Eleven recent BYU Marriott graduates have received the school’s 2020 Merrill J. Bateman Outstanding Student Award. Named after the former president of both Brigham Young University and dean of BYU Marriott, the award is awarded annually to an accomplished student from each undergraduate program in the BYU Marriott School of Business. The award is given to these selected students in recognition of academic achievement, commitment to BYU Marriott, and service to the student’s program. Each student recipient is given a certificate and award through a generous donation from Elder Merrill J. Bateman.
“We are proud to present the Bateman Outstanding Student Award to these students,” says BYU Marriott administrative dean Eric Teel. “We have many amazing students at BYU Marriott, and these eleven graduating seniors stood out as exemplifying service, teamwork, academic success, and resilience in all phases of their lives. They have truly made a difference during their time here, and we are excited for them to continue to represent BYU Marriott in their future careers and communities.”
Award recipients include Dallas Anderson, Brynn Carter, Mary Swindler Davis, Leticia Foster, Justin Hunsaker, Hailey Krey, Iwen Liao Lyon, Erin McNeely, Hunter Riches, Rebekah Simmons, and Joseph Sobczak.
Dallas Anderson, a Murray, Utah, native who studied experience design and management (ExDM), has a passion for creating memorable experiences. After completing an internship for the 119th US Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links, Anderson worked as a marketing assistant for BYU Athletics while he was a student at BYU Marriott. Anderson and three other ExDM students became the first cohort from BYU to join the University Innovation Fellows, an organization based out of Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design focused on empowering students to become agents of change at their schools. Together, Dallas’s cohort created a class—titled Design Your Y—at BYU focused on helping first-year students discover what intrinsically motivates them to learn so that those students can intentionally plan for and create a meaningful educational experience at BYU. “I am grateful for the way Dallas has represented the experience design and management program, the BYU Marriott School of Business, and Brigham Young University,” says ExDM professor and department chair Neil Lundberg. “Dallas represents everything that is good in our student body.”
Brynn Carter recently graduated April 2020 from the finance program. Carter served a mission in Manchester, England, and served as the co-president of the Women in Finance Association, where she found many opportunities to mentor individuals interested in finance. “Brynn has been a remarkable leader as co-president,” says Tracie Laham, who works with students from the finance program at BYU Marriott’s Business Career Center. “The members of the Women in Finance Association, whether pre-finance or upper-class students, found Brynn to be open, genuine, transparent, honest, and approachable.” In addition to her service within the association, Carter also worked as a real estate manager as well as a teaching assistant for the Real Estate Finance and Investments course in the finance program’s junior core. She interned with Cisco in San Jose, California, in summer 2019 and will return full-time for their Leader in Finance and Technology rotational program in August. She hopes to one day start her own business and invest in real estate.
BYU Marriott therapeutic recreation and management graduate Mary Swindler Davis is from Neptune, New Jersey. In addition to earning her degree, Davis recently completed an internship at Recovery Ways. During her time at BYU Marriott, she was a member of BYU Marriott’s Therapeutic Recreation Association. Davis shares that she is looking forward to a bright future with her husband. Even after Davis’s graduation, BYU Marriott professor of experience design and management Ramon Zabriskie says her presence at BYU Marriott will endure in the minds of faculty and students. “Mary will have a major impact on the lives of those she works with, and we will always remember her by her well-earned nickname of ‘Merry Mary.’”
Originally from Mapleton, Utah, Leticia Foster graduated from BYU Marriott with a degree in business management in December 2019. While at BYU Marriott, she was on the Dean’s List, was awarded multiple academic scholarships, and completed various finance internships. In addition to obtaining these academic achievements, Foster also fought cancer during her time at BYU Marriott. “Leticia was diagnosed with leukemia in fall 2018 and cheerfully persevered through the difficult months of treatment to reach her academic and career aspirations,” states Eric Doman, the supply chain and general business director in BYU Marriott’s Business Career Center. “Her example of dealing with one of life’s biggest challenges and continuing forward in faith to graduate is why she is so deserving of this recognition.” Foster and her husband currently live in Pennsylvania, where she is working at an investment firm based out of New York City while her husband is in medical school. She hopes to someday manage her own business, as well as become a real estate investor.
Justin Hunsaker, who graduated from BYU Marriott’s global supply chain management program this past April, is from Mesa, Arizona. Some of his most valuable experiences in at BYU included completing an on-campus internship, assisting in faculty research, participating in club activities, and being a valuable part of the supply chain junior core. Hunsaker has accepted a full-time offer to work for the Boeing Company in Washington state after graduation. Besides supply chain, his areas of interest include writing, public speaking, civic and community involvement, and creating opportunities for purposeful service in everyday working life. In addition to these interests, Hunsaker enjoys helping others. “Justin produces fantastic work and original thought that is a model for others,” says BYU Marriott professor John Gardner. “Most importantly, he is an amazing person that cares deeply about others and strives to use his talents to serve those around him. Justin will bless the lives of many!”
