First-year graduate students at BYU’s Marriott School left their laptops home Saturday to help alleviate wildfire danger in Provo Canyon.
“We wanted to do a local service project with real consequences,” said Eric Rowlee, a second-year MBA student, who helped organize the event.
Wildfires have already burned over six million acres in the West this year. To mitigate the danger, the Sundance community has been actively clearing underbrush from personal properties as well as along critical roadways and other public areas. On Saturday, 26 August, their efforts received a huge boost with the arrival of 350 graduate students, who donated an estimated 700 hours of service.
Volunteers removed noxious weeds and dead fall as well as trimmed trees and enhanced trails at various locations throughout the canyon. Graduate students worked on the Timpanogos Trail Head in the Uinta National Forest, Aspen Grove Alumni Camp, Sundance Resort and fixed-income senior citizen homeowner properties.
“It was a positive experience. We were able to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time,” said Joe Millward, a first-year MAcc student, who cleared underbrush from hiking trails. “Service is important because it helps us become more aware of other people and their circumstances.”
The Marriott School is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. The school has nationally and internationally ranked programs in accountancy, business management, information systems, organizational behavior and entrepreneurship. The mission of the Marriott School is to educate men and women of faith, character and professional ability who will become outstanding managers and leaders throughout the world. Approximately 3,000 students are enrolled in the Marriott School’s graduate and undergraduate programs.
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Writer: Carrie Beckstead