Most people want to be good, but they dont always work toward it with purpose, says Associate Professor Isaac Smith.

Smith notes that this tendency isnt deliberate; many people start out with good intentions, but those intentions dont always translate into actions. He calls this phenomenon

: wanting to be good but skipping the work it takes to make course corrections. Theres research suggesting that people value being good over being successful, but they pursue being successful more than being good, says Smith, who teaches organizational behavior and human resources at BYU Marriott.

Smith explains that a well-developed moral map helps people anticipate ethical challenges and know how to respond. But if our moral maps are not well planned out, then autopilot becomes an even bigger risk, Smith says.

MPA alumnus Andrew Marshall has significant experience in helping others chart moral maps. He and his wife, BYU sociology alumna Ariel Marshall, cofounded Model Leadera leadership development firm that helps individuals and organizations strengthen values-based leadership and decision-making.

In his work as an executive coach and facilitator in the Washington, DC, area, Marshall compares moral clarity to solid ground and ethically gray areas to the edge of a precipice. If you dont know where you are or the foundation youre standing on, and suddenly theres a cliff ahead, youre much more likely to fall, says Marshall, who graduated in 2011. But if you know where the safe ground is, its much easier to get back to it.

Because being good at business isnt the same as being good in business, it takes intentionnot autopilotto steer clear of the edge. When developing our moral maps, what it means to be good may shift with our directionthat is, our values, beliefs, and experiences. But one thing stays constant: Moral skill takes practice. The real question isnt whether we want to be good but how we practice it.

published Smith and Maryam Kouchaki's Building an Ethical Career in 2020; the article explored what it means to plan and prepare for moral behavior in the workplace.

The call to treat goodness as a skill at work, as suggested by Smith and Kouchaki, a professor of management and organizations at Northwesterns Kellogg School of Management, has resonated with people around the globe.

The piece has been selected for reprint four times in HBRs 10 Must Reads series, most recently in the forthcoming updated and expanded 10 Must Reads volume

. The article has also been assigned reading in more than 25 college courses internationally, including in Singapore, South Africa, China, and South Korea.

The enthusiastic reception of the piece has pleasantly surprised Smith. Maryam and I started with the assumption that most people want to be good, and identifying steps to achieving that goal really spoke to people, he says.

In their research, Kouchaki and Smith suggest a mindset of moral humility, which means accepting that we all have the capacity for ethical transgressions if we arent vigilant. In other words, we can all slip up. To prevent this, Kouchaki and Smith recommend that everyone demonstrate greater moral humility. A three-stage process can help: Plan ahead, make thoughtful decisions in the moment, and reflect afterward to learn from the experience.

Everyone means

, says Kouchaki. Moral humility is important for anyone who wants to be good at work or good in the roles we play, whatever those might be.

The challenge to practicing moral humility? Overcoming our own tendency to make and justify decisions that go against our morals. As human beings, we are masters at rationalizationthe mental gymnastics that contort the situation so that we still feel good about ourselves, Smith explains. When we rationalize, we can do bad things and still feel like were good people.

The question for Smith and Kouchaki is how to help individuals move from wanting to be ethical to actually achieving it. We observe what people do and how they think, says Smith. We try to give people tools to live their own values. How do you help people avoid unintentionally violating their values? How do you get people to be their best selves?

Smith and Kouchakis research digs into why that gap between intention and action exists. One thing we noticed in our research was that people tend to have moral overconfidence, Smith continues. They think, I know what right and wrong are. Im a good person, and I want to keep being good. But so often they fail to live up to their own personal values, and then they rationalize immoral behavior. We realized that everyone needs to be careful.

That need for awareness and self-reflection, Kouchaki adds, is at the heart of their research. Its about aligning what we do with what we value, looking for ways to create meaning through our contributions, and approaching decisions with integrity and care for others, she says. These principles are relevant in family life, community involvement, and any setting where our actions affect people around us.

But aligning what we do with what we value means knowing what those values are.

Max Moore draws upon some wisdom from Mark Hansen, a BYU Marriott assistant professor of organizational leadership and strategy. I remember Professor Hansens counsel to be careful with how we use the time and talents God gave us. To my best recollection, he said, Many of you are so naturally driven and talented that youll likely achieve what you set out to do. So be careful with what you set out to do.

That advice stuck with Moore, a BYU Marriott strategic management alum and recent MPA grad who has set out to better understand what it means to be good at work. Previously a research assistant for Smith, Moore is now pursuing a PhD in organizational behavior at the University of Illinois.

One definition of

is behavior that reaches some minimal standard of morality, such as telling the truth, Moore says. But I think that for BYU Marriott alumni and disciples of Jesus Christ, being good at work means more than just adhering to a baseline standard of ethical behavior. We should be the disciple-leaders God expects us to be.

Moores perspective is shared by Smith, who sees a strong connection between his faith and the ethical education of his students: People often think of morality in the context of church and home, but I teach students that every area in their life, including their job, provides an opportunity for moral growth and development. Dont make the gospel a part of your life. Make your life a part of the gospel.

Smith also believes that no matter ones religious affiliation, its important to consider any ethical dilemma from multiple philosophical approaches to ensure a holistic view. At BYU we have a clear anchor in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Adding to this viewpoint with additional perspectives can only help us see the problem more clearly, Smith says. Kouchaki affirms, Relying on only one perspective risks overlooking important considerations that other perspectives might surface.

For example, if a company is considering recalling a product with a minor flaw, Kouchaki says a utilitarian approach (which emphasizes making decisions that create the most benefits) might suggest that the high financial losses outweigh the low chance of harm. However, a deontological perspective (which emphasizes duties and rights regardless of consequences) might weigh the companys duty to protect customers above financial concerns.

