Walking across BYU campus, it is not uncommon to hear students conversing in Portuguese, Mandarin, Russian, or one of many different languages. Sixty-five percent of the student body speaks a second language due to the number of students who participate in study abroad programs, serve LDS missions, or are international students.
With such an interest in international affairs, the Whitmore Global Management Center (GMC) at the BYU Marriott School of Business helps prepare students for global careers. On 4 April, the GMC hosted its annual awards dinner to honor the international business achievements of nearly one hundred fifty such students.
Tiago Uhlmann, a second-year MBA student from Florianópolis, Brazil, is a recipient of two GMC awards: the Eccles Award, which helps finance the education of MBA students with a passion for international business, and the Cardon International Sponsorship, which enables international students to earn their graduate degrees from BYU Marriott before returning to their native countries.
“The Eccles Award and the Cardon International Sponsorship were fundamental to making my experience at BYU possible,” says Uhlmann, who completed an internship with Amazon last summer and will return to work for the company full-time after he graduates. “My time at BYU boosted my desire to continue my pursuit of a global career in business.”
The event also included the presentation of the Global Management Certificates, awarded to students who complete international business and foreign language classes and participate in an international business experience.
For her international business experience, Mallory Stack completed a public relations/business strategy internship with professional soccer club Real Oviedo in Spain last summer. The Roland, Arkansas, native graduates this month with a double major in Spanish and entrepreneurship and has accepted a job offer at Goldman Sachs. Stack credits the certificate for helping her land the full-time position.
“We need things that set us apart from other applicants, and the Global Management Certificate is one of those things,” Stack says. “Earning the certificate opened my mind to different cultures and how they do business and will help me in my career.”
At the dinner, fifty-seven students from across campus were recognized for their completion of the global business and literacy minor. For this achievement, students completed coursework in business management and global literacy.
The Whitmore Global Management Center is one of seventeen Centers for International Business Education and Research in the country. The center provides resources, training, and professional development to help students, faculty, and the business community increase international business understanding and language fluency.
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 programs with an enrollment of approximately 3,300 students.
The GMC's annual awards dinner celebrated the international business achievements of many students.
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Writer: Maggie Kuta