MBA News 

As a principal partner marketing manager at Adobe, Ivy Portwood oversees a group she calls her "dream team." Twenty years ago as a music major at BYU, Portwood never would have imagined she would be working in such a position, or even that she would earn an MBA from the BYU Marriott School of Business.

BYU Marriott executive MBA student JohnPaul Parraga's day usually starts at 3:30 a.m. with a morning workout. His dedication to his fitness goals is a reflection of his committed approach to life in general, including recently achieving a career goal he has worked toward for 25 years.

When he thinks about his future goals, Wilson Moreno hopes to become a leader who makes an impact—in his family, his community, and his local congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Thankfully, Moreno's time spent in the Cardon International Sponsorship (CIS) program, run by the Whitmore Global Business Center (GBC) at the BYU Marriott School of Business, prepared him for these leadership roles.

Marcelo Souza always had a passion for education while growing up in Brazil. He set a goal as a teenager to earn an advanced degree from BYU, which he accomplished when he graduated with an MBA in 2005. The lessons Souza learned at the BYU Marriott School of Business not only helped him adjust to a new culture, they also helped him become a better businessman and reinforce his top priorities of family and religion.

When Brian Boyer was an undergraduate finance student at BYU, a pivotal conversation with one of his professors started him on the path to his future career. Now, as an associate professor of finance at the BYU Marriott School of Business, Boyer witnesses firsthand how his roles as a mentor and teacher can positively influence the direction of his own students' careers.

Ten BYU Marriott School of Business MBA students were recently named 2022 Eccles Scholars by the school's Whitmore Global Business Center (GBC). The Eccles Scholars award program provides up to $9,000 in scholarship money to 10 first-year MBA students who are enrolled in the Global Business Certificate program and show a dedicated commitment to international business.

“Lift where you stand” is Eva Witesman’s life motto. This guidance directs her efforts, whether she is teaching classes at the BYU Marriott School of Business or helping businesses with their social responsibility efforts.

In the fourth grade, Miranda Barnard pulled out the typewriter she received for Christmas and started her own newspaper; she called it Vanishing Tracks. She distributed copies of the paper, which was about endangered animals, to her friends at school. From there, Barnard's love of storytelling grew, leading her to a career using communication to benefit others.

Nestled on the coast of a quiet inlet on the Myrtoan Sea is Nafplio, Greece. The town is home to two companies that currently have student consultants from a university on the other side of the world tucked on the side of the Wasatch Mountains. These student consultants from the BYU Marriott School of Business recently traveled to Greece to meet and learn from the business leaders with whom they are consulting during the winter 2022 semester.

Although Mike Drake was raised in Nevada, he calls BYU home. He spent three years at the BYU Marriott School of Business as a student, where he made lifelong memories, including meeting his wife McKenzie, then returned to the school as a professor out of a desire to feel at home again.

Shawna Gygi is a matchmaker at the BYU Marriott School of Business, but her efforts aren’t focused on pairings that result in weddings. As an assistant director for the BYU and MBA Career Management program, she is dedicated to creating business-oriented relationships by connecting MBA students with their dream jobs, a role she feels is particularly meaningful because she works in her own dream job.

Growing up, Shannon Peterson always wanted to attend BYU. However, finances prevented her from pursuing that option. Despite that, Peterson never gave up on her dream, which she is now fulfilling 25 years later as a student in the executive MBA program at BYU Marriott.

In a drawer in Mike Bond’s office are all the notes he took in training meetings during his 11 years as a brand manager. Bond, an associate teaching professor of marketing at the BYU Marriott School of Business, uses this two-feet-deep pile of notes to plan lessons for his students, who he hopes to prepare for success in the marketing industry.

With no experience in assisted living, starting a company in that field was a daunting task for Candice Rail and her husband, Andrew. Despite their inexperience, the two relied on each other and their faith to grow a thriving business. Rail is now working on her next big milestone: earning an MBA from the executive MBA program at the BYU Marriott School of Business.

While passionate about the public health sector, Jodi Morrison Deputy began to consider a career switch after graduating from college and working in the field for three years. She forged a new path in human resources, a move she made because she saw how HR fit her personality. Deputy says this transition was enabled by the MBA program at the BYU Marriott School of Business, which she graduated from in 2002.

After moving from India to the United States to complete his undergraduate education, Karni Arha wanted to pursue a high-quality, affordable MBA program in a supportive environment. He chose to attend the BYU Marriott School of Business, a decision he says enabled his successful leadership career in finance.

Growing up in Ajloun, Jordan, Dunia Alrabadi had a goal at a young age to attend college in the United States. As a child, she met many people who thought her dream was impractical and maybe even impossible. Alrabadi doubled down on her goal to prove she could be more than others believed. Now, as an MBA student at the BYU Marriott School of Business, Alrabadi has her sights set on helping others like her achieve their dreams.

Students in the MBA program at BYU Marriott fondly refer to fellow cohort member and 2022 class president Ethan Felix as their "MBA dad." Despite being older than most of his classmates, Felix connects with other students and empathizes with those going through difficult times. Felix's life has been shaped by overcoming obstacles, both personal and educational.

A team of BYU Marriott School of Business MBA students won third place out of 4,500 teams during the 2021 Adobe Analytics Challenge held throughout the month of November. The students’ success earned them a prize of $6,000 and provided experience in real-world business situations. 

As Bob Ycmat arrives early at his office every day, he finds himself reflecting on his career path, which began in marketing and will end in finance. As CFO of Revere Health, Ycmat is proud of the lessons he has learned and the impact he has had throughout his career, a journey he says was reenergized by his participation in the executive MBA program at BYU Marriott.