By engaging with more than one lens, we can develop a richer, more nuanced understanding of the situation and avoid blind spots inherent in any single framework, Kouchaki says. Considering both perspectives can help decision-makers see the ethical trade-offs more clearly and make a more balanced choice.

To learn more about these and other philosophical approaches, Smith recommends comedy writer Michael Schurs book

or the online Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. But you dont have to delve into philosophy to discover the approaches that work for you. Simply identifying a few values you hold in both your personal and professional lives and considering how your actions align (or dont) with each can be a useful starting point.

The sticky part of building an ethical career is what comes next: deciding which actions to take based on our values. Theres a gap between knowing and doing when it comes to the values we hold, Smith says.

Good intentions meet resistance once people enter the picturesomething Amy Dalebout understands well. As a startup executive leading HR teams in Washington, DC, she helps leaders balance desired outcomes with the needs and fallibilities of employees. Even in the age of AI, companies are created by and made of people, says Dalebout, who earned her MPA from BYU Marriott in 2010. Creativity, innovation, ingenuity, and heart are always going to come from the people.

For Dalebout, encouraging ethical behavior begins with a simple question: Am I creating lasting value? Often, ethical decisions feel tricky because we are tempted to prioritize short-term appeasement over long-term success, she explains.

Dalebout points to startup hiring processes as one example of that tension between immediate results and lasting value. Startup companies might not feel they have the resources to invest in and develop employees the way other organizations do, Dalebout says. In these cases, employee growth comes through stretch assignments rather than development programs. We need to be transparent about the growth opportunities that do or do not exist for new hires. In the end, the most long-term value will be created when we are up-front about the experience.

She also notes that this same quick-win thinking can surface when leaders hire friends. Hiring someone you have a relationship with is going to be a short-term win, but it can be a long-term loss because you really want to align talent with the role. If you want to be more successful, you need to hold all incoming hires to the same standards. Its great when ethical choices also drive the right business outcomes.

Taking care of yourself physically and mentally might not have an obvious connection to ethics, but being holistically healthy is another practice that creates long-term value. Employees who handle ethical dilemmas the very best take care of their minds and their bodies, which are really intertwined, Dalebout says. They exercise, practice gratitude, leverage respect from doing meaningful work, and maintain an awareness of when things feel off so these situations dont sneak up on them.

Smith and Kouchaki also recommend implementation intentions, a preventive strategy for anticipating common ethical dilemmas. This practice centers on making a plan so if a certain dilemma arises, a person knows how to respond, Dalebout says.

One place Smith practices implementation intentions is in his own classroom. When I taught at Cornell, students would sometimes swear or make inappropriate comments in class, he recalls. Smith decided in advance that he would respond by saying, Lets keep our language professionala strategy that improved class for everyone. If I hadnt thought about it beforehand, there might have been some awkward moments, or I might have missed out on a teaching experience. Planning my response helped me stay on top of the situation.

The most unlikelybut importantimplementation intention involves deciding at what point you might need to leave a position. Leaving an organization is likely a last resort, but sometimes it may be necessary, says Moore.

Walking away is an extreme scenario. Dilemmas are more likely to be best resolved through careful, deliberate actions that create the most value for everyone involved. Marshall encourages clients to prepare for the complexity of todays workplace by creating and reflecting on their own code of living.

How clear are you on your values? Marshall asks. How do those values manifest in behaviors? How do those behaviors align with your situation? If you see misalignment, youve found yourself in an ethical dilemma. If you dont know your own code, then when you encounter a situation with cracks, youre likely to fall through.

Marshall often has these values-oriented conversations when political administrations shift and his public service clients find their personal values at odds with a new agenda. Reflecting on how to live their values can help them decide whether to uphold their oaths of officebridging political dividesor to step away when the dissonance becomes too great.

Values guide Marshalls own decision-making process as well. Every day when he sits at his desk, Marshall reconnects with his own leadership model, which stems from his personal priorities and religious beliefs. Touching base helps me have moments of zooming out regularly, he says. I ask myself, How does what Im doing today align with the truest version of me?

Marshall remembers a moment when he recognized significant misalignment between his values and his work. A company he hadnt worked with before reached out to request an emotional-intelligence training. The well-paying contract was signed and the date set before Marshall learned that the company produced adult content. While he sees value in providing services for organizations whose policies he may not agree with, theres a pretty clear line for me on pornography, and I dont want to be associated with an organization thats part of that, Marshall says.

But what could be done when he had already signed on the dotted line? I realized I couldnt justify this, so I said no and offered to look for another facilitator, Marshall recalls. I even shared how Id seen pornography negatively impact people I knew. The company came back very grateful for my openness. My approach helped the company know the kind of work I am looking for, so the exchange ended up generating other work for me with other introductions.

Finding creative solutions like Marshalls can be tricky. For someone like Moore, who is early in his career, turning to a seasoned mentor can help. Building relationships with trusted, experienced individuals with whom you can speak openly and seek honest advice is a great strategy for navigating potential ethical dilemmas, he says.

For those on the flip sideexperienced leaders and mentorsMarshall recommends two steps for helping others through ethical dilemmas: First, have good relationships so people can come to you and be fully transparent, he says. When relationships are strong, Marshall explains, people are less afraid of judgment and more willing to be candid. Second, help people to zoom out to figure out what their values are and what they want for the world. Zooming back in after big-picture conversations can quickly bring clarity and can give people the closure they need.

