Nine Brigham Young University students received the George E. Stoddard Prize, an honor given to second-year MBA finance students who demonstrate leadership and academic excellence. The nine 2015 winners were each awarded $5,000.
“The recipients are chosen by the MBA finance faculty and represent a vote of confidence in the students, their professional potential and their role as representatives of BYU’s MBA program around the globe,” says Grant McQueen, finance professor who oversees the awards.
This year’s Stoddard Scholars are Joshua Bates, from Ephrata, Wash.; Kaden Feller, from St. George, Utah; Jordan Larsen, from Tremonton, Utah; Tony Liu, from Gaithersburg, Md.; Gustavo Lopez, from Puebla, Mexico; Jacob Morris, from Ashland, Ore.; Joseph Palmer, from Logan, Utah; Austin Weaver, from Provo; and Eric Williams, from Gilbert, Ariz.
Prize winners were selected by a faculty committee based on academic performance and commitment to the finance program.
The Stoddard Prize was established in 1985 by George E. Stoddard, a 1937 BYU alumnus. His numerous credentials include acting as senior managing director of the W.P. Carey & Co., a leading global real estate investment firm in New York. He was a pioneer in the use of real estate transactions known as sale-leasebacks to provide financing to companies struggling to gain access to traditional sources of capital. Before joining W.P. Carey & Company, Stoddard was also head of the multi-billion dollar Direct Placement Department of the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States.
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, entrepreneurship, finance, information systems and public management. 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.
Stoddard Scholars Bios
With an undergraduate degree in finance and soon-to-be MBA degree, Joshua Bates is prepared to take the role as a finance analyst at Intel after graduation. Prior to his time at BYU, he worked for more than three years at IM Flash Technologies. He has held the position as vice president of the Graduate Finance Association during his university career and received both the Ronald C and Kaye Gunnell, and the Henry and Elma Falkner Scholarships. “The MBA program provides us with a multitude of opportunities to get involved,” Bates says. “The whole MBA experience has transformed my family for the better and for that I am grateful.”
Kaden Feller earned an accounting degree from Utah Valley University in 2010, graduating cum laude and as a member of Beta Gamma Sigma. Before beginning his MBA he co-founded NC International, a retail company with locations in Belize that sells and ships clothes and household items from the United States. At BYU Feller has served as the MBA section president and as vice president of activities for the Graduate Finance Association. “This award will provide additional financial freedom for my wife and me to start out a new life,” Feller says. “It makes me feel grateful for those who came before me and paved the way so that I could have this great education and this great opportunity.” Feller will join Microsoft as a finance manager after graduation.
An avid skier, private pilot and Westminster College graduate, Jordan Larsen earned a bachelor’s degree in business studies in 2007. He worked as a research assistant at Weitz Funds and Wasatch Advisors, helping to perform fundamental research on possible investing ventures. While pursuing his MBA at BYU Larsen has served as a Silver Fund team leader and a Marriott MBA Today host. He enjoys the opportunity to work with talented individuals while in the MBA program. “The Marriott School provides a community where we support one another and help each other strive for excellence not only in business but also in every aspect of our lives,” he says. Larsen will join Ensign Peak Advisors as an associate analyst after graduation.
Tony Liu has a passion for cars and motorcycles, which explains his decision to take a position in product development at Ford Motor Company after graduation. Liu received his undergraduate degree in manufacturing engineering at BYU in 2012 and has served as president of the Marriott School Automotive Club and vice president of the Graduate Finance Association while earning his MBA. He recently completed an internship at Chrysler Group LLC as an international finance intern. Liu says the most valuable things about his MBA experience at BYU are the relationships he’s built. “Being in the MBA program has allowed me to become part of a very special network of individuals who are leaders within their industries and are representatives of the strong ethical and moral values that BYU is known for,” Liu says.
Award recipient Gustavo Lopez graduated from TecMilenio in information systems in 2009. At BYU he has earned a Global Management Certificate and participated as a member of Silver Fund, the Tech Society and the Graduate Finance Association. Before beginning his MBA Lopez managed a program chapter of Digital Opportunity Trust in Mexico for four years, where he worked to improve education through technology. Lopez will continue at IBM as a financial analyst after graduation, an experience he began during a summer 2014 internship. The offer, he says, is perfectly aligned with the goals he set at the start of the program. “With the skills and knowledge I obtained from the BYU MBA program, I feel positive about my professional success which will empower me to be an agent of change in my community,” Lopez says.
Jacob Morris from Ashland, Ore. earned his undergraduate degree in finance at BYU in 2008. He coached high school tennis prior to his MBA and built work experience with a number of years at KLA-Tencor as a financial analyst and at Cropper Medical as director of finance. Most recently, Morris served as vice president of the Sports Business Association and vice president of external affairs for the Graduate Finance Association. His time in the program, he says, will be an asset for the rest of his life as he prepares for his post-grad position as a senior financial analyst at Intel Corporation. “The MBA program at the Marriott School has helped me leverage my previous work experience and prepared me for a long career in business,” Morris says.
Before beginning his MBA, award-winner Brandon Joseph Palmer earned an undergraduate degree in interdisciplinary studies from Utah State University in 2010 and later worked as a franchise analyst at Harris Research, Inc for 2 1/2 years. Palmer interned with the Finance Leadership Program in Investor Relations at AT&T during the summer of 2014. He hails from Logan, Utah, and loves outdoor activities and spending time with family, especially his three children. After graduation Palmer will be a senior financial analyst in the Emerging Leadership Development Program at global supply company Meritor. His MBA experience is helping him to better fulfill his different life roles. “I can honestly say I am a better husband, father, church member and professional as a result of the MBA program at BYU,” Palmer says.
Austin Weaver has called Provo home for the last several years as he’s pursued both his undergraduate and graduate degrees at BYU. He graduated magna cum laude in economics in 2011 and led an analytical team at Charles River Associates for 2 1/2 years. While earning his MBA,Weaver has served as treasurer of the Marriott School Automotive Club and vice president of finance with Silver Fund. After graduation he will join the Finance Career Foundation Program at Ford Motor Company. Weaver has benefited from the collaborative environment that the MBA program offers. “This program attracts some of the brightest students and teachers in the world who share their depth of experience freely with others,” he says. “The experiences I have had with my classmates and professors will help me provide outstanding leadership and service throughout my life.”
Currently in the fourth year of his joint JD/MBA degree award recipient Eric Williams began his education at Southern Virginia University, where he earned a degree in business management in 2009. He worked for two years at C. Williams Construction Engineering and during his time at BYU has served as vice president of curriculum in the Graduate Finance Association and on BYU Law School’s Moot Court. Williams is an avid motorcyclist and will travel to Asia with the MBA group this summer before joining the Manager Technical Rotation and Career Knowledge Program within the treasury department at General Motors. “The Marriott School MBA program has given me exciting career advancement opportunities that were not available to me before I began,” he says. “I have met extraordinary people from the program who have broadened my perspective of what it means to be a professional and contributing member of a community.”
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Writer: Kasee Bailey