For the Department of Finance at the BYU Marriott School of Business, providing an education goes beyond classes and diplomas. Learning means coming together and building connections with people who care about each other’s futures and success. To continue fostering those relationships, the finance program held an alumni barbecue in September 2023 to celebrate 10 years of finance being a standalone major.
About 140 former students and their families from across the country joined together with current students, finance faculty, and program administrators to reconnect with the program and each other. In total 450 people were in attendance.
"Gathering for a dinner event with the finance department before heading to a victorious football game was a winning combination. School spirit abounded as we felt the ties to our alma mater renewed," shares Lindsay Nadauld, a 2000 graduate of the management program with a finance emphasis.
To honor the attending alumni, the program displayed a large banner featuring alumni headshots, their company, their position, and their graduation year.
“It was a fun and well-planned event to connect and reconnect with others that cherish their association with the Department of Finance at BYU Marriott. It feels great to be remembered and appreciated,” remarks Craig Freeze, who graduated in 1994 with a management degree with an emphasis in finance.
Prior to 2011, students could earn bachelor’s degrees in management with an emphasis in finance. Finance became an official degree on the Brigham Young University catalog in fall of 2011, with the first official graduating class under the new major in 2013.
The finance program continues to stay connected to students long after their graduation. “The efforts made by the program to gather us old-timers together was truly appreciated,” Nadauld says. “It felt like a warm hug from the past and rekindled my appreciation for the foundational experience my finance degree has provided.”
Written by Kacee Call