Smith often finds himself inspired by the N. Eldon Tanner quote displayed in the Tanner Building, which emphasizes an ethical obligation to serve others: Service is the rent we pay for living in this world of ours. I love that. Its through service and outwardly seeking and loving others that we become our best selves.

Living a life of service, he explains, shapes both your happiness and your professional path. He points to Jeffrey Rosens book

, which suggests that many of the founders of our nation grounded their understanding of happiness in Cicero and other philosophers teachings. In their view, long-term happiness is really the pursuit of moral virtue, says Smith. The book makes the compelling case that the pursuit of happiness is truly the pursuit of goodness. The irony is that you have to lose yourself to find yourself.

That idea of happiness as goodness carries over into everyday work. At the end of the day, building an ethical career is twofold: It means being intentional about being good, and specifically, being intentional about being good at work, Smith says. If youre not working on moral development at work, thats an opportunity missed. Practicing goodness on the job, he notes, can make the difference between those who intend to be good and those who actually become good.

Written by Clarissa McIntire

Illustrations by Richard Mia

About the Author

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Notes

BYU is wrapping up a celebration 150 years in the making, and whats an anniversary without some gifts?

One large component of the sesquicentennial was the Beacons of Light projectsinitiatives members of the BYU community undertook to radiate light within their fields. Guided by the tagline Celebrating Gifts of Light, academic and administrative units across campus honored BYUs 150 years not just with treats and parties but also with meaningful results.

BYU Marriott found unique ways to mark the milestone by supporting 16 projectsmore than any other BYU collegewith outcomes as distinct as the sponsoring departments, programs, and centers themselves. Here we highlight some examples of how BYU Marriott came together to celebrate its beloved university.

The flagship BYU Marriott Beacons of Light project was a case competition held in October 2025. While the school sponsors case competitions annually, this event incor-porated a distinct focus: Christlike leadership.

More than 200 students, working in teams, were asked to advise an AI startup that was moving from servicing small businesses to focusing on franchisors and multi-location organizations. Throughout this transition, leaders hoped to maintain ethical standards, honor legacy clients, and balance profit with responsibility.

The business world is often nuanced, says BYU Marriott Dean Brigitte Madrian, and its not always intuitive how to act as the Savior would in complex situations. The case competition was a great opportunity for students to take what theyve learned about being a disciple of Jesus Christ and apply it, she says.

Dallin Christensen, a member of the winning team, says that the case competition helped him realize that incorporating Christlike leadership can lead to better outcomes.

If we had only thought about the case from a cut-and-dry corporate perspective, we might have just said, Lets do what makes the most money, says Christensen, a strategy student from Pleasant View, Utah. But because we thought about it in a Christlike way, we went a lot deeper and found a really innovative solution that took care of the businesss needs and some of the clients needs too.

National Advisory Council member Larry Tashjian, one of the competitions judges, noticed how the students thoughtfully applied a balanced approach while focusing on Christlike leadership. Theyre being trained in the discipline of business but at the same time expanding their thoughts into something more than just profit and loss, says Tashjian, CEO of CAM Capital Advisors. As a result, BYU Marriott students take their training and share it with others beyond the university. I can see the excitement in their eyes, says Tashjian. They cant wait to get out and make a change in the worldthey genuinely want to make good decisions for society.

Experiential learning opportunities, such as case competitions, benefit students long after they leave BYU, Madrian adds. When they graduate, take jobs, and work in their communities, they will have already thought through some of the wrinkles and challenges and will be better prepared to lead as the Savior would.

The BYU Marriott vision of transforming the world through Christlike leadershipalong with its mission to develop leaders of faith, intellect, and characterdefines the schools purpose and supports the broader Church Educational System mission. This is not a vision and a mission that youre going to find at any other business school, Madrian says. Its unique to who we are. Its true to who we are. Its aspirational and, in my experience, its motivational for both our students and our employees.

A number of BYU Marriott Beacons of Light projects were designed to create impactful experiences for the student participants and the communities they served.

At the Ballard Center for Social Impact, these efforts took the form of launching a hunger initiative that was focused on bringing people together to learn about and combat food insecurity. The scope of global hunger is significant: According to the World Health Organization, more than 2 billion people worldwide face moderate or severe food insecurity.

The hunger initiative was marked by three large-scale gatherings. The first was US Against Hunger, an event to educate BYU students on food insecurity and to generate change. The Ballard Center also hosted Social Impact Leaders Convening, a two-day conference that brought together faculty and staff from universities across the country. A third event, the Do Good. Better. Conference, featured keynote speaker Reverend Dr. Heber Brown III, who built a church-based food security network that turns unused church grounds into gardens.

Mara Magill, a BYU Marriott strategy student from Layton, Utah, leads the Ballard Centers student-run hunger team. She noticed an energy that came out of the conferences, despite the heavy topics. You confront how deeply hunger and food insecurity affect marginalized communities, but then you see people who recognize and confront that reality and choose to act in ways that are practical, scalable, and replicable, she says. Its not just inspiring to see good work happening; it makes you believe,

.

Another far-reaching sesquicentennial project involved 30 students participating in a study abroad in Asia and the Pacific through the global supply chain management (GSCM) program. Because Australian regulations now require large organizations to report how they address modern-day slavery, students partnered with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to study technologiessuch as audio equipmentused in its facilities and to assess forced-labor risks among manufacturers the Church partners with.

The project culminated in presentations to church leaders in New Zealand, where students shared findings to help guide ethical decision-making in the future. For study-abroad participant Natalie Kruitbosch, from Layton, Utah, the experience was especially meaningful because she got to contribute direct research to help the Church make progress on an issue thats important in the world today.

