Stories from BYU Marriott
data-content-type="article"
BYU Marriott Welcomes New Faculty in 2026
This year, 14 new faculty members joined the BYU Marriott School of Business. Brigitte Madrian, dean of BYU Marriott, shares, “We are extremely grateful for the talented individuals who have joined our faculty. They lead with and through the light and power of Jesus Christ and are deeply committed to our guiding principle of being centered on students.”
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
promoTextAlignment=
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"
BYU Marriott Names Trent Williams as New Director of the Rollins Center
BYU Marriott School of Business dean Brigitte C. Madrian has announced entrepreneurship professor Trent Williams as the next director of the Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology effective September 8, 2026. He replaces Mike Hendron who served as the center’s director since 2023 and has served in an administrative role with the center since 2017.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
promoTextAlignment=
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"
A Piece of the Picture
When Audrey Vengesai took her first accounting class at 13 years old, she says she fell in love with solving complex puzzles of information. As she continues her studies with the support of her family and professors, Vengesai says she has seen how moments of her life connect and build upon each other.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
promoTextAlignment=
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"
“Why Am I Not Crushing It?”
Shelley Bushman was working towards her “dream job.” After returning home from her mission, where she attended German Christmas markets, she landed an internship as an experience design and management (ExDM) student with Salt Lake City’s Christkindlmarkt and contributed to the German celebrations in the area. But when Covid hit the event market, she had to pivot.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
promoTextAlignment=
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"
Purpose in Service
Brigham Young University student Abe Peterson had no idea what he wanted to study. Discarding the major he'd been in for two years, he decided that any career that allowed him to serve would be the best way to move forward.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
promoTextAlignment=
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"
Meeting Healthcare Leaders Halfway Around the World
Between excursions to the Taj Mahal, Angkor Wat, and Ha Long Bay, students on the healthcare leadership study abroad went off the beaten path to visit hospitals and learn from healthcare administrators. As students traversed India and Southeast Asia, they found characteristics of Christlike leadership in professionals of different faiths.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
promoTextAlignment=
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"
Joy Through Full Commitment
After Molly Wakefield left an information session about the finance program at the BYU Marriott School of Business, she felt overwhelmed by information. But she says her parents didn’t raise her to give up after one try, so she decided to go “all in” and give finance her best shot. As she did so, she says she found joy from fully committing—and learned that going all in is easier with a focus on serving others.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
promoTextAlignment=
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"
Believing in Others, Believing in Yourself
For Alex Napierski, the key to overcoming feelings of self-doubt and developing the excellence he was seeking came through embracing faith in Christ.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
promoTextAlignment=
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"
BYU Marriott Employees Receive Awards at BYU’s 2026 University Conference
At the 2026 BYU University Conference, four BYU Marriott School of Business employees received awards in recognition of their service and contributions across campus.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
promoTextAlignment=
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"
Tackling Challenges and Making Friends
When Brittley Eldredge was a senior, she flew 20 hours to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for an accounting internship. This time spent living abroad wouldn’t be her last. Now an assistant professor, Eldredge tells students, “Don’t close any doors until they’re closed.”
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
promoTextAlignment=
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"
A Pivot to New Opportunities
Ryan Bingham sees attending the BYU Marriott School of Business as a pivot point in his journey that opened up opportunities that he would have never thought possible—and he’s working to help current students have those same opportunities.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
promoTextAlignment=
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"
Designing Dreams
Arriving in Milan was a dream come true for fashion enthusiast and strategy student Jordan Faust, who is focused on learning from the people and opportunities placed in her path.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
promoTextAlignment=
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"
Family Time Over the Bottom Line
For Dave Parkes, an alumnus of the BYU Marriott School of Business, wealth management is more than just finances—it is a faith-based practice. “Money is never the outcome; money is a tool that allows us to live a life that we want to live and give back,” he says.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
promoTextAlignment=
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"
Confidence in the Learning Process
Being a wife, mother, and grandmother are the best jobs in the world to Alison Bawden. But the best job on campus, she says, is being program manager for the Department of Aerospace Studies at the BYU Marriott School of Business.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
promoTextAlignment=
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"
Provo to Parliament and Back
Leveraging his network led strategy student Charlie Rhodes to London, where he discussed issues surrounding religious freedom in Nigeria with members of the UK House of Lords.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
promoTextAlignment=
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"
Finding Belonging by Creating It
Information Systems student Annabelle Baker remembers crying in her professor’s office, overwhelmed by how much more qualified her peers seemed than her. Less than a year later, she accepted a scholarship from the information systems program that those same peers had nominated her for—and she couldn’t help but think of how far she had come.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
promoTextAlignment=
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"
A Career of Connection
After 37 years of teaching at the BYU Marriott School of Business—including seven years as a department chair—Michael Swenson retires this summer, concluding a career he says was highlighted by finding connections with students, both in marketing and in their lives.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
promoTextAlignment=
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"
Progression at Every Altitude
Brian Adams watched military jets fly over his childhood home in Littleton, Colorado, and dreamed about becoming a pilot. And after committing to the Brigham Young University Air Force ROTC program, Adams says he learned to see new and uncomfortable situations as opportunities to grow.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
promoTextAlignment=
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=
promoTextAlignment=
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage=
overrideTextColor=
promoTextAlignment=
overrideCardHideSection=
overrideCardHideByline=
overrideCardHideDescription=
overridebuttonBgColor=
overrideButtonText=