Information Systems News 

Justin Giboney, a professor of information systems (IS) at the BYU Marriott School of Business, routinely sends summer camp students to outer space. Each July for two weeks, high school students from the ages of 13 to 18 flock to BYU campus to attend the cybersecurity camp he leads. When the participants arrive, Giboney sets up a starship simulator in the basement of the Crabtree Technology Building and lets the students navigate through space using a series of cybersecurity challenges. 

Jen Almond was playing a trivia game along with other students during the BYU Marriott School of Business’s new-student orientation when a question popped up that she knew she could answer correctly: “How old is the oldest student in this class?” The answers provided were 20, 32, and 34. Almond, age 34 at the time, realized she was the oldest person in her information systems cohort. 

In January 2022, the BYU Marriott School of Business Information Systems (IS) study abroad trip to Asia was canceled for the third year in a row because of COVID-19 border closures. The professors who organized the trip, Greg Anderson of the Department of Information Systems and John Gardner of the Department of Marketing and Global Supply Chain Managements, were forced to abandon their plans yet again. 

If the electronic devices in Travis Cook’s childhood home were alive, they would have lived in perpetual fear of him. As a sharp-minded young boy, he was constantly pulling apart alarm clocks, radios, TVs, VCRs—even a BB gun—to examine their pieces.  

When Detroit native Eric Louis took his first cybersecurity class at BYU, he was reminded of doing jigsaw puzzles with his grandmother. For this second-year MISM student, the pieces may look different, but the goal of puzzles and cybersecurity is the same: try to fill in the blank spaces. As Louis prepares to graduate and leave the BYU Marriott School of Business for the world of cybersecurity, his future is a new kind of puzzle, an abundance of open spaces just waiting to be filled.

When recent BYU Marriott School of Business MISM graduate Allyson Irwin was trying to find a coding camp for young students that she could work for last summer, she was surprised at the lack of options. While plenty of technical camps were available to adults, Irwin couldn't find any introductory programs for young people who were curious about the field. The absence of a coding camp for beginners became the inspiration for Code Adventure, a coding camp for young girls to learn the basics of coding and t he countless ways coding is used in a variety of fields.

Nine students at the BYU Marriott School of Business were recently honored as 2022 Bateman Award recipients for their excellence both inside and outside the classroom. The annual award, named for Merrill J. Bateman, allows each undergraduate program at BYU Marriott to select a 2021–22 academic year senior for recognition.

One of Ioana Schifirnet's favorite things about living in London is visiting the art museums. Schifirnet, a 2016 information systems (IS) graduate, came to love art history after taking art history classes during her time as a student at the BYU Marriott School of Business. She recognizes many similarities between art history and one of her personal passions: data analysis.

When Greg Anderson began his college career at Weber State University on a singing scholarship, he had no idea where his education might take him. After switching his major six times while receiving his undergrad and attending four different universities, Anderson is now an information systems professor and knows the BYU Marriott School of Business is exactly where he needs to be.

As many students from the BYU Marriott School of Business were about to begin finals week at the end of the fall 2021 semester, two MISM students were presenting their innovative ideas to some of the brightest minds in the information systems (IS) profession at the International Conference for Information Systems (ICIS).

Fostering connections between students is the number one priority for leaders of the Association for Information Systems (AIS) chapter at the BYU Marriott School of Business. The association encourages connection by providing opportunities for students to interact with faculty members, alumni, and other students involved in the information systems (IS) program. 

Shortly after getting married, Gustavo Zioli and his wife, Lais, decided they could build a better future for their family if Zioli pursued a business degree in the United States. When the couple moved from Brazil to Utah in 2015, Zioli initially wanted to study marketing. However, an experience as a student employee forever changed the trajectory of his career.

When Sam Lentz moved to California to work full-time for KPMG, one of his first clients was Apple Inc. Around the same time Lentz began his new job, Apple released its first iPhone, a day he remembers vividly. Similar to how Apple's iPhone has evolved over time into today's iconic gadget, Lentz, a class of 2007 information systems (IS) alum, reflects on his personal growth and how he's changed during his career since graduating from the BYU Marriott School of Business.

Growing up, Nathan Twyman possessed a knack for breaking software—his presentations crashed machines, his files ruined file structures, and his data entry caused websites to malfunction. As a student at BYU, Twyman realized how breaking business systems could be beneficial. Now, as an assistant professor of information systems (IS) at the BYU Marriott School of Business, Twyman shows his students how to use reasoning to prevent their own projects from failing.

The Brigham Young University Marriott School of Business welcomes nine new professors this fall.

When she was eleven years old, Autumn Clark read an article about modern-day slavery and felt something spark within her. From that moment on, she became passionate about social innovation and making a difference in the lives of others. This interest eventually led her to the information systems (IS) program at the BYU Marriott School of Business, where she now strives to solve problems using her technological expertise.

Amid the stress of studying for winter semester finals, four teams of BYU Marriott School of Business information systems (IS) students also prepared to compete in national competitions. The students' hard work paid off—all four teams took home top-three finishes across two competitions at the annual Student Chapter Leadership Conference hosted by the Association for Information Systems (AIS). The final events for the competitions were held virtually 9–10 April 2021.

Every year, each department in the BYU Marriott School of Business selects one outstanding student to receive the Bateman Award, which recognizes excellence both inside and outside the classroom. The award is named after Merrill J. Bateman, who served as the dean of BYU Marriott from 1975–79 and the president of BYU from 1996–2003. 

While pondering on a hill outside the BYU Jerusalem Center during her postgraduation study abroad in 2019, Katy Reese felt overcome by a sense of peace about her future. Now, nearly two years later as an assistant teaching professor of information systems (IS) at the BYU Marriott School of Business, Reese recognizes how God’s hand led her to teaching at BYU. 

The first time Graham Carman applied to the information systems (IS) program at the BYU Marriott School of Business, he didn't get in. However, that initial rejection didn't deter Carman from trying again, and the second time he applied, he was accepted. Now a senior, Carman is well acquainted with the value of persistence.