The experience also gave Kruitbosch, a GSCM senior minoring in global and community impact, a chance to see her two areas of study intersect. Thats exciting because I am going to step into an international buyer role, and Ill have that lens of how I can address social problems while also moving my companys goals forward because I saw that in a real context, she says.

Back in Utah, BYU Marriott information systems (IS) students worked with the Turtle Shelter Project, a local nonprofit, for another experience-based endeavor. As part of INTEX, a weeklong capstone exercise focused on a real-world project, IS students created website prototypes for the Turtle Shelter Project to help manage service events and volunteers.

The main objective of INTEX, says IS Associate Professor Ryan Schuetzler, is to help students connect what theyve learneddatabase design, programming, networking, and analyticswhile making an impact. The experience showed students how classroom skills are not only practical but also applicable to helping an organization, he says. There are so many organizations that could benefit from even just a little bit of technical capability.

The project helped Amy Sessions, an IS student from Joliet, Montana, refine her technical skills and enhance her ability to work in groups. It was a fun experience learning how to work with different personalities, she says. We definitely had some challenges, but the project was also a big opportunity to figure out how to work efficiently.

During INTEX week, the entire first-year IS classall 240 of themtook a break from applying their technical skills to assemble Turtle Shelter vests, which people experiencing homelessness wear to stay warm in freezing temperatures. Aaron Zorrilla, an IS student from Orem, says the project helped him feel that he was making a tangible difference. It turned out to be something I really enjoyed since its not often that I get to help an organization that does so much for the homeless, he says. Everything we did felt like it had purpose.

When students serve others unconditionally, they are learning about becoming Christlike, says Greg Anderson, an IS professor. We should love everybody no matter whatwhether they have money or they dont, whether they have housing or they dont. We can see everyone as a son or a daughter of our Heavenly Father.

While some Beacons of Light projects were one-time efforts, others were designed as perpetual giftsresources meant to last well beyond the sesquicentennial celebration.

For its project, the Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology compiled a legacy list featuring 150 businesses started by BYU students, faculty, and alumni.

BYU has a rich tradition of supporting budding entrepreneurs, says Mike Hendron, Rollins Center director and associate teaching professor of entrepreneurship. If you look at our history, you see people willing to take risks, explore ideas, and create new opportunities and inventions, Hendron says.

Many of those ventures, he continues, are extensions of what others have accomplished. We see wave after wave of new entrepreneurship activity building on the work of those who came before, Hendron says. The legacy list shows that were standing on the shoulders of giants, and it encourages people to keep building more ventures.

Hendron believes that BYUs entrepreneurs are shaped by a unique mix of influences, including church culture, mission service, and BYUs entrepreneurial network. The Rollins Center draws on that network by bringing alumni into courses and extracurricular activities to share career insights. We encourage speakers to talk about how they built their businesses in ways that reflect gospel principles and follow Christs approach of respecting and loving others, Hendron says.

Hannah Cardon, a recent BYU graduate who studied entrepreneurship and Russian, had an office space in the Rollins Center for her startup, DryRise, which offers a noninvasive wearable device for people with overactive bladders. If my team didnt have that space, wed have to keep all of our equipment in our apartments, she says. Having an office also helped us become more tight knit.

The center also supported DryRise as the team prepped for BYUs Student Innovator of the Year competition and applied for grants. There are specific instances when people at the center took time out of their day to help me, even when they didnt have to, Cardon says. Those moments had a big impact on me. Now I want to do the same for othersto help them and to keep that positive momentum going.

Cardon has been inspired to become a more Christlike leader because of the Rollins Centers employees who work so tirelessly to help students. Theyre always encouraging us to reach out with questions, and that creates a lot of positive energy, she says.

BYU Marriotts Business Career Center (BCC) also drew upon positive energy and advice as it created a collection of videosCareer Life Hacks: A Resource Library for Studentsfor its sesquicentennial project.

The purpose of the effort is to empower both current and future students, says Noelani Wayas, career director for experience design and management (ExDM). Nearly 200 BYU Marriott students were recorded answering four questions: Why did you choose your major? How did you land your internship? How did you overcome self-doubt? What advice would you give your younger self?

The recorded comments were compiled into a searchable library. As students reflected on their journeys, they had the opportunity to celebrate how far theyve come, Wayas says. Now, these videos will inspire future students to shape their business school journeys, build confidence, and move forward boldly in their next steps.

Students who watch the videos can hear advice from people such as Samuel Clark, an MBA student from Sandy, Utah. My self-doubt comes from not being vulnerable, he shares. [I would advise my younger self] to plan a little less and just go and do it. Try to make yourself uncomfortable in the name of progress and working toward something instead of just sitting there and planning it out for so long.

Wayas believes the project helped build Christlike leaders by embracing one of the BYU Marriott core values: respect for all. She recalls that during the filming, there were many times when I found myself crying because of the hardships and the emotional stress students shared. Their grit, resilience, and perseverance to meet their goals and live up to their true potential were so inspiring.

The Beacons of Light projects, such as the BCCs videos, honored BYU during its sesquicentennial year with efforts that not only strengthened its community but also benefited the world. Im grateful for the tremendous effort that has gone into the planning, execution, and preservation of these projects, Madrian says. Each of these endeavors has given our students the opportunity to experience and share the light of Jesus Christ.

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Note

More than 400 marriott alumni magazine readers dished on their favorite BYU Creamery flavors. Here are the resultsplus some sweet quotes from those who can still taste the nostalgia.

