The Marriott School MBA Marketing Association teamed up with national representatives from Wal-Mart, Inc. for an evening of humanitarian service and business networking.
“Both BYU students and Wal-Mart want to give back to the community,” says Greg Chandler, national director of reputation marketing for Wal-Mart. “Service is core to both institutions’ purposes.”
Wal-Mart donated energy-efficient light bulbs to The Center for Women and Children in Crisis in Provo as part of the night of service. Volunteers from Wal-Mart and MBAMA installed the light bulbs, which last longer than conventional bulbs and reduce energy costs for the shelter. Chandler says that by saving money in this way, the shelter will be prepared to offer its services to more disadvantaged families in the community — providing beds, blankets, meals and other necessities to those in need.
To cap off the night of service, volunteers also went to the Eldred Senior Center in Provo to perform general housekeeping and cleaning duties.
“The directors of the senior center thanked us for getting so much done in a relatively short time. It was a great opportunity to get out and serve,” says MBAMA Executive Vice President Matt Cardon, an MBA student from Bayton, Texas. “It was fun for all of us who attended and nice to be able to do something like this together.”
Chandler, who is also a 1996 BYU MBA alum, says the evening was also intended to allow students to network and learn from business professionals.
“Wal-Mart’s marketing division has hired several BYU graduates in the past year who have represented the university well,” Chandler says. “BYU has such high-caliber, talented students, and we want to create recruiting experiences that let them spend time with those who have experience to help prepare them for the future.”
“I think it’s invaluable to network with professionals,” Cardon says. “I think if people come into the MBA program and don’t get to know people in the field, they’ve done themselves a huge disservice.”
The Marriott School is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. The school has nationally recognized programs in accounting, business management, public management, information systems, organizational behavior and entrepreneurship. The school’s mission is to prepare men and women of faith, character and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world. Approximately 3,000 students are enrolled in the Marriott School’s graduate and undergraduate programs.
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Writer: Todd Bluth