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As a twelve-year-old boy, John Southcott started mowing lawns so he could buy paintball equipment. However, before ever firing his hard-earned munition, Southcott habitually took apart each gun he bought, laying out all the pieces in order to understand how the gun worked.
Sumo wrestling, Buddhist temples, sushi and cherry blossoms seem as commonplace as Shavasana for finance guru Ryan Daniels, a Marriott School finance alum. Daniels has spent half of his life growing up and working outside the United States, including his current position at tech giant Apple in China.
Within a two-year span, five information systems classmates left BYU to start their careers—only to find themselves working side-by-side once again.
Adam Mikkelsen grew up on a farm in Oregon where, no matter the chore, he was always looking for ways to improve. At BYU he studied economics before switching to global supply chain so he could be more hands-on with his work. As a student, he interned at an industrial auditing firm as an auditing intern, where he traveled across the western Chinese province of Qinghai in order to share best practices and greener technology between the companies there and in Utah. Later, he worked at Walmart as a merchandising analyst for apparel sourcing. He accepted a job as a strategy and operations consultant at Deloitte after graduating in April 2015 because he believed international consulting will give him a better opportunity to work and travel.
“Making a difference.” “Making the world a better place.” Use these phrases enough and they start sounding stale. But backed by real results, the work of MPA alumni is proving the skills developed within the walls of the Marriott School can make meaningful—and real—change.
Clark Anderson stood confidently on the diving board at the community pool in St. George, Utah. The eighth grader noticed the lifeguards talking among themselves and imagined they were discussing how skilled of a swimmer he was. He decided to prove them right.
Elizabeth Smith loves her job as an executive assistant for Larry H. Miller Sports & Entertainment (LHMSE).
To remedy their boredom one summer afternoon in 2009, Jeffrey Handy and his high school buddies decided to get a trailer, fill it with cardboard boxes, and build a giant fort in his friend’s backyard. To their surprise, the fort built from two hundred boxes attracted more than three hundred spectators and earned them the record for world’s largest cardboard fort.
Alumni LaDon Linde and Justin Oldroyd have always enjoyed a fast-paced work environment. Prior to their current positions, they both spent time at global strategy consulting firms, and Linde played a key role in a San Francisco-based tech company’s growth from twenty to two-hundred employees. Though their jobs were good, both men felt the need for something more—to use their knowledge and abilities for a work close to their hearts.
Two years after graduating with a degree in marketing from the Marriott School in 1990, Jenner Marcucci decided he was going to make his first $100,000 and buy a house—and then he did it.
Swim with sperm whales in Dominica—check. Visit an underground city in Turkey—check. Canyoneer in Indonesia—check. See the annual lantern festival in Thailand; swim with penguins in the Galapagos; and kayak with dolphins in Australia—check, check, check!
Two spandex-clad riders whizzed into the building, disappearing from view. As the BYU Marriott School students and their advisor stepped into the warehouse, the smell of rubber, aluminum, and cardboard—components of freshly manufactured bicycles—welcomed them into biker paradise.
As an MBA student at BYU, 2016 graduate Mike Johnson walked the streets of Europe, full of hope that he would someday live and work there. Now he lives in Madrid, and he credits the Whitmore Global Management Center (GMC) with helping make his dream a reality.
“We’re riding a rocket ship right now,” says 2006 MBA alum Sam Bernards of his work with one of Utah’s fastest-growing companies, comfort-tech manufacturer Purple. His career has been a series of fast-paced experiences, from innovating within the world’s largest retailer to angel and venture investing, and he’s not planning to stop pursuing new ideas anytime soon.
Timing is everything that's just one of his grandfather's lessons accounting alum Greg Drennan has implemented on his career as a successful entrepreneur in the self-storage business.
Life after graduation has taken them 1,700 miles apart. But drawing on their business savvy, these sisters have found a way to stay close by running The DIY Lighthouse.
MBA alum and American Express VP Shawn Bryant has more than a few stamps in his passport.
Jennifer Rockwood stepped onto BYU’s South Field and gazed numbly across the green turf. “What have I gotten myself into?” she recalls thinking. “Can I really do this?”
Throughout her education and career, Marriott School alumna Amy Sawaya has used global supply chain as her catchall answer to what she wants to be when she grows up, even as the details of those plans have changed significantly.
Though Ahmad Salah uses his BYU MBA network to further his professional goals, he also channels his Rolodex towards an altruistic outlet as well.
As part of a new series, the Ballard Center is giving students the opportunity to ask alumni questions and career advice. This piece features Jeff Roberts of Self-Reliance Services/PEF.
As a young man, alum Cameron Cozzens never planned to serve in the military; he didn’t even come from a military family. But one suggestion from a high school counselor to look into the military changed his mind—and from there, the BYU Army ROTC changed the course of his life, leading him on a path of leadership.
Kristin Yee landed her dream job, successfully working her artistic talents at Disney. But after 13 years, an impression directed her to a new line of work at a very different organization.
Their internship at Steps Recovery sent them cycling, climbing, and crafting but for this pair of TR alumni, summer activities were far more than just play.