Its no surprise to Benjamin Boone that in a recent survey of

readers, Graham Canyon was picked as the favorite BYU Creamery ice creamits been a top-selling flavor for more than a decade. Its a unique combination, says Boone, the Creamerys dairy manager, and its name catches peoples attention.

Graham Canyon debuted in 2011 but wasnt an immediate bestseller. Over time, people began warming up to it. Every year it just got a little more popular, Boone says.

The idea for Graham Canyon originated from an ingredient supplier, and the previous BYU dairy manager took it from there. We use our own mix, but the flavor profile came as a recommendation, Boone shares. If I had the secret ingredient to make another ice cream just as popular, my bosses would be really happy with me.

Graham Canyon, composed of a graham-cracker base swirled with graham-cracker pieces and chunks of chocolate-covered honeycomb, is one of 25 flavors currently churned on campus. BYUs Creamery produces between 4,500 and 7,000 total gallons of ice cream weekly, but beyond the stats are the Cougar tales that make the ice cream memorable. Keep reading for more survey results, blended with the inside scoop on campuss coolest dessert.

Out of 445 survey responses, Graham Canyon was the clear winner; 36 percent ranked it as one of their top three favorites. Coconut Joy came in second with 20 percent of votes, and Mint Brownie placed third with 18 percent.

Morgan Anderson, a 2021 ExDM alumna, wasnt the only survey responder who used the term iconic to describe Graham Canyon. Ive had many adventures in ice cream shops across the world and have never come across a flavor similar to Graham Canyon, shares Anderson, who lives in Orem. I absolutely love it!

And since ice cream doesnt have feelings (its just how we eat ours), here are the flavors that ranked lowest: Sparkle Sherbet, Strawberry, and Vanilla. But even though these flavors didnt earn high marks, they still have die-hard fans. Sparkle Sherbet is unlike any other sherbet, and you cant find it anywhere else, says Amber Myers, a 1999 recreation management and youth leadership alumna who lives in Mapleton, Utah. Its truly unique and lovely.

Nestled between the BYU Broadcasting Building and the Heritage Halls dorms is the Culinary Support Center, where all BYU Creamery ice cream is produced.

The milk comes from the Church-owned dairy in Elberta, Utah, and is processed into a custom cream blend in Salt Lake City. The blend is what makes the ice cream delicious, Boone says. Our mix is rich and creamy, which gives the ice cream a smooth texture. Its a recipe that weve held on to for decades.

Boone is one of five people at BYU who is a certified pasteurizer operator. Its a niche industry, he acknowledgesand also one thats undergoing consolidation. The industry is not going to go away, he says, but there are not as many dairy plants as there used to be.

While the industry may be cooling, demand for Creamery products is hotter than ever, and fortunately, the Creamery is answering the call. We want to share the BYU experience, Boone says.

Orders for ice cream, chocolate milk, salad dressing, and popcorn that are placed at creamery.byu.edu can be shipped to the contiguous 48 states. Deseret Book regularly hauls BYU products to storefronts across Utah and to one location in Mesa, Arizona. Several other retailers across the Wasatch Front also carry Creamery items.

Even as BYU Creamery expands its reach, its storefronts continue to be places where memories are made. One day in 2017 (give or take a year), Susan Westfall, then a public health student, had just picked up her usual Creamery orderGraham Canyonwhen the doors opened behind her.

In walked a man wearing a hatnothing unusual, reallyfollowed by two big guys who looked like they could double as linebackers, she recalls. Something about the scene made me pause. It wasnt until the man ordered that she realized who it was: Dallin H. Oaks.

No one else seemed to notice, Westfall continues. President Oaks blended into the crowd like any other visitor, she says. After he accepted his cone, he nodded politely and left with his bodyguards as quietly as he had arrived.

I stood there, ice cream dripping down my hand, thinking, Did that really just happen? Somehow the moment felt sacred and ordinary all at once, says the 2020 graduate who now lives in Vienna, Virginia. I realized that greatness doesnt always arrive with fanfare. Sometimes it wears a hat, keeps to himself, and just wants a little ice cream.

A number of Cougars waxed poetic about BYU ice cream in the survey. For them, the treat is just as nostalgic as it is tastyreminding alumni of first dates, family traditions, or even wedding receptions.

David Kitchen, a 1988 MBA alum who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, says, My wife, Pam, and I had Creamery ice cream in the basement of the Wilk on our very first date 45 years ago. I ordered Pistachio, and she had Chocolate Mint. Every time we return to Provo, we make a stop for ice cream.

For many alumni, those early scoops on campus have turned into repeat treats. I started going to the Creamery in 1974, recalls Eric Woodward, who earned his BS in business management in 1982 and lives in Kansas City, Missouri. Now, more than 50 years later, I stop in to have ice cream with grandchildren who are attending

BYU and with younger grandchildren who live in Provo. Sharing BYU ice cream with them is the best.

The stuff not only has a knack for bringing people together but also for winning over skeptics time and again. I brought a friend to the Creamery who hates BYU and rarely approves of anything about my beloved alma mater. Even she had to admit it was the best ice cream shed ever tasted, shares Erin Wall, a 2006 recreation management and youth leadership graduate who lives in Orrington, Maine. For Walland countless others whove indulgedtheres no arguing with the decadence: The ice cream, she says, does not lie.

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Written by Emily Edmonds

Illustrations by Chris Gall

Joy has a way of getting Jenica Sedgwicks attention.

One theme in my life has been to follow my joy, she says. I value seeing joy glimmer ahead and being willing to step toward it.

That willingness guided Jenica to BYU Marriotts strategy program, a consulting career in New York City, and eventually a role as the first sustainability manager for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saintsa position that didnt exist until she helped envision it.

