Ten first-year MBA students at the BYU Marriott School of Business with a strong interest and commitment to international business were recognized as the 2026 Eccles Scholars by the Whitmore Global Business Center (GBC). Through the generosity of the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation, Eccles Scholars are awarded a paid international business experience and up to $2,000.
Students were selected to receive the award based on their academic achievements, prior international experience, second language fluency, and proven desire to pursue a career in international business. This year’s winners are Andrew Abbott, Limhi Durán, Maja Fahring, Dallin Johansen, Charmaine Mabini, Diego Paez, Michael Rhoton, Janae Ricks, Austin Shaffer, and Jefferson Washburn.
“I am excited to welcome this cohort to the Eccles Scholars program and see the ways they build and support each other while here at BYU Marriott and beyond,” says TaraLee Cook, managing director of the GBC. “They are all uniquely focused on the opportunities that come through global engagement.”
About the 2026 Eccles Scholars
Before beginning the MBA program, Andrew Abbott, from Orem, led training and operational initiatives at a large pest control company—including launching call center operations on four continents, leading international teams, and impacting thousands of employees in the United States and abroad. Those experiences, along with traveling to 20 countries and living in Bulgaria, deepened his commitment to building a global career. With interests in finance and international business, Abbott hopes to use business as a tool to connect people across cultures and help organizations grow internationally with insight and respect.
Originally from Puebla, Mexico, Limhi Durán served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Idaho. As part of his service, he taught English to refugees and immigrants from Africa and Latin America. With fluency in English, Spanish, and French, Durán wants to learn more languages and travel with his family to learn about business in other cultures and develop friendships with people around the world. After his MBA, Durán plans to return to Mexico and start his own business—just like his parents—and create better opportunities for his community.
Maja Fahring, from Warsaw, Poland, gained international experience in talent acquisition roles at Société Générale and Mowi. Her studies focus on human resources and global strategy, and she is particularly interested in using finance and analytics to strengthen the connection between HR and business performance. She will join PepsiCo as a 2026 HR intern and, following her MBA, Fahring plans to return to Poland to work with multinational companies and contribute to building high-performing, people-centered organizations.
Dallin Johansen, from Littleton, Colorado, is passionate about global experiences and cross-cultural leadership. He learned Spanish while serving a church mission in Chihuahua, Mexico, and now holds a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and a master’s degree in instructional psychology and technology from BYU. He managed and scaled global training operations for the Missionary Training Center, where he led a team of 140 mentors across the US, Europe, and Africa. Johansen is focused on a career in strategy and organizational leadership with a particular interest in helping organizations scale through talent development and organizational design.
From Pangasinan, Philippines, Charmaine Mabini brought her background in pharmacy to the BYU Marriott MBA program to gain a broader global perspective in business. She previously held roles in quality assurance and led regional initiatives across 10 Asia-Pacific markets as a country quality assurance lead. She is passionate about advancing patient access to medicines through globally coordinated operations and cross-cultural collaboration. Mabini is pursuing interests in operations, quality, and global supply chain within the pharmaceutical industry and will join Amgen’s Operations Leadership Program this summer.
Diego Paez, from Olavarría, Argentina, earned a degree in industrial engineering from the Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. He began his professional career as a supply chain intern at Danone and later worked in the procurement department at Loma Negra, the largest cement company in Argentina.
After being promoted to procurement lead, Paez was involved in strategic decisions aimed at reducing costs and is now further developing his managerial skills through an MBA from BYU Marriott.
Michael Rhoton combines a background in public accounting with experience leading cross-cultural teams. Originally from Rexburg, Idaho, and fluent in Spanish, Rhoton has collaborated with individuals from more than a dozen countries to bridge cultural gaps. He has resolved cross-border financial issues with personnel in Mexico and performed foreign currency translation adjustments for multinational clients. Drawing on his audit experience, Rhoton recently advised a US agricultural client through a debt covenant crisis. Rhoton is an investment analyst in the BYU Marriott Silver Fund and accepted a finance internship at Delta Air Lines this summer. He plans to use the Eccles Award for a multi-continental study abroad, observing global treasury dynamics to prepare for a career in international finance.
Originally from Sandy, Utah, Janae Ricks spent 11 years living in Europe, the Caribbean, and South America, and she is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese. At BYU Marriott, she is pursuing her MBA with the goal of building a career in global business. Ricks also worked with several nonprofits, including the International Rescue Committee, which gave her opportunities to support Burundi, Bajuni, and Bantu refugees. Ricks has studied businesses in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Brazil and recently led a consulting and humanitarian team in Ghana. She is passionate about leveraging business to drive economic development and create meaningful global impact.
Austin Shaffer, from Savannah, Georgia, earned his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from BYU and has worked in manufacturing environments supporting production, quality systems, and supplier operations. His international experience includes serving a church mission in Russia, doing nonprofit work to help open eye-care clinics in Africa and Haiti, and cofounding a small business with manufacturing partners in Taiwan. After completing the MBA program, Shaffer plans to acquire and operate a US-based manufacturing business and build meaningful global relationships in an increasingly connected world.
The father of two daughters, Jefferson Washburn is from Nampa, Idaho, and earned his undergraduate degree in political science from BYU before working as an office manager in the US Senate. Prior to the BYU MBA program, Washburn spent four years at Goldman Sachs as an associate in government affairs and lobbying compliance, where he managed relationships with regulators across the US and European Union. This summer, he will intern with American Express in its global merchant and network services division.
About BYU Marriott
The BYU Marriott School of Business aspires to transform the world through Christlike leadership by developing leaders of faith, intellect, and character. Named for benefactors J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott, the school is located at BYU. BYU Marriott has four graduate and ten undergraduate programs with an enrollment of approximately 4,400 students.