Browse All Stories
7 results found
Stories by Section
Year Published
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.
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.’”
“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.
The white letters of the Hollywood Sign are framed in Rick Johnson’s office window, along with a city street lined with palm trees. Down one block is the Jimmy Kimmel Live! headquarters, where Johnson once hoisted his nine-year-old daughter atop his shoulders to watch a free Taylor Swift concert hosted by the studio. As a vice president and general manager at Ticketmaster, Johnson thrives as he lives and works in the vibrant live-entertainment industry at the heart of Los Angeles.
A group of seasoned farmers sit facing Rebecca Loveland, a recent college grad in her mid-twenties, as she leads their discussion on everything from daily planning to marketing to an upcoming potato audit. Loveland feels inexperienced but plows forward, relying on the leadership skills she developed with her Marriott School training to make decisions and collaborate effectively.
By day, Arie Van De Graaff is a public servant, but by night he is an accomplished cartoonist.
At the base of lofty Mount Nebo in rural Utah, Traci Memmott wraps up a conference call with a team in New York City. She jots down a few notes, gathers her things to leave, and closes up shop—she has an important appointment.