For years, Jenicas family has watched her use joy as a compass for making decisions. Her sister Jolysa says, Anytime Jenica has trusted her sense of joyespecially when it didnt look practicalits led her somewhere deeply meaningful.

Trusting joy requires tending, something modeled for Jenica early on. When her father started digging a hole in the backyard, she and her siblings hoped it was for a pool. Instead, the pit was filled with compost, then sown with seedlings that eventually produced vegetables for the family table. The garden grew into a cherished part of family life and became an early lesson in stewardship, patience, and the quiet work of nurturing a vision long before others see it.

Today Jenica helps church leaders and members integrate energy use, water conservation, governance, and doctrine into a strategic approach. Its a stewardship she didnt anticipatebut one she readily accepted.

Tucked along the Long Island Sound between New York and Massachusetts, Jenicas hometown of Stratford, Connecticut, gave her an early sense of direction. A classic New England suburb, Stratford allowed Jenica to explore not only the woods beyond her backyard but also basketball, lacrosse, band, and AP classes.

Jolysa recalls Jenica stumbling out of a high school basketball

practicethe second of the dayduring winter break: She instantly fell asleep as soon as she got in the car. We reminded her, You know that you dont have to do this, right? Jenica awoke, insisting that basketball was worth it.

While Jenica pushed herself, she was buoyed by those around her. She is a magnet for people, says Jolysa. She always attracted wonderful, fun, motivated people. Despite being one of only a few church members in her school, Jenica was part of a close-knit, dynamic friend group. Her family attended a small, inner-city branch in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where Jenica met a community of devoted disciples, learned to both serve and be served, and first tried Jamaican and

Haitian food.

Her Connecticut community gave Jenica her bearings, but her family was her true north. The middle of five siblingswith a brother followed by a cluster of sistersJenica grew up in a home that valued independence alongside deep faith. My mother always encouraged us to explore, to learn about the world and ourselves, and to keep showing up, even during hard times. My father was present and gently taught us how to cherish small moments of wonder and joy, recalls Jenica. The combination of my dads spiritual sensitivity and my moms faith in action created a wonderful foundation.

The Sedgwick family enjoyed singing around the piano, and music became a natural way they could serve and connect. Inspired by their mothers years in a local singing trio, Jenica and her sisters formed the Sedgwick Sisters as teenagers. Their mother sang with them and helped find retirement homes and other venues where the Sedgwick Sisters could perform songs from Golden Age Broadway and the Andrews Sisters. The girls eventually earned money from these performances

to put toward their BYU educations, but the years of music and togetherness were the real payoff. Summers also included performing plays written by Jenicas sister Shalese, with proceeds donated to charities. These were early lessons for Jenica in using what she loved to serve others.

The thread through my college exploration was this desire to learn more about how the world worked, says Jenica. She initially considered visual art or advertising, but her curiosityand her grandfathers encouragementtugged her toward the business school.

Her sophomore year at BYU Marriott closed with a hard choice: accept a coveted summer marketing internship at Walmart or participate in a study abroad program. She hesitated to accept the internship, even though it was the more practical choice. The study abroad, on the other hand, didnt feel like the responsible choicebut it felt right, she says.

Jenica chose the study abroad program. Traveling to seven countries across Europe and Asia gave her a global perspective and introduced her to a new group of friends who were studying strategic management. By the time the trip ended, Jenica realized she had found her path.

Once back on campus and officially in the strategy program, Jenica enjoyed the case-heavy, team-based curriculum. There were a lot of long nights in the Tanner Building figuring out formulas in Excel, solving problems on the whiteboard, and practicing presentations, she recalls. She discovered she had a knack for identifying each team members strength, including her own: I enjoyed the synthesizing sidefiguring out the questions we needed to ask, rolling it all up, and telling a story.

That ability to sort through big questions proved just as important when Jenica found herself sitting beside Jolysa in the Conference Center during the 2012 announcement lowering the mission age from 21 to 19 for women. My heart just completely dropped, says Jenica, who was 21 at the time. I felt like I had missed my chance to go on a mission. She shared her conflicted feelings with Jolysa, who simply said, If you want to go, just go. Everything will be here when you get back. Jenica felt an immediate burst of joy and clarity. She went on to serve in the Brazil Londrina Mission. It was a rewarding experience and such a happy time in my life, she says.

Returning to BYU post-mission left Jenica feeling a little bit like a fish out of water. But she told herself, Lets just dive back in and see where life goes. That step-by-step approach led her to join Cougar Strategy (a BYU Marriott student-led consulting group), earn first place with her team at the International Business Case Competition in Boston, and receive the 2016 Outstanding Strategy Graduate Award.

Looking back, Jenica sees a pattern that still guides her life: The path just sort of reveals itself right in the moment I need it.

Jenicas entry into consulting began with a dynamic interview with EY-Parthenon, the boutique strategy and management consulting arm of EY. Something just clicked, she recalls. All of my creativity and critical thinking unlocked. I found myself feeling alive and asking questions. That energy signaled to Jenica that the roleand the firmwere a good fit.

Jenica began a summer internship at EY-Parthenons New York City office, just an hour-and-a-half train ride from her Connecticut home. Living in the Big Applesharing a tiny East Side bedroom and weaving past street performers on her way to the companys Times Square officefelt invigorating. It was phenomenal, she says. There was so much to take in and learn. By the end of the summer, Jenica had earned a full-time offer to begin after her graduation in 2016.

EY-Parthenon provided an apprenticeship-style consulting environment; first-year associates typically spent their time deep in analysiscrunching numbers, building models, and supporting team members. Jenica began as a generalist, consulting across diverse industries.

