Alumni
Where will your BYU Marriott degree take you? Read about the careers our alumni are in and the interesting things they are doing.
data-content-type="article"
4 Lessons From A Recent Grad
Adam Mikkelsen grew up on a farm in Oregon where, no matter the chore, he was always looking for ways to improve. At BYU he studied economics before switching to global supply chain so he could be more hands-on with his work. As a student, he interned at an industrial auditing firm as an auditing intern, where he traveled across the western Chinese province of Qinghai in order to share best practices and greener technology between the companies there and in Utah. Later, he worked at Walmart as a merchandising analyst for apparel sourcing. He accepted a job as a strategy and operations consultant at Deloitte after graduating in April 2015 because he believed international consulting will give him a better opportunity to work and travel.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
data-content-type="article"
FROM CLASSMATES TO COWORKERS
Within a two-year span, five information systems classmates left BYU to start their careers—only to find themselves working side-by-side once again.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
data-content-type="article"
FINANCE YOGI SALUTES SHANGHAI
Sumo wrestling, Buddhist temples, sushi and cherry blossoms seem as commonplace as Shavasana for finance guru Ryan Daniels, a Marriott School finance alum. Daniels has spent half of his life growing up and working outside the United States, including his current position at tech giant Apple in China.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
data-content-type="article"
HANDYMAN TURNED LEADING INNOVATOR
As a twelve-year-old boy, John Southcott started mowing lawns so he could buy paintball equipment. However, before ever firing his hard-earned munition, Southcott habitually took apart each gun he bought, laying out all the pieces in order to understand how the gun worked.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
data-content-type="article"
5 BUSINESS TIPS FROM A VENTURE CAPITALIST
Matt Miller is a builder. A 2008 graduate from the BYU Marriott School with a degree in finance, Miller built his first computer at age eleven and his first business while an undergraduate student at BYU. He now helps build the visions of entrepreneurs into multi-million-dollar companies as a partner at Sequoia Capital, a world-class tech venture capital firm located in Menlo Park, California.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
data-content-type="article"
A PASSION FOR TINKERING
James Gaskin’s office décor goes way beyond the family photos and desk plants. A homemade jetpack built by his daughters hangs above his desk, and below his window sits a growing model village complete with green hills, an electric train, and a miniature Hogwarts castle.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
data-content-type="article"
SKYLER CARR: SPACEMAN AND ENTREPRENEUR
Skyler Carr grew up dreaming of traveling through space and hunting aliens. His favorite day in grade school included a trip to the Space Center in Pleasant Grove, where he could practice being a spaceman. He never forgot those days, and in 2012 he was devastated to hear the Space Center would be shut down.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
data-content-type="article"
Romney Institute Awards Alumnus of the Year
Steve Thacker, city manager of Centerville, Utah, was honored for his legacy of exceptional management in governmental positions for over the past thirty years.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
data-content-type="article"
Allison Oberle: Illuminated Alumna
When it comes to being involved on BYU campus, Allison Oberle has been there, done that. She graduated in 2015 from the global supply chain program. During her time at BYU, she worked on the women’s initiative of GSC, served as VP of Women’s Outreach, led as co-president of the Global Supply Chain Association her senior year, and worked in the Global Management Center. She also danced competitively on BYU’s international folk dancing team for three consecutive years, traveling for months at a time. She now works for Sun Products Cooperation in Salt Lake City as a customer supply chain specialist.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
data-content-type="article"
STRATEGY ALUM CHARLES BARRETT KEEPS CLIMBING
Whether it be climbing the tallest mountains in Europe and Africa or climbing the ladder toward a successful business career, Charles Barrett, a 2009 graduate from the Marriott School strategy program, reaches the top one step at a time.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
data-content-type="article"
Dunn Receives Alumni Achievement Award
Samuel C. Dunn, former senior vice president for Walmart and 1982 BYU accounting alumnus, was honored with the Marriott School of Management Alumni Achievement Award.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
data-content-type="article"
Young at Heart
Back in 1942, Gale Hammond had no question how he would spend the three months between his high school graduation and his eighteenth birthday—the day he would be drafted into World War II: “My dad said, ‘Go get some education. Get a trade that will help you when you’re in the service.’”
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
data-content-type="article"
Building Homes, Bettering Lives
MPA alum Kena Jo Mathews has built her life around volunteer and nonprofit work, though she started out on a different path. “Sometimes you end up where you’re supposed to be even if you don’t realize that’s where you want to be,” she says. While studying political science at the University of Utah, Mathews worked for a senatorial candidate. But when he lost the election, she changed course, volunteering at Habitat for Humanity, where she laid the foundation for her career.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
data-content-type="article"
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
data-content-type="article"
Speaking Their Language
Each spring, world-language teacher Lori LeVar Pierce’s work takes her out of the classroom and into the gladiator ring. There, after months of studying Latin, her students take on a different side of ancient culture while competing at the Junior Classical League Convention, participating in gladiator fights, footraces, javelin throws, and even a student-built chariot race. “It’s a lot of fun to act like the ancient Romans and the ancient Greeks,” Pierce says.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
data-content-type="article"
Alum Named to Fortune 40 Under 40
Qualtrics CEO and Marriott School of Management alum Ryan Smith was tabbed in Fortune's annual ranking of the most influential young people in business.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
data-content-type="article"
COTOPAXI’S GOT CROWDFUNDING COVERED
Cotopaxi has a reputation of generating new and ingenious designs, but its newest product, the Inti 2, takes innovation to a whole new level.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
data-content-type="article"
SKY’S THE LIMIT FOR MPA ALUM
“Reach for the stars” is a figurative goal for most of us, but for Kevin Watts, a 1986 graduate of the BYU Masters of Public Administration program, it is an everyday reality.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
overrideTextAlignment=text-left
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=