Illuminating Excellence

Light flows freely at BYU Marriott: Students seek it. Professors cultivate it. Alumni share it.

In recent months that light has shone even brighter as the university has marked its sesquicentennial by celebrating gifts of light. The yearlong celebration, which began in August 2025, has invited deeper reflection on the unique light that shines throughout the university and within the business school.

What do gifts of light look like in the Tanner Building? A pioneering tech tool that empowers sidelined students. A secondhand stroller donated to a young family. A gospel conversation sparked from a spreadsheet. Gifts like these not only brighten the student experience but also radiate outward.

“We recognize that our students can make a difference now—not just after they graduate. To be able to witness that is really beautiful,” says Eva Witesman, director of BYU Marriott’s Ballard Center for Social Impact.

Witesman’s words echo the heart of BYU Marriott’s vision to transform the world through Christlike leadership, which is advanced through three pillars: research, teaching, and service.

Light in Research:

AI Chatbot Brightens the Student Experience

Professor of information systems (IS) James Gaskin is a research lighthouse—guiding others with steady, illuminating insight. He’s published more than 200 articles with one goal in mind: to improve the human condition through technology.

Gaskin noticed that traditional classroom dynamics can sideline quieter students, who are often hesitant to seek help in class, in the TA lab, or during office hours. Hoping to create a more inclusive learning environment, Gaskin began researching ways to support introverted students. His solution: an AI teaching assistant known simply as “the TA-bot.”

Gaskin built the TA-bot—which debuted early in 2023, before ChatGPT became widely adopted—using the 500-page Intro to IS textbook and the course syllabus. This digital resource allows students to access help anytime without fear of judgment. “With 2,500 students taking the course each year, you simply can’t staff enough human teaching assistants,” Gaskin says. The TA-bot—complete with an approachable persona—simultaneously reduces workload and enables a greater number of students to seek help.

Rachel Serre, an MISM student from Hillsborough, North Carolina, was one of many who used the new tool as a low-pressure way to ask for help. “The TA-bot was a brilliant addition to the IS class,” she says. “It made help available any time and made it easy to ask questions—even the ones you might feel a little silly asking out loud.”

Students reported to Gaskin that they felt comfortable asking the TA-bot questions. “It leveled the playing ground,” Gaskin says. “And it created a virtuous cycle. When students get the help they need, they feel more confident, and they perform better in their classes. This opens up more opportunities for them.”

Further data collected by Gaskin confirmed that his findings extend to the workplace. “In business, those who are loud and outgoing are typically the ones who get the attention, the promotion, the raises,” he says. Working professionals, Gaskin discovered, also hesitate to ask due to fear of embarrassment and judgment. “People are quite eager to have a nonjudgmental, anonymous AI support agent to assist them with everything from policy questions to brainstorming to getting their work done,” he says.

Gaskin is striving to ensure that help is always just a click away for all students. And by helping quieter students access support and build confidence early on, tools like the TA-bot can help prepare more students to thrive—not just in school, but in future workplaces.

Light in Teaching:

Reflecting Gospel Principles

Threading gospel principles into an accounting class might seem like a stretch.

But like many of his BYU Marriott colleagues, Jonathan Liljegren, associate teaching professor of accounting, believes that light belongs everywhere, even in spreadsheets and financial statements. Liljegren purposefully builds upon this idea and invites his students to see accounting through a lens of integrity and Christlike discipleship. At the end of each class, he asks his students a simple but powerful question: “What did you see, hear, or feel today that connects to a gospel principle or testifies of Christ?”

Liljegren, a former early-morning seminary teacher, isn’t afraid of a little awkward silence—especially at the beginning of the semester. But something changes as weeks roll by. “By the end of the semester,” he says, “we’re usually running out of time to share our thoughts. Every single day we discover deep, meaningful insights.”

Liljegren’s daily question isn’t a formality. It’s an invitation to reflect—to pause and let the light of Christ illuminate even the most technical material. Gospel insights may not seem obvious at first, but the connections are there. For example, reviewing a corporate balance sheet might prompt students to ask: Are we balancing our time? Are we allocating time for the Savior?

The accounting notion of losses also has gospel parallels, Liljegren says. “In accounting, we make reserves for our potential losses. Likewise, Christ has already paid for our sins. We just have to apply His grace in our lives,” he explains.

Discovering these connections through reflection and application is like “a breath of relief” for Ariel Chamberlain, a MAcc student from Las Vegas. “I am grateful for the few moments I have each class period to recollect what I’ve learned and zoom out to the big picture,” she says. “Most importantly, I have learned that having a focus and purpose in everything I do is important—and that my focus should be on becoming more like my Savior.”

Liljegren and his colleague Cassy Budd shared examples of their reflective class prompts at a recent American Accounting Association Conference on Teaching and Learning in Accounting—with adjustments to fit a broader audience. “At BYU we might ask, ‘How can I be a better disciple of Jesus Christ?’ At another university, the questions might be, ‘How can I be a better professional? A more ethical communicator? A person of integrity?’”