Jenica excelled right from the start, says Elizabeth Palmer, a first-year consultant at the time who also became Jenicas counselor through the EY-Parthenon mentorship program.

They first worked together on an education-sector project, in which Palmer had a managerial role and saw Jenicas strengths take shape. She was strong on qualitative skill sets, but she was always good at the technical stuff too, Palmer says. Jenica was very good at the things that are hard to teach. She understood the intangible parts, such as business context and getting to the crux of what the client was trying to solve.

Palmer also worked with Jenica on a short-staffed due diligence project right before the holidays. We were building a market-sizing model at about 2 a.m. in the office while most of our colleagues were at the EY holiday party, Palmer recalls. But there is no one I would rather be in a late-night crunch with. Those were the moments where Jenicas great attitude really shone through.

Outside of work, Jenica found grounding in the Harlem YSA ward. It was such a balm for me to be able to rest from an intense professional experience and feel the best of the gospel so strongly present, she says. She held great respect for the bishop and enjoyed the ward community of artists, Juilliard students, and composers.

Jenica lived on the West Side with two other women, eventually leveling up from a twin bed to a queen bed in a room with windows and a fire-escape view. The upgrade marked progress while promotions at work sparked bigger questions: Was a consulting career the destination or a springboard? What would bring her lasting joy?

The EY-Parthenon externship program, which allows employees to work for another organization for six to twelve months, had long intrigued Jenica. In 2019 she reached out to Steve Christiansen, then- director of presiding bishopric projects for the Church, to explore a possible externship. The Presiding Bishoprics Office oversees the Churchs temporal work worldwidefrom welfare and humanitarian aid to meetinghouses and farms.

Their conversation opened Jenicas eyes to projects and opportunities in which strategy translated into servicea meaningful combination for her. Soon after, though, a consulting assignment for EY-Parthenon took Jenica to Brazil for three months, and she set the externship idea aside.

Then the pandemic hit. I was getting to a bit of a breaking point, recalls Jenica, who missed the interaction consulting provided. She had been working remotely from her Stratford home and was on the verge of moving in with Jolysa in Utah when Jenica felt a distinct impression:

. The resulting conversation confirmed there was still opportunity at the Church, including a new sustainability initiative in the pipelinea light-bulb moment for Jenica. Once again, it felt right, she says. The joy swept in. Jenica notified EY-Parthenon that shed found her externship.

With no formal program for someone at Jenicas level, the Church adapted its internship program, which meant reduced pay and reduced hours. There was definitely a What have I done? moment, she recalls. But I told myself, Give this time.

Jenicas first assignment was a resiliency management project directed by Erika Finlayson, who at the time worked as a strategy consultant in the Presiding Bishoprics Office. Because Jenica came in with strong strategic, analytical, and presentation skillsplus her natural ability to learn quickly and adaptshe was incredibly valuable from day one, Finlayson says.

Living at Jolysas home made it feasible for Jenica to get by on an interns salary, and the arrangement surrounded her with family support. As the pandemic brought a rotating cast of family members and close friends through the home (nicknamed the commune), a floor-to-ceiling whiteboard became a shared canvas for Jenicas strategy brainstorms, notes of encouragement from roommates, andas Covid restrictions liftedplans for epic parties.

Jenica extended her externship at the six-month mark and stepped into greater leadership roles when Finlayson took on new assignments. As the work deepened and progressed, so did Jenicas desire to stay. Jolysa recalls, The difficult decision came when it was time for her to go back to EY. By then, a full-time position had opened on the team, and Jenicastill drawn to the sustainability work, though nothing was guaranteedapplied. She agonized over this decision, Jolysa says. It meant fully transitioning from her life in NYC to a professional and personal journey in Utah. There were many tears.

Jenica kept weighing the pros and cons until Jolysas advice cut through the noise: Just follow your joy, Jenica. This is how the Lord has always communicated with you. Jenica accepted the full-time offer, eager to move from decision to action.

When Jenica stepped into her new role, sustainability work was happening in pockets but without a shared framework. While different departments had already been looking at sustainability, there hadnt been anyone who was looking at it holistically, notes Finlayson.

Jenica asked big-picture questions, listened intently across departments, and developed recommendations to help move the Church toward a clearer, more coordinated approach to sustainability

prioritizing renewable energy, water conservation, and fuel efficiency. Leaders responded positively, and new questions quickly surfaced: What would sustainability management look like? Who would be responsible for guiding the work forward?

The answer was governance. Jenica and her team proposed creating a Sustainability Office within the Presiding Bishoprics Office and hiring a full-time sustainability manager. I didnt really consider myself for the role, Jenica says. I had my hopes, but I didnt expect it. But when an unanticipated 15-minute calendar invite to meet with the presiding bishopric pinged her inbox, she felt a spark. During the meeting, Bishop L. Todd Budgewhom she had worked with closely for more than a yearinvited her to step into the new role. It was really easy to say yes. I was absolutely thrilled to keep going; it felt right,

she says.

Jenica officially began the position in May 2022, and the work moved quickly. She just flew, Jolysa says.

By 2025 the Churchs sustainability efforts had expanded to include the installation of 1,800 smart irrigation-controller systems at

meetinghouses across the Intermountain West, saving an estimated 500 million gallons of water annually. In the US and Canada, the Churchs vehicle fleet shifted from roughly 14 percent to about 70 percent hybrid vehicles. And new water-asset transactions, including a 20,000-acre-foot donation and a 10-year lease with the Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust, are helping support long-term ecological restoration.

