Information Systems News 

When Maddie Jones, an information systems student at the BYU Marriott School of Business, opens her laptop to work on her homework, she often has five different AI models running at once. Although she first approached the new technology with some hesitancy, Jones—along with other students at BYU Marriott—has learned to embrace AI as a tool for learning.

“I’m of the mind that with AI now, we as faculty have to move the goalposts way out there,” says Scott Murff, an associate teaching professor of strategy at the BYU Marriott School of Business. As faculty integrate AI into their classrooms, they say they hope that their students will not only accomplish more, but that they will become more. “Instead of getting to the end of the road, now we want our students to go to the moon.”

The BYU Marriott School of Business honored selected faculty and staff at its April 2026 awards ceremony for their impact in exemplifying BYU Marriott's mission, vision, and values in both classroom and administrative work.

In March, the BYU Marriott School of Business administration recognized one graduating student from each undergraduate program with the Bateman Award for their dedication to the BYU Marriott values, commitment to academic excellence, and profound drive to serve others.

From pinning vests to programming websites, information systems (IS) students at the BYU Marriott School of Business worked with a local nonprofit to expand its community outreach and help people experiencing homelessness stay warm in the winter.

As Mary Catherine Shepherd works her way through the information systems junior core, she recalls a time when she was less sure of her path. Shepherd found guidance in the BYU Marriott School of Business Undergraduate Advisement office, where she now works with other trained peer advisors who rely on their own BYU Marriott experiences to help pre-business students seeking light and advice on an individual level.

With a dad and three older brothers who all participated in the ROTC programs at Brigham Young University, Spencer Wright says it felt natural to follow in their footsteps. Now, as Wright serves in the Army ROTC and studies information systems (IS) at the BYU Marriott School of Business, he says these communities have shaped his character, perspective, and trajectory.

This year, a group of BYU Marriott School of Business students went on a two-day NetTrek to Dallas, where they met industry professionals and built connections—both with companies and their peers. While NetTreks are not uncommon, this trip was significant because of the variety of majors involved: students came together from marketing, global supply chain management, and information systems for a joint experience.

Assistant teaching professor Laura Cutler stared at her email in confusion. “Is this spam?” she wondered. But the email from the Association of Information Systems informing Cutler that she won the 2025 Faculty Advisor of the Year Award wasn’t a scam. Unlike Cutler, information systems students from the BYU Marriott School of Business find it easy to believe that she earned the recognition.

Google Search processes 16 billion searches per day—and Joshua Lyman’s job is to ensure that no harmful or misleading ads slip through to search results pages. But before landing his role as a software engineer for Google, Lyman developed a skillset in the information systems program at the BYU Marriott School of Business that has since propelled him through diverse career opportunities.

What do beekeeping, management communication, and software development have in common? They’re just three of the disciplines that helped Varroa Tech, a startup that uses gas detection to warn beekeepers of dangerous parasite levels in their hives, to win $16,500 and the 2024–2025 Student Innovator of the Year competition.

Mike Eads left his stable job in search of new challenges—and he found them. The information systems alum from the BYU Marriott School of Business took on roles within and outside the realm of his MISM, trusting the skills he developed during the program.

In its April 2025 awards ceremony, the BYU Marriott School of Business recognized selected faculty, staff, and administrators for exemplifying the college’s vision, mission, values, and guiding principle in both classroom and administrative work.

In March the BYU Marriott School of Business administration recognized a graduating student from each undergraduate program with the Bateman Award for their exemplary dedication to the BYU Marriott values, commitment to academic excellence, and profound drive to serve others.

When Thomas Smith was a junior studying information systems at the BYU Marriott School of Business, he was determined to find a summer internship where he could build upon the lessons he was learning in his classes. But after sending dozens of applications and hearing nothing back, he wondered what more he could do. He decided to focus on creating connections and networking, eventually finding opportunities in unexpected places.

While studying information systems at the BYU Marriott School of Business, Doug Maxfield planned to pursue a career in technology development. Then he found an untaped passion that changed everything.

Writing speeches for the CEO of Microsoft, pioneering cloud services in China, and establishing generative AI technology are all responsibilities that Jared Andersen has taken on since graduating from the BYU Marriott School of Business. Although technical skills have been essential to his success, he has also found effective communication to be vital.

When an academic advisor counseled her to consider a different major, Perla Valdovinos knew she had to revamp her academic performance to achieve her goal of studying information systems at the BYU Marriott School of Business. So Valdovinos reworked her schedule, prioritized her studies, and stayed persistent in doing all she could to get into her dream program.

In the last two years, five teams from the BYU Marriott Sandbox program have won the entrepreneurship lottery: half a million dollars and access to Silicon Valley’s network of startup elites. But the secret of the BYU Marriott’s Sandbox teams’ success wasn’t luck—it was a willingness to fail.

Each year at University Conference, Brigham Young University recognizes a number of employees for their service and influence. This year faculty and staff members at the BYU Marriott School of Business—Julie Averett, Spencer Hilton, Jenn Larson, and Scott Webb—received awards at the conference for their contributions to BYU.