Graduating magna cum laude from BYU Marriott’s accounting program is an impressive achievement for any student, but there aren’t many who can say they did it while studying in their second language. Alejandra Sayavedra Nygaard can. “It’s one of my proudest achievements. I never thought I could accomplish it being from a different country,” she says. And if she hadn’t followed her mother’s advice at a critical time, she might not have.
Nygaard was born and raised in Mexico City. When the Sayavedra family converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the missionaries also introduced them to BYU. By the time Nygaard was old enough to attend college, three of her four older siblings were enthusiastic BYU alumni, so going there seemed the natural choice.
But when Nygaard got to Provo, things weren’t quite what she had expected. Living in a small city and adjusting to American culture was a shock. Doing university-level work in English was hard. “People were so nice and wanted to help me,” Nygaard remembers, “but I felt self-conscious. I didn’t have the language skills to really be myself. I felt like I didn’t belong.”
After one particularly discouraging week, Nygaard made a tearful call to her parents and told them she’d made a mistake and wanted to come home. “It was hard for my dad, knowing I was so sad. He was ready to send me a plane ticket,” she says. “But then my mom took the phone and said, ‘My kids finish what they start. You can do this—you just have to believe you can. I know it’s hard, but this is worth your best effort.’ She made me feel like I had to keep trying.”
Nygaard focused on thinking positively, telling herself over and over that she could do hard things and that other students also faced challenges. “After that first semester, things began to fall into place,” she says. “My mom was right. I’m glad she pushed me to stay.”
Nygaard studied economics for a year but became curious about the accounting program after a friend mentioned the program’s outstanding career-placement opportunities and the interesting experiences she was having in the junior core. So Nygaard signed up for some classes. “Not only did I enjoy them,” she says, “but it turned out I was good at them.” But she wasn’t sure she wanted to start over in a new major. “I applied to the accounting program at literally the last hour—11 p.m. on the day of the deadline.” She was accepted, “and the rest is history,” she says.
After earning her BS and MAcc in 2011, Nygaard worked in EY’s Chicago office, first as a member of the tax staff, then a senior tax associate, and later a tax manager. In 2018 she joined the Mather Group, an investment advisory firm that specializes in helping people who are retired or nearing retirement. As a senior tax manager, Nygaard identifies, develops, and implements tax-planning opportunities for clients and also provides tax compliance services. “I love my job because it’s not always the same,” she says. “I have to constantly be learning in order to stay current. I enjoy being an advocate for my clients and helping them understand issues and make decisions.”
Nygaard currently lives in New Haven, Connecticut, where her husband, Kaleb, is finishing a master’s degree at Yale University. They are the parents of two children. Though Nygaard finds satisfaction in her educational and professional accomplishments, “marrying the love of my life and starting a family are the best things that have happened to me,” she says. “The mom title is by far the one I am most proud of.”