Other efforts span even broader geographies. More than 800 church-owned facilitiesincluding meetinghouses, temples, schools, and warehousesnow produce on-site solar power across some 45 countries, with additional projects approved. Since 2022 the Church has also supported the construction of solar-powered desalination plants that provide clean water for thousands of residents, with plans to expand.

Between major milestones, Jenica trains leaders and tells the story of the work as it unfolds. She meets with church facilities and operations managers across time zones, helping them integrate sustainability into what they are already doing. A central part of her role is distillationturning months of analysis into what matters most so leaders can act without feeling overwhelmed. She also talks with the media, helping church members understand the work and how they can be part of it.

Jenica has brought the organization from a place where people had lots of disparate ideas to a place where there is more alignment and systemic thinking, Finlayson says. She has done so much to base all of this work on a doctrinal foundationon our beliefs about the spiritual nature of the Earth and our responsibilities as its caretakers.

Over the years, Jolysa has observed how Jenicas choices ripple outward. Jenica is just trying to do something she finds meaningful, Jolysa says. But what makes her happy also has a big impact on the people around her. When Jenica feels full, she radiates goodness that gives so much to otherswithout even realizing it.

That ripple effect has only grown through Jenicas work for the Church. Jenica is excited to be at an organization with such reach, says Jolysa. She has repeatedly said that she is so impressed with and grateful for how seriously the presiding bishopric has prioritized sustainability.

For Jenica, stewardship isnt about control but about care and courage: starting with a seed, tending it with intention, and trusting others to help it grow. That approach is grounded in the faith she finds in 2 Timothy 1:7: For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

The verse reminds Jenica that trusting God replaces fear with clarity and strength. Some of the greatest manifestations of Gods power in my life have come when Ive combatted my fears through a leap of faith, she says, and then the light floods in.

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Written by Shannon Keeley

Photos by Bradley Slade

World Emoji Day is July 17, and its a time to at these tiny pictures that say a lotand fast. While some people find emoji to be a universal shorthand, others prefer to have their thoughts all spelled out. Whether you or them, emoji have evolved into a shared digital language understood across borders, cultures, and even literacy levels. And thats something we can all .

Artist Shigetaka Kurita created the first comprehensive set of emojiJapanese for picture charactersto convey information such as weather or emotions at a glance. Now preserved in New York Citys Museum of Modern Art, Kuritas original 176 icons were the first to achieve widespread use in mobile messaging and helped spark emojis rapid rise in popularity. By 2015, had even been named Word of the Year by Oxford Dictionaries.

Got a concept for the next emoji? Anyone can submit a proposal to the Unicode Consortium, the nonprofit that makes sure each characterfrom letters to emojihas a unique digital code that works across devices. All submissions, which require a prototype and an explanation of how the emoji would be used, are reviewed by the Unicode Emoji Subcommittee. This process ensures that emoji look consistent and convey roughly the same idea wherever they appear.

From texts to emails to social posts, more than 10 billion emoji are used each day, and over 80 percent come from just 100 icons. Emoji have even entered the workplace: 70 percent of US online users report sending them on the job. While questions about professionalism persist, studies suggest that adding an emoji can make you come across as more attentive and emotionally tuned intiny cues that stand in for body language.

The loudly crying face emoji, first introduced in Unicode 6.0 in 2010, was the most-used social media icon in 2025. Meanwhile, the red heart emoji remains a worldwide favorite year after year across all platforms. Not every emoji becomes a , however. Case in point: , the symbol for symbols, has lingered at the bottom of the emoji leaderboard.

What started as a niche communication tool has grown into a digital catalog of thousands of symbols spanning emotions, occupations, foods, flags, and more. Every September, a new emoji update is released and then gradually implemented across devices. In 2025, Unicode 17.0 introduced 163 new emoji, which included more skin-tone variations.

Have you looked at your grocery receipt and done a double take? You arent alone. Easy ways to save on groceries include meal planning and buying only what you needeven when you shop online. Recipe sites like Budget Bytes can help you brainstorm low-cost meals. When your fridge is fully stocked, keep produce where youll easily see itnot shoved in the back of the fridge.

Before buying new clothes or household goods, browse secondhand options. Thrift or consignment storesand online markets such as eBay, Poshmark, and Facebook Marketplaceoffer high-quality, pre-owned goods at a fraction of retail prices. Even better, shop for free through local Buy Nothing groups, where neighbors give away usable items. Dont overlook public libraries eithermany lend puzzles, electronics, board games, and tools.

Are you still paying for the streaming service that includes PAW Patrol long after your kids have outgrown the show? Or did you miss a quiet price increase in your audiobook subscription? Since free trials often turn into monthly payments, review all your subscriptions and look for services you can cut. Replace a paid fitness app with a free YouTube workout. If youve upgraded an app to a paid versionsuch as a food trackerswitch back to the free option.

From flash sales to impulse buys, consumption temptation is everywhere. Since you cant purchase what you dont know about, block marketing emails, texts, and social accounts. Think twice before tapping affiliate links from an influencer (theyre financially motivated to convince you to shop) and wait 72 hours before making a non-essential purchase. Some people benefit from a short fast from unnecessary purchasessuch as a no-spend Septemberto reset overbuying habits.

Autopay makes it easy to forget about recurring expenses, which is why it pays to review and renegotiate. Consider refinancing your mortgage. Call your insurance and internet providers and ask about deals or discountsyou may snag a better rate by mentioning you are exploring other options. If not, compare competitor rates and consider switching. You can also take advantage of BYU-alumni discounts on phone plans and on health, home, life, and auto insurance.