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Unique Values Lead HRM Students to Victory

BYU Marriott School of Business students had an excellent showing at the 2023 Utah Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) competition, with three undergraduate teams and one graduate team flooding the leaderboard. BYU Marriott student competitors say Christ-centered learning in the human resource management (HRM) program gives students a unique edge as well as confidence.

Three college-aged men in suits.
The MBA team took first place and included Ron Howell, Cody Jacobson, and Chris Martin.
Photo courtesy of Taeya Howell.

The competition, organized annually by the Utah SHRM chapter, was hosted at BYU Marriott in March. Fourteen undergrad and graduate teams from universities across Utah and New Mexico came to compete and network.

The MBA team from BYU Marriott won first place at the graduate level, with the undergraduate teams taking second, third, and fourth places. The second-place winning team at the graduate level from USU also included a BYU Marriott alumna.

Two college-aged men and two woman sit on a couch.
The second place undergraduate team included Talmage Gull, Abby Ebert, Tyler Jeanneret, and Rebecca Ernstrom.
Photo courtesy of Taeya Howell.

These winners accredit their success and confidence to BYU Marriott’s mission, vision, and values. “What sets BYU apart in competitions and in the human relations world is the outlook that BYU Marriott strives for,” says Talmage Gull, an HRM major from Draper, Utah, who was a member of the second-place team in the undergraduate division. “We get a chance to change the world through Christlike leadership by coaching, hiring, and interacting with employees of an organization.”

Along with this unique vision, students also feel that the program’s focus on presentations benefits them. “Our coursework in the program feeds so well into case competitions,” explains Abby Ebert, an HRM senior from Bountiful, Utah. “Most presentations are extracted from ideas we have learned in our classes,” Gull adds. Presentation assignments are often competition standard, so multiple students are ready to enter competitions.

A team of six college-aged students in suits.
The third place undergraduate team consisted of the following students: Jakob Moss, Alaina Bryce, Jackson Ladd, Giulia Freire, Jameson Savage, and James Livingston.
Photo courtesy of Taeya Howell.

Keola Enos, BYU Marriott alumna and graduate student at USU from Highlands Ranch, Colorado, explains, “BYU Marriott’s HRM program prepared me to compete confidently and provided the base I needed to succeed in my master’s degree program.”

The coursework and focus on Christlike leadership within BYU Marriott not only inspire HRM students to lead with confidence but also help create a positive environment where students can thrive. “Everyone is so supportive and wants the best for each other in the HRM program,” Gull states. “It makes for a great culture and network we can lean on for years to come.”

A team of six college-aged students sits on a couch. One team member is in a wheelchair.
The fourth place undergraduate team included Josh Hinton, Christina Barton, Trever Unruh, Mitzi Abalos, Claire Growold, and Madison Judd.
Photo courtesy of Taeya Howell.

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Written by Alice Gubler