MBA students. Career-builders. Mothers. Friends. Megan Eliason Shaw and Noelle Christensen Perkins have worn all these hats while forging a friendship that has spanned decades, states, and family milestones.
Shaw came to BYU Marriott after earning a BS in accounting at Utah State University and Perkins after earning a BS in family sciences at BYU. During their MBA experience, Shaw pursued the finance emphasis while Perkins focused on real estate. “It was hard,” Shaw says of the program, “but I learned that you can work hard and have fun at the same time.”
The two friends stepped into the professional world together after graduating in 2002. They moved to Phoenix, where Shaw worked in the state and local tax group at PricewaterhouseCoopers and Perkins pursued residential and commercial real estate. During this time, the two women met and married their husbands.
The years that followed were a balancing act for Shaw. After the birth of her first child, she paused her corporate career to focus on her family. She found outlets for her professional skills—running a produce co-op, completing tax returns, and volunteering at her children’s schools. Today, she works from her home in Farmington, Utah, for Assist Insurance Agency Inc., managing licenses for the company in more than 40 states and handling marketing.
Shaw treasures a piece of advice she received as a first-year student from then-MBA program director Henry J. Eyring. “He told me the skills I would gain in the program would benefit me not only in a career but also at home and in future church callings. Twenty-five years later, I very much agree with that statement.”
Like Shaw, Perkins found that as her career progressed, she put her MBA skill set to work in diverse ways, balancing business ventures with family life. With a real estate license in hand, she began acquiring and managing properties, gradually expanding into land development and residential investments. That same entrepreneurial spirit led her to create the Canning Castle—a canning lid and ring organizer—and to oversee the product’s design, production, distribution, and sales. “My small businesses benefit daily from the training I received at BYU,” says Perkins, who now lives in Thatcher, Arizona. “The accounting, supply chain, and marketing knowledge I gained are critical to my endeavors.”
Though careers and moves took Shaw and Perkins in different directions, their lives often unfolded in parallel. They faced similar stages of parenting, served as Primary presidents at the same time, and leaned on each other for encouragement and perspective in every new season.
Their journeys highlight a larger truth: Education creates a ripple effect. For Perkins, that ripple is seen in the way financial stability opens doors for service. “This is a huge motivator behind my financial endeavors—to be able to serve freely throughout my life,” she says. “My MBA has allowed me to do that, and I look forward to even more opportunities.”
Although decades have passed since their time at BYU Marriott, their friendship continues to enrich their lives. “Noelle and I have stayed close despite not living near each other,” Shaw says. “I know we were meant to meet through the MBA program and become friends.”
