Award honors outstanding students, faculty and organization at closing banquet
Brigham Young University's Marriott School of Management announced the winners of the 2015 Bateman Awards, the only school-wide awards selected entirely by students.
This year’s awardees include Isaac Freckleton, a finance senior from Helotes, Texas, who was presented with the Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award and Ashley Porter, a second-year MBA from Kaysville, Utah, received the Outstanding Graduate Student Award. Colby Wright, assistant finance professor was named Outstanding Faculty Member while the BYU Finance Society was awarded this year’s Outstanding Student Club title. Winners were honored at the school’s closing banquet.
“I am constantly amazed at what our students and faculty do to influence their communities, their wards and their workplaces for good,” says Michael Thompson, associate dean. “These award winners are no exception.”
The Outstanding Undergraduate Student and Outstanding Graduate Student Awards are given annually to students who serve and lead within the school and community. Freckleton demonstrated leadership as a member of the Marriott School student council this past year heading the My Choose To Give campaign, the school’s student-run and student-focused fundraising program. Porter was chosen as Outstanding Graduate Student due to her service to the MBA program as a Sherpa team lead and a program ambassador.
In addition to the student awards, an Outstanding Faculty Member is chosen for exceptional efforts to enhance students' experiences. Wright, who has been teaching at BYU since 2012, was honored as Outstanding Faculty Member for his ability to connect with students and help them find success inside and outside the classroom.
Added in 2011, the Student Organization Award recognizes a successful student club or organization. This year the honor was awarded to the BYU Finance Society, an organization that is divided into three sub-clubs that each focus on different facets of the finance sector and help students land internships and jobs by providing targeted training and recruiting tips.
The Bateman Awards were created in 2002 in honor of Merrill J. Bateman, who served as president of BYU from 1996 to 2003 and as dean of the BYU School of Management from 1975 to 1979. He has held several prominent positions in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including serving as a member of the Presidency of the Seventy and president of the Provo Utah Temple from 2007 to 2010.
Following the presentation of the awards, Scott Cutler, executive vice president and head of global listings for the New York Stock Exchange, gave students advice on how to climb the mountains of life and find happiness in everything they do.
“Happiness is not in some place, some job or some amount of money,” Cutler said. “We cannot be happy if we are not present today. Enjoy every stop, every experience, every view and every failure along your journey because you will find that is where happiness lies. It is not a destination. So choose to be happy now.”
The Marriott School is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. The school has nationally recognized programs in accounting, business management, entrepreneurship, finance, information systems and public management. The school’s mission is to prepare men and women of faith, character and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world. Approximately 3,000 students are enrolled in the Marriott School’s graduate and undergraduate programs.
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Writer: Caroline Smith