MBA News 

Ten 2022 MBA grads at the BYU Marriott School of Business have received the highest distinction given to MBA students at the school: being named Hawes Scholars. The honor includes a cash award of $10,000.

“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.

Forty-five years after earning an MBA from the BYU Marriott School of Business, George Erickson is retired from a successful career in the railroad industry. Erickson’s dynamic career took him to 48 different states and a variety of prestigious positions, but as he reflects on his life, he says what he is most proud of has nothing to do with his work.

When Tom Peterson graduated from BYU in 1981, he thought he had already come to fully appreciate the value of his BYU education. What Peterson did not know at the time, however, was how much his love for the school would continue to grow, and that he would eventually return to the university as a professor with 25 years of industry experience. Now, as an associate professor of entrepreneurship at the BYU Marriott School of Business, Peterson shares his unique life lessons with students.

As a part of this year's Homecoming celebrations, BYU presented an Alumni Achievement Award to Brandon Robinson, a 2009 BYU Marriott MBA graduate. Robinson received the award for his distinguished career in the financial service industry and his efforts to serve his local New York City community.

Eduardo Dallagnese's wedding day was memorable in more ways than one. Shortly after getting married in the Porto Alegre Brazil Temple, he received a long-awaited call from the admissions office of the BYU Marriott School of Business. The call informed him that he had received the Cardon International Scholarship (CIS) from the Whitmore Global Business Center (GBC) and that he was accepted into the school's MBA program.

The office door of BYU Marriott School of Business professor Jim Brau is always open. Brau, an Airborne Ranger Army veteran, believes making connections with his students is the most important part of his job. He continually strives to facilitate moments where he can create those connections. Brau’s consistency in leaving the door open through the years has resulted in countless opportunities to serve those around him.