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During the 2025 spring semester, 30 students visited six countries in Asia and the Pacific to identify possible instances of modern slavery. John Gardner, an associate professor who led the trip, says, “From the very first class period, students were encouraged to think about ways that they could share light with each of the people that we would contact: both in the businesses and in our cultural visits.”

Graciela Massey watched her dream go up in flames—literally. For a high school class assignment, she and her classmates all wrote their dreams in lanterns and sent them up into the sky. Massey's lantern, with a card that simply said “BYU” inside, hit the school roof and caught fire. When Massey went elsewhere for her undergraduate degree, she thought the burning lantern must have been a sign. But now, she’s living her dream as an MBA student at the BYU Marriott School of Business, and she’s working to take advantage of her opportunities and help others do the same.

When he was young, Ryan Zimbauer remembers his mom telling him that his future career would involve something that hadn’t been invented yet. Now, as the winner of the 2025 Big Idea Competition hosted by the Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology at the BYU Marriott School of Business, Zimbauer says the recognition for his project, MagPocket, is a result of continually seeking and taking opportunities to learn.

Of all the awards he earned and titles he held at BYU Marriott—from PhD prep track coordinator to director of the SOA—Doug Prawitt says mentoring students and helping them improve their lives is his proudest accomplishment.

“Right underneath a person’s physical appearance, there are a lot of cultural influences that make someone who they are,” says Simon Greathead, a teaching professor of global supply chain at the BYU Marriott School of Business. As he teaches his students about international business and culture, he says he hopes to help students build bridges of understanding and Christlike culture in their future business roles.

Whether working with international nonprofits or local businesses, experience design and management (ExDM) students at the BYU Marriott School of Business have the chance to apply their education through designing experiences. “It gives us a lot of confidence as we enter the workforce, because we know that our skills are valuable,” says ExDM student Claire Martin.

Working in human resources involves more than hiring and firing, says BYU Marriott School of Business student Timothy Geltaka. Applying what he’s learned from his studies, Geltaka and other students volunteered at a career workshop hosted by the human resource management (HRM) program. Through their service, these students say they learned that using their education to help others can encourage growth and joy for both themselves and the people they serve.

The BYU Marriott School of Business hosted its annual case competition in October, providing students with one pertinent business problem to solve—this year, though, the judges were focused on more than just an effective business solution. Rather, the 217 participating students were challenged to center each of their group’s solutions and presentations on Christlike leadership.

Over multiple days, 192 students at the BYU Marriott School of Business stepped into a small recording space and spoke about choosing their majors, securing jobs and internships, and overcoming self-doubt. Looking into a camera, they shared advice they would give to their younger selves—advice to encourage future BYU Marriott students.

During the 2025 tax season, more than a hundred SOA students from BYU Marriott helped community members file their taxes for free through the VITA lab. These students filed almost 1,000 tax returns, helping to share light as they empathized and advocated for others through the tax return process, says Jon Kerr, the VITA lab faculty advisor.

The Marketing Association at BYU Marriott hosted its annual Christmas social in December 2025. This year, for BYU’s 150th anniversary, students had a focus beyond celebrating the end of a semester: service.

After witnessing his mom fight breast cancer, Peyton Jackson worked with the Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology to start Indel, a company that treats breast cancer through gene therapy. For Jackson and other student entrepreneurs, their journey has required more than hard work and studying; they find support from Christlike predecessors and an entrepreneurial culture at the BYU Marriott School of Business.

From pinning vests to programming websites, information systems (IS) students at the BYU Marriott School of Business worked with a local nonprofit to expand its community outreach and help people experiencing homelessness stay warm in the winter.

As a senior in high school, Christian Dahneke realized that the younger members of his church congregation looked up to him. So, before he graduated, he and his friends decided to be better examples, and Dahneke says he’s carried a passion for building people up ever since: “I learned in that really small example that I can be a leader, and that I can help people feel the love of the Savior and grow closer to Him.”

When Professor of Finance Taylor Nadauld got his first job in 2002, he could count on one hand how many students from the BYU Marriott School of Business had gotten jobs in high finance. Now, he says a huge smile comes to his face as he watches students mentor each other, leading to more than 40 students from BYU Marriott getting jobs in investment banking last year. “It’s a beautiful thing,” he says.

Since the Wilford A. Cardon International Sponsorship was initiated in 1986, the program has enabled more than 400 students from more than 50 countries to earn graduate-level education from the BYU Marriott School of Business. As they enter to learn gospel-centered business principles, they prepare to go forth and serve in their home countries.

With the end goal of becoming a lawyer, second-year MPA student John Lidang knows he isn’t following the most linear path by earning a master’s degree at the BYU Marriott School of Business before applying to law schools. But for Lidang, getting an MPA is less about his career aspirations and more about his desire to become a Christlike leader.

As Mary Catherine Shepherd works her way through the information systems junior core, she recalls a time when she was less sure of her path. Shepherd found guidance in the BYU Marriott School of Business Undergraduate Advisement office, where she now works with other trained peer advisors who rely on their own BYU Marriott experiences to help pre-business students seeking light and advice on an individual level.

Andres Aleson had one goal in mind when he pursued a college education: "I wanted to become a leader in whatever career I pick, where I can make a positive social impact in people's lives." Now, as an alumnus of the finance program at the BYU Marriott School of Business, he strives to impact individuals through service and personal connection.

In a room full of healthcare veterans, experience design and management student Emily Weber challenged herself to speak up. Weber, a senior at the BYU Marriott School of Business, says it's important to push herself to grow—even when she feels inexperienced, intimidated, or uncertain.