No woman had ever graduated from the BYU Marriott School of Business MBA program until Mary Jean Frodsham took on the challenge. Being the first woman to graduate from BYU Marriott with an MBA wasn’t easy, but Frodsham felt well-prepared and supported thanks to her ability to collaborate with others and commit to the task at hand.
After graduating from BYU with a bachelor’s degree in sociology, Frodsham taught for the Jordan School District—until she discovered a new opportunity: “I went to the United States Department of Defense,” she says, “and the assignment took me to Germany.” On her assignment overseas, Frodsham taught elementary-level education to children on a military base that was located on the western half of Germany during the Cold War. She explains, “I was very close to the border, and that was quite nerve-wracking because, at the time, we didn’t know what was going on.”
Despite her uncertainty, Frodsham found joy working alongside her peers. Over the following years, Frodsham and her friends traveled to Japan, Egypt, and even the Soviet Union where they would collaborate, learn, and teach together. Remembering what it was like to see the different lifestyles and challenges people faced, Frodsham recalls, “It made me more aware of people because of their circumstances, which really impacted my life.”
Eventually Frodsham’s travels ended and she returned home, finding herself at a standstill. She no longer wanted to teach, but she wasn’t sure which direction to go. To her surprise, an old friend from her graduating class reached out to her, convincing her to apply to the MBA program at BYU Marriott.
Frodsham initially felt overwhelmed after being accepted into the program. She knew it offered challenging courses, and she knew that no woman had ever graduated from BYU Marriott’s MBA program. “I was breaking new ground,” Frodsham says.
Once Frodsham began the program, she hit the ground running. She found immediate support from the MBA program director and quickly befriended the other students in her classes, finding strength in collaboration as they frequently worked together in groups. “I was very fortunate to have good companions—good friends—within the program,” she notes. “They were very accepting of me.”
Frodsham flourished during her first year in the program, but the strenuous coursework in the second year proved to be much more challenging. “The second year was a whole different ball game,” she describes. Whenever she felt overwhelmed, she’d turn to her greatest form of guidance. “I had a mentor,” Frodsham says. “She was called my mother.”
Her mother taught Frodsham to always finish what she started. So Frodsham knew what needed to be done. “I had started the MBA program, and I was determined to finish it,” she recalls.
Her dedication paid off. “I was the only girl in the program, and I was the first woman to graduate from BYU Marriott with an MBA,” Frodsham reminisces. “It was the best feeling. I had really done it.”
What followed was elation and plenty of success as Frodsham promptly entered the workforce at ZCMI. Just like she had on a military base and in the MBA program, she adapted to her new working opportunity by accepting challenges and befriending her peers—even leading her to meet her husband, Joe Frodsham, along the way.
By being diligent and collaborating with others, Frodsham has learned to overcome challenges in foreign and unprecedented environments. She was the start of something new, and she encourages others to follow suit. To anyone looking to break new ground, she advises, “Keep your courage in place, and go for it.”
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Written by Nicholas Day
