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Traci Stirling Bell isn’t kidding when she says her hobby is telling fish stories. But what makes her tales unique is that they aren’t just incredible, they’re true. In 2012, Bell and her husband, Craig, started Ripple Rock Fish Farms in Frazeysburg, Ohio. From humble beginnings in the family’s garage, the company has grown into a thriving enterprise that produces 40,000 pounds of tilapia annually, with potential for another 10,000 pounds per year.
Almost everything is a learning curve when you’re starting a business, and Sandy Whitaker, a 2003 business management alum, acknowledges that there can be plenty of bumps and detours along the way. But as she and her husband, Tim, a physical therapist, worked to realize their long-term goal of opening a physical therapy practice, Whitaker found that navigating the curve was easier because of knowledge and skills she had gathered along the way—from her formal education, her past jobs, and even her hobbies.
When Stephen H. Russell reflects on his life, he is struck by the way seemingly small decisions and ordinary situations have blossomed into extraordinary opportunities. “None of this was part of a strategic plan,” he says, “and I feel grateful when I see all the times Heavenly Father has blessed me.”
School of Accountancy alum Emily Gertsch applies her accounting skills to her current position as a medical director for F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG.
Whether he's teaching students in a classroom or coaching his players from the sidelines of a volleyball court, BYU Marriott accounting alum RJ Mattei loves learning and teaching in many forms.
Instinctively, Paige Goepfert is definitely organized—but she’s so much more.
Clark Pew has learned over the course of his life that persistence pays off. The executive MPA (EMPA) alumnus now lives in India working for the Department of State.
Born and raised in Honolulu, Thomas Y.K. Fong has long loved learning about the earth’s natural processes. He originally planned to earn a bachelor’s degree in geology at BYU and then pursue graduate studies in oceanography. But during one midwinter geology field trip to St. George, Utah, a sandstorm blew through the group’s campsite, prompting Fong to reconsider whether his studies had brought him too close to nature for comfort. “Halfway through that cold, sand-blown night, I’m thinking, ‘Is this really what I want to do for the rest of my life?’” Fong recalls.
In 1968 more than 150 students graduated from BYU Marriott with degrees in business management. Kristi Taylor Lawrence was one of the few women in that graduating class.
As a former national mountain biking champion, BYU Marriott SOA alumna Penny Lundgren firmly believes that she can accomplish anything with enough practice and determination.