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Alumni Spotlight Business Management Entrepreneurship Strategy
Sterling Petersen has such a passion for mountain biking, he decided to make it his day job. Since graduating from BYU Marriott’s entrepreneurship program, he’s created multiple startups focused on mountain biking products and has built a collaborative work environment in the process.
Embracing diverse business experiences has given alumna Mallory Stack versatility and a vision for the future of women in business.
Even as a young child, Darci Schurig had a love for entrepreneurship. In elementary school, she remembers riding the school bus and selling bracelets and Play-Doh to her classmates.
TRUE Africa provides educational and humanitarian sponsorships to orphans and other vulnerable children. “We operate entirely on volunteer efforts, enabling 95 percent of every dollar donated to go toward program services,” Hite says.
Rebecca McCarron Greenhalgh is no stranger to smart wordsmithing, so it was unusual when she was suddenly speechless during an important Zoom meeting.
It was a business proposition that would change the life of Stewart R. Walkenhorst. A colleague was closing up shop and asked if Walkenhorst would be interested in taking over some outstanding retail orders.
Tracey Evelyn Haslam, a 2001 BYU Marriott management grad, was shocked when she took her four children to visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC.
Jared Tate, a 2016 strategic management graduate, would rather build ties with his family than put on a tie every morning to go to work.
With three children and one on the way, Bruce Hymas and his wife Brittany found themselves quite literally losing sleep over their kids.
For Dane Bendixen, startup enthusiast and father of three, the values he found at BYU Marriott have carried him throughout his career.
When Isaac Pettit was 14, his uncle gave him an extremely unusual gift--a unicycle. With the promise of $100 if he could learn how to ride the one-wheeler gracefully, Pettit took off.
When a teacher disciplines a grade school student, it is usually because the student was caught passing notes or talking in class. Unless that student is BYU Marriott alum Nate Gardner.
As a mom of two children and a small business owner, BYU Marriott alumna Brenda Tidwell uses her knowledge of entrepreneurship in every aspect of her life.
Jeff Brownlow was recruiting at BYU when BYU recruited him.
Alfred Gantner, cofounder of Partners Group and an MBA alum, shared his insights on a balanced life as the featured speaker at convocation on 28 April.
BYU Marriott strategy alum Gentry Davies has made a career out of solving tricky projections and analyzing future business opportunities.
Since completing a social impact internship in Mexico City, entrepreneurial management alum Nathan Noble has charted a career path dedicated to serving others and helping people in need.
After realizing his student apartment did not have a recycling program, BYU Marriott strategy alum Ryan Smith went to work to create his gig economy recycling company Recyclops.
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.”
Four years ago, BYU Marriott alum Stephen Farnsworth wanted to move technology forward. In order to reach his goals, he took a risk—one that has paid off years later.

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.
Whether he's forming new relationships or setting a sales team up for success, BYU Marriott entrepreneurship alum Jordan Cushman has built many things throughout his career.