Hailey Daniels Krey is “an outstanding example of managing to excel on many fronts,” says Mike Hendron, BYU Marriott professor of entrepreneurship. An entrepreneurial management graduate, Krey is a passionate social entrepreneur and loves the sport of tennis. She played tennis for BYU–Hawaii and BYU and is also a tennis coach. Her passion and drive for tennis as a young girl helped lead her to the field of entrepreneurship. Krey’s first business was selling a children's book called Arthritis in Motion featuring Smiley Riley. She wrote the book for children with juvenile arthritis—something she had personal experience with during her own childhood. Krey is also the CEO and co-founder of the Ascendant Anxiety Tracker—a mobile app and software to help individuals track anxiety patterns. Krey notes that her husband, McKay, is her biggest fan and number-one supporter. She dreams of eventually running a successful social enterprise and becoming an impact investor to continue to help social enterprises around the world solve the world's most pressing issues. Krey is originally from Ogden, Utah.
Iwen Liao Lyon, who grew up in Taipei, Taiwan, came to the United States in 2015 to attend college and feels blessed to have gained not only a degree in accounting from BYU Marriott but also to have met her husband and made new friends. Lyon and her husband, Mitch Lyon, also recently welcomed a daughter into their family. Lyon has always wanted a career that will allow her to work from home, and she plans to pursue her enrolled agents license, a license that would allow her to represent taxpayers before the IRS, to make that goal a reality. Besides being the top undergraduate female student in BYU Marriott’s School of Accountancy with a 3.99 GPA, Lyon was described as a pleasure to have in class. “Iwen was a delightful and engaging contributor to the class. She strives to help those around her succeed,” says Scott Hobson, associate director of BYU Marriott’s School of Accountancy.
Marketing alumna Erin McNeely graduated April 2020 and is from Park City, Utah. McNeely maintained a 4.0 GPA while in the marketing program and served as the vice president of communications for BYU Marriott’s Marketing Association, where she managed a team responsible for the group’s website, social media, and graphic design. Beyond her professional pursuits, McNeely can be found skiing, hiking, or simply enjoying the mountains. She has actively pursued a career in the outdoor industry and has had the opportunity to intern with US Ski & Snowboard and Teton Gravity Research. McNeely will soon be starting a full-time position with Jans.com. BYU Marriott associate professor of marketing Ryan Elder notes that McNeely combined academic success with kindness. “Erin was heavily involved in our Marketing Association, but more importantly, she is also a great friend to everyone she meets. Erin is in all ways worthy of this award."
Hunter Riches graduated with a degree in information systems in April 2020. Riches, who is originally from Mesa, Arizona, is planning on continuing his education at the Sandra Day O'Connor School of Law at Arizona State University. He hopes to develop skills in law, persuasion, and advocacy so that he can one day return to Cambodia, where he served his full-time mission, and make a difference in the lives of people there. To Riches, becoming an attorney means leveraging knowledge and privilege to fight for the downtrodden who cannot fight for themselves. Last summer, Riches interned with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “Hunter excels in his academics, but more importantly, he excels in how he lives his life,” says BYU Marriott professor of information systems Greg Anderson. “I know without a doubt that through his efforts, Hunter will make the world a better place to live.”
BYU Marriott alumna Rebekah Simmons shares that she loved her human resource management experience, especially because it prepared her to help run the leadership development program at her internship with Lucid Software during summer 2019. Since then she’s enjoyed being a teaching assistant in the HRM program, where she’s helped HRM juniors learn more about compensation, benefits, and performance management. “Rebekah brought her whole self to each class and has been an important asset to our program,” says Benjamin Galvin, an associate professor in BYU Marriott’s human resource management program. “We are proud of Rebekah and wish her the best of luck in all her endeavors.” Originally from Herriman, Utah, Simmons will soon be moving to Texas with her husband.
Born and raised in California, strategy alum Joseph Sobczak will be returning to his home state to work full-time as an analyst at Ocean Tomo in San Francisco, an IP-focused merchant bank that provides valuation, advisory, and expert testimony services. Sobczak will be working as an analyst under a testifying expert for IP litigation. Outside of work, Sobczak enjoys spending time with his family, going to the beach, learning, and filmmaking. He has had the privilege of directing a few short films over the years and would love to one day own his own film and television production company. “Joseph steadily and consistently achieves excellent performance without fanfare or pomp,” says BYU Marriott strategy professor James Oldroyd. “Congratulations to Joseph on receiving this well-deserved award.”
The BYU Marriott School of Business prepares men and women of faith, character, and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world. Named for benefactors J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott, the school is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. BYU Marriott has four graduate and ten undergraduate degrees with an enrollment of approximately 3,300 students.
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Writer: Natalia Green