range of projects and programs, but is particularly devoted to promoting higher education with programs established on nearly every college and university campus in Utah.

The Marriott School is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. The school has nationally recognized programs in accounting, business management, public management, information systems and entrepreneurship. The school's mission is to prepare men and women of faith, character and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world. Approximately 3,000 students are enrolled in the Marriott School's graduate and undergraduate programs.

Eccles Scholars Bios

Caio Pergamo Penteado Correa earned a BS in business management from the Marriott School in 2004. After graduation he accepted a consulting position at PricewaterhouseCoopers in his native São Paulo. In 2006 Correa joined the marketing team at Nestlé Brazil. As a senior marketing associate, Correa drove up business growth for the company's flagship brand by 13 percent. Correa's work at Nestlé also focused on several global projects that inspired him to pursue an MBA. Correa chose the BYU MBA program because of the opportunity to network with international students. This summer he will intern with General Mills in Minneapolis. "The internship is going to be a great challenge since I have never worked outside of my home country," Correa says. "However, I see this as a great opportunity to learn."

Daniel Ryan Myers, a native of Salem, Ore., participated in a BYU Syria study abroad program while earning a BS in Middle Eastern studies and Arabic. After graduation in 2004 Myers joined the U.S. Department of State in the U.S. embassy in Kiev, Ukraine, as a management officer. In 2007 Myers transferred to the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem becoming a fraud manager and a consular officer. Myers chose to pursue an MBA to help him work with businesses in the Middle East. "I wanted to develop my strength of character as much as I wanted to develop my knowledge of business," Myers says. "No other university can compete with BYU in that realm." Myers will be working as an intern for Celanese this summer.

Aaron Oyler graduated from Utah State University in 2001 in information systems. After graduation Oyler joined Micron Technology in his hometown, Boise, Idaho, as a software programmer and was promoted to business analyst in 2005. The next year he accepted an expatriate assignment in Singapore, where he led a team that automated a $1 billion manufacturing facility. While it was difficult to return to school after a decade-long career in the technology sector, Oyler is happy he made the decision to pursue an MBA. "Besides receiving world-class training, I have met amazing people who I will associate with for the rest of my life," Oyler says. "The people I have met have inspired me to build a strong personal and professional reputation in order to serve others."

Jasmine Jacqueline Palmer earned a BS in business management with an emphasis in marketing from the Marriott School in 2007. After serving a Spanish-speaking mission, Palmer accepted a position at SMP Ventures, an international development company in New Zealand. Four months later she moved to Austin, Texas, to work for Endeavor Real Estate Group. Since 2005 Palmer has been an officer of a $3.5 million charitable fund that addresses social needs through innovation, including clean water projects in Fiji and Mongolia. Palmer will join Citi as a business development intern this summer. "One of my long-term goals is to be involved in social entrepreneurship, which will allow me to make a difference through the business skills I have and will develop," Palmer says.

Thamina Sbai, a native of Casablanca, Morocco, graduated from the University of Utah in 2003 with bachelor's degrees in business administration and marketing. She worked for a year at the Utah International Trade and Diplomacy Office, organizing visits of foreign dignitaries and businesses to Utah, before joining Summit Sotheby's International Realty as director of international business development. Sbai is an avid traveler and loves learning new languages — she speaks Arabic, French, English and Spanish. She hopes to translate her interest in cultural diversity into a career at a multinational corporation, beginning with an internship at L'Oréal USA this summer. "My MBA has already started opening doors to the world of international business," Sbai explains. "I have been presented with all the tools necessary to pursue my dreams."