Liljegren’s method is one of many that BYU Marriott faculty use to bring light to their teaching. Faculty come together to share strategies and learn from one another at college-wide Spiritually Strengthening workshops—an outreach effort organized by the Deans Office.

Professors Bonnie Anderson and John Bingham, both associate deans at the time, designed the first workshop in 2023 to give faculty practical techniques for sharing gospel light as they interact with students in three distinct scenarios: in large classroom groups, during one-on-one office mentoring, and in small-group settings such as a study abroad.

“Faculty report that they felt encouraged both by the speakers and the small-group discussions,” says Anderson. “The workshop gave faculty members ideas they could implement and different ways to think about how to enhance students’ spiritual growth at BYU Marriott.”

The Deans Office next focused on staff, adapting the workshop to the unique interactions staff have with students. Then in May 2025, a joint workshop was offered to faculty and staff, who came together to continue sharing best practices. “We are learning together,” Anderson says.

Whether in classrooms, offices, or workshops, sharing light is an essential part of learning. And at BYU Marriott, that’s never a stretch.

Light in Service:

Finding Purpose in Provo

When global supply chain alum Adjetey Wilson returned to BYU Marriott to begin an MBA, his wife, Gianna, faced a new city, a new season of life, and the quiet weight of postpartum depression.

“I was a mom of three, and I was struggling,” Gianna shares. Adjetey encouraged her to join the MBA Spouses Association (MBASA), an organization that supports BYU Marriott MBA families. He knew the organization would foster connection and that Gianna could offer her natural leadership talent.

Attending an MBASA event became a turning point. “I realized I wasn’t alone,” Gianna says. “It was really nice to be able to show up and have relatable conversations.”

That small step blossomed into group dinners, playdates, and a support system that brought light back to Gianna’s life. “I’ve been so blessed by this group,” she reflects, “and I want it to keep spreading light to others.”

Gianna ran for MBASA president for the 2025–26 academic year and was elected to the position by her peers. While Gianna continues to fulfill the organization’s mission to connect, serve, and spread light, Adjetey serves as MBA class president. Together the couple models a partnership that strengthens BYU Marriott’s culture of service.

That culture is on display at the Gifts of the Heart Exchange. Organized by the MBASA, this biannual event offers secondhand baby gear and kids’ clothing—free of charge—to students and community members.

Service with immediate impact also drives the work of the Ballard Center, another of BYU Marriott’s resources that help students spread light and lift others. The center is dedicated to its motto “Do Good. Better.” and recently focused on increasing hunger awareness while also piloting a program to address homelessness in the community. “The purpose of the program was to help people feel less isolated and more connected,” Witesman says. “The issue of homelessness is not just about housing. It’s just as much about having a community to rely on when times are tough.”

As part of the 13-week program, a Ballard Center student team paired unhoused individuals with community members who had stable housing. The participants met regularly to enjoy a healthy meal with their new friends and learn practical skills to help them exit homelessness. “We created a dignified environment,” says team coleader Davis Paxton, a student from Spanish Fork, Utah, who is involved at the Ballard Center. “We wanted them to know that they were worthy of the time and attention of others, worthy to work on their goals.”

Team coleader Katie Young, from Spanish Fork, Utah, adds, “Our purpose has been to help people experiencing homelessness expand their social network. We’re trying to connect people across socioeconomic divides to empower and support them.”

With a sense of awe, Witesman has watched this and other Ballard Center projects unfold. “The students here bring the light of discipleship to their work,” she says. “They regularly talk about the miracles they witness in their service.”

Their efforts show that celebrating gifts of light isn’t just about one project—it’s about creating ripples that strengthen both campus and community. As Witesman puts it: “I love that we work at a place where we empower students to magnify their influence now and in the future.”

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About the Author
Jennifer S. Mathis is a freelance writer and editor living in Price, Utah, with her husband and three children. She loves telling meaningful stories and chasing sunlight—and busy kids.

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Connection Through Reflection

“On day six during the class about cash flows, I was feeling really overwhelmed and exhausted in all areas of my life. When I woke up that morning at 6:30, my first thoughts were despairing, and I laid in bed praying for peace. Immediately, Proverbs 3:5–6 came to my mind. I felt peace knowing that I can rely on my Heavenly Father and my Savior to help me through my trials, and that They won’t let me fail if I strive to be obedient. This helped me move forward. When it came time for reflections at the end of accounting class, I was amazed and touched when Professor Liljegren pulled up Proverbs 3:5–6. I felt that God knows me and loves me. He wants to help me. He knows when I am struggling. My focus since this experience has been to trust in the Lord with all my heart, to acknowledge Him in everything I do, and to listen for His direction.”  

Ariel Chamberlain, MAcc student