For Brandon Egan, faith has guided his life decisions—from choosing which college to attend to where to focus his studies. After graduating from the finance program at the BYU Marriott School of Business in 2007, Egan has continued to seek God’s hand as he navigates changes in his career.
When Egan considered college options in high school, he did not have Brigham Young University on his list. Although Egan needed some persistent nudging from his mother to apply to BYU, he needed no convincing about the next steps. “When I opened the acceptance letter and I read that I was accepted to BYU, I just had this strong feeling that's where I was supposed to go,” Egan says. “It was clear. It was very discernible.”
Egan entered BYU as a 17-year-old freshman and quickly gained an appreciation for the campus community. “I instantly loved it. I loved my classes and made friends very quickly,” Egan says. After taking classes for a full year, Egan decided to pause his education and serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Scotland.
But before he left for Scotland, Egan made sure his post-mission plan was in place. “I really liked business management. I ultimately decided to apply to the business school because I had been exposed to my dad’s career in finance, and the business school was highly ranked,” Egan explains. He was accepted into the finance program and deferred his acceptance.
Egan returned to BYU Marriott after his two-year mission and found his finance classes to be stimulating and rewarding. “I enjoyed the challenging and fast-paced classes I took at BYU Marriott,” Egan says. “I’m thankful they gave me high standards so that I could have an opportunity to gain the skills I need to excel in a professional work environment.”
While in the finance program, Egan joined student associations, such as the Finance Society, and attended networking events. One of those events was an information session about the finance department at American Express. Egan connected with the company representative who ran the session and he decided to apply.
A short time later, when Egan received a job offer from American Express, he enthusiastically accepted. “I was very excited when I got the offer because it felt like everything was falling into place. It was apparent to me that this was something God helped orchestrate,” Egan says.
Egan was especially excited that the position would allow him to learn new skills and focus on auditing. “I gained so much knowledge in my first year at American Express and only continued to learn. There was always something new that happened with the different audits I performed,” Egan explains.
He also reflects on how his time at BYU Marriott helped cultivate skills to do well in his career. “I love that BYU Marriott helped me in my finance career, because the finance world needs people of intelligence, hard work, and unquestionable integrity. BYU Marriott richly fosters all of those things,” Egan shares.
Egan put these skills into action when he recently transitioned to SoFi Technologies after working for American Express for 16 years. “I loved my time at American Express; however, as I prayed sincerely for guidance on my career, I had strong impressions to look for other opportunities outside,” Egan shares.
Reflecting on his move to a new company, Egan felt guided during the process. “I am thankful for the move that I made. I love the work that I am doing and company culture. I attribute my career success and decision to move into my current job to God and His guidance,” Egan says. “God knows us personally. He knows us better than we know ourselves.”
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Written by Kacee Call
