MPA students at the BYU Marriott School of Business have the opportunity to learn from more than just hypothetical situations and case studies. Through Grantwell, education and community outreach happen in tandem as students consult real nonprofit organizations looking to apply for and allocate grant funds.
As he works on Grantwell projects, student director John Lidang says he has grown more confident that what he is studying through the Romney Institute of Public Service and Ethics is applicable in real-world contexts. In his position, Lidang oversees projects, operations, and finances, as well as relationships with clients, partners, and volunteers. “Sure, a lot of it is logistics and numbers and may be in front of a computer,” he says, “but what really gives us hope is that what we do gives light to people’s lives.”
Grantwell helps clients process grants sometimes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, but Lidang says he still tries to keep his focus on the individuals. “It’s really not about the organization," he says. “It’s about the people who receive the impact of what we do.” Lidang recognizes that he may never meet the people receiving that impact, but he believes authentic leadership requires compassion for people he doesn’t interact with directly. “If I’m being Christlike, it doesn’t matter whether I’ll see these people or not, because the Lord helps strangers all the time.”
Christlike leadership is one of the principles that MPA assistant professor Dan Heist says he sees students develop as they work with Grantwell. “Students become more like Jesus Christ by gaining light and knowledge in the classroom and then going out and actually applying that by helping people,” he says.
Alexa Elliott Johnson says that she has learned more about Jesus Christ through the experience, in part because Grantwell is student-run. Johnson, an MPA student herself, works with Grantwell as the partnership director. “Being student-run allows us to try things out, but it also means that we might make mistakes or fall short,” she says. Johnson says that relying on the Atonement of Jesus Christ helps her turn mistakes into opportunities for development and to be braver and bolder in her work.
In addition to students growing from setbacks and triumphs, Heist hopes that they learn from the philanthropic examples of the organizations they are working with. “My favorite thing about Grantwell is seeing the students work with our community partners and understand how these organizations are actually helping people in the public sector,” Heist says. “The students have experiences where they understand the mechanics and the economics of creating a more equitable society.”
Heist says that students often enter the MPA program with ideas about how to make the world a better place. “Those ideas are beams of light. They’re ways that people can shed light on dark situations,“ he says. “To see students working on projects where they’re trying to create Zion in our communities and in our society in real ways makes me hopeful for the future.”