News Releases 

Passionate about garbage and eliminating solid waste pollution in the developing world, Ryan Caplin, is not wasting his time. Now an Oxford Pershing Square Scholar, Caplin credits the Ballard Center for Social Impact at the BYU Marriott School of Business for giving him the tools to take on trash.

Katelyn Bell, a senior in the ExDM program at BYU Marriott, helped plan the launch for the Sorensen Center for Moral and Ethical Leadership, which included a zipline across Brigham Square on campus.

Four teams from BYU Marriott took top places at the 2023 Society for Human Resource Management competition, which brought together undergrad and graduate teams from universities across Utah and New Mexico. Student competitors say Christ-centered learning in the human resources management program gives students a unique edge as well as confidence.

The Whitmore Global Business Center at the BYU Marriott School of Business named 13 first-year BYU Marriott MBA students as 2023 Eccles Scholars. The Eccles Scholars Award offers financial support to MBA students who are interested in and committed to international business.

Justin Giboney, an information systems (IS) professor at the BYU Marriott School of Business, understands that providing opportunities for students to hone their skills outside the classroom is essential for career development. In an IS course he teaches called Red Team vs. Blue Team, Giboney requires students to compete in four cybersecurity competitions during the semester.

Students, employees, and executives typically work hard to present themselves professionally. Yet BYU Marriott management professor Kristen DeTienne, an example of professionalism herself, calls for something more. DeTienne says, “What’s that extra edge that helps you be effective and enjoy what you’re doing? It’s personal connection.”

Two tech startup teams from Brigham Young University won first and second place at the 2023 Utah State Lassonde Entrepreneurship Challenge. The students from the winning teams attribute their startup success to the mentor-heavy initiatives offered by the Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology within the BYU Marriott School of Business.

Ashley Whitesides worked diligently to succeed academically as a student at the BYU Marriott School of Business, so it came as a surprise to those around her when she paused her college career in order to seize an unexpected full-time work opportunity. As she now approaches graduation years after first starting her college career, Whitesides is ready to once again forge her own unique path.

With the goal to enrich belonging on campus, the Experience Design Society (ExDS) and the Marriott Inclusion Business Society (MIBS) co-hosted "Sit with Me," an event focused on practicing collaborative dialogue.

For Parker Teshima, working as a Walmart merchant entails much more than negotiating with suppliers. A global supply chain management alumnus from BYU Marriott, Teshima ensures that shelves stay stocked with vital emergency preparedness items so people can purchase supplies even when natural disasters strike.

Strategy continues to capture raw talent; this time, from America’s western planes. “12,000 cows, 200 horses, 1.2 million acres, all controlled via horseback as they did 200 years ago. I was in love with it,” says Mason Dahl, a seventh-generation cattleman and senior in the strategic management program at the BYU Marriott School of Business. Dahl sees himself as the future cowboy strategist of the beef industry.

For School of Accountancy professor Brant Christensen, educating others and teaching younger generations is the family business. Understanding that life as a student can be challenging, Christensen earnestly mentors his students at the BYU Marriott as his predecessors mentored him.

Shawn and Megan Pace were celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary with a trip through Europe and Africa when the war in Ukraine broke out. The couple curtailed their trip and booked a flight to Poland to offer aid in refugee camps. BYU Marriott School of Business alum Shawn Pace helps meet people’s needs by working shoulder to shoulder with others at the ground level, whether in an executive board room or Ukrainian refugee camp.

Jeffrey Burningham, BYU alumni, donor, and partner to the Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology, believes that the creative process is a pivotal piece to a fulfilling life. From creating startups in college to venture capital, to owning Peak Capital Partners, Burningham teaches and mentors with the message that everyone is capable of creating new ideas that can better lives and society.

To Abby Ebert—senior in the BYU Marriott School of Business, the human resource management program has encouraged her to step out of her comfort zone and lead with compassion.

With nearly three decades of experience at BYU Marriott, Christine Roundy diligently seeks to care for and inspire confidence in students. As the academic program manager for the MBA program, she does that by meeting students’ needs one by one.

After living and working in Seattle, New York, and Ohio, Jon Kerr—a brand-new School of Accountancy professor, tax law fanatic, and part-time beekeeper has circled back to BYU—the place where his family and his dreams of teaching began.

As a young psychology major seeking advice on courses and career options, Heidi Engh walked into the University Advisement Center to meet with an advisor. That experience set in motion a cycle that would bring her back to BYU as an undergraduate advisor for business students.

As he watched his neighboring Nevada mountains disappear under a plume of smoke in the summer of 2021, Danny Dudley felt a new sense of urgency for environmental conservation. This experience helped clear a personal haze about his future and led him to the strategy program in the BYU Marriott School of Business.

In a one-of-a-kind event, the BYU Marriott School of Business, in conjunction with the BYU Sorensen Center for Moral and Ethical Leadership, hosted the inaugural Faith and Belief at Work case competition in February. The event hosted more than 50 students from 11 MBA programs across the country, marking the first-ever MBA case competition to deal exclusively with faith and religion in the workplace.