Thirteen Brigham Young University students were honored with the George E. Stoddard Prize, a $4,000 award given to exceptional second-year MBA finance students.
“These students will be great ambassadors for BYU, the Marriott School of Management and the BYU MBA program,” says Grant McQueen, a finance professor who oversees the award. “We appreciate the George E. Stoddard family and his employer, the W.P. Carey Company, for their generosity and support of our MBA finance students.”
This year’s Stoddard Scholars are Yongxiong Cheng from Beijing; Jordan Cline from Taylorsville, Utah; Matthew Dalton from San Juan Capistrano, Calif.; Prerna Gupta from Jammu, India; Nicola Harris from Dallas; Crista Hill from Hollister, Calif.; Ralph Johnson from Los Angeles; Trevor McDougal from St. Joseph, Mich.; Ryan Rios from Highland, Utah; Jonathan Sanchez from Taylorsville, Utah; Gary Vahey from London; Weiwei Zhang from Fuan City, China; and Iris Zhou from Zhuhai, China.
Each year a faculty committee selects students for the award based on excellent 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 W.P. Carey & Company, 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, which 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 3,300 students are enrolled in the Marriott School’s graduate and undergraduate programs.
Stoddard Scholars Bios
Yongxiong Cheng, from Beijing, is president of the BYU China Business Club and practices Taijiquan, a traditional Chinese martial art. Before joining the MBA program, Cheng worked for Union Life Insurance and most recently spent a summer designing marketing analytics tools for Dell. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in economics from China Foreign Affairs University in 2010 and his BYU MBA, he hopes to use his strengths in the real estate investment and development sector by bringing quality houses to local communities. Cheng believes meeting people is the best investment one could make. “I liked the team-based study method so much,” Cheng says. “I quickly found my role on the team, and I learned so much from my studies.”
After earning an undergraduate degree in management from BYU, Jordan Cline, from Taylorsville, Utah, spent four years working for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Cline will soon join Intel as a senior financial analyst once he completes his MBA this year. Business aside, Cline’s interests are snowboarding, cycling and technology. During his time at BYU, Cline has enjoyed associating with faculty and students who are dedicated to improving people’s lives. Cline is inspired by the leadership of past alumni and hopes to leave a similar legacy in his own career. “My time in the MBA program has taught me a lot about not only business and finance but also about the kind of leader and person I want to be,” Cline says.
Matthew Dalton graduated with an undergraduate degree in zoology from BYU in 2006. He later interned for Credit Suisse doing healthcare investment banking and after graduation plans to use his entrepreneurial skills by founding his own venture. Dalton grew up in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., which led to his love of surfing. He also likes reading and spending time with his wife, Amanda, and their two daughters. Dalton’s MBA experience has taught him what it takes to thrive in a workplace. “I have loved my time at BYU,” Dalton says. “I have been so blessed by those who came before me. They have opened up many doors and changed the trajectory of my life.”
Prerna Gupta, from Jammu, India, loves cooking and volunteering with education and child welfare organizations. Gupta graduated with a degree in electronic engineering from Regional Engineering College in India and used her skills in a position at IBM. During her time at BYU, Gupta was a marketing intern for Adobe and vice president of career development for the Graduate Finance Association. The MBA program has taught her to become an effective and ethical leader in a corporate world. “This award validates my belief that if you put in hard work and commitment, success will simply follow,” Gupta says. “I hope one day I will be able to give back and help others achieve their career goals.”
Award recipient Nicola Harris graduated from Harvard cum laude in 2012 with a degree in neurobiology and a Spanish citation before working as a marketing manager at a homebuilding company. She’s from Dallas and has made her mark at the Marriott School by serving as assistant managing director of internal affairs for Cougar Capital, a student-run venture capital fund, and vice president of finance for BYU Women in Management. After graduation Harris will join Bain & Company as a consultant. Some of her most memorable moments in the program have been visiting companies across Asia and participating in national case competitions. “The BYU MBA program has provided me with unique, hands-on learning experiences that have taught me more than I could ever learn in a classroom,” Harris says.
Graduating cum laude in business management from BYU in 2006, Crista Hill, from Hollister, Calif., has continued to participate in many Marriott School organizations during her time as an MBA student, including the Strategy and Consulting Club and the Graduate Entrepreneurship Association. Hill worked as a senior financial analyst for Amazon and as an analyst for Goldman Sachs. She is now looking into joining a technology firm after graduation. In her downtime, Hill has a hankering for hiking, climbing and painting. “The Marriott School has developed me as a leader,” Hill says. “I will use what I learned during the MBA program to better my community throughout my career.”
Hailing from Los Angeles, Ralph Johnson enjoys volleyball, piano and biking. He has held positions at USAA Real Estate, Cottonwood Residential and Goldman Sachs. Johnson received an undergraduate degree in business management from BYU–Idaho in 2011. At BYU Johnson used his real estate savvy to serve as president of the Graduate Real Estate Association. “The BYU MBA program has been a very unique and challenging experience,” Johnson says. “The professors and students have helped me establish a strong conceptual and spiritual foundation to solve management problems.”
Soon-to-be JD/MBA grad Trevor McDougal, from St. Joseph, Mich., worked at the Dow Chemical company for three years as a process automation engineer after studying chemical engineering as an undergraduate at BYU. His time in the BYU MBA program has been full of service with various organizations like the Graduate Finance Association and Marriott MBA Today. Above all, McDougal has enjoyed the opportunity to learn overseas on the MBA Europe Trip and his internship at Accenture in Amsterdam. “The global focus of the MBA plays directly to my interests,” McDougal says. “In the future, I would like to have a variety of international experiences, particularly in Russia, where I see great opportunities for growth with technology and oil and gas companies.”
Ryan Rios, from Highland, Utah, earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from BYU in 2013. Rios has participated as co-president of the BYU MBA Real Estate Club and has worked and interned at various realty corporations. He loves reading, playing basketball and traveling. After graduation from the MBA program, Rios plans to use the skills he gained from his internships and work in commercial real estate. “I have enjoyed making some great friends,” Rios says. “They have all helped me become a better person. In the future I want to help others have the opportunity for education like many have helped me.”
What started as a three-month internship for Jonathan Sanchez at Procter and Gamble has turned into a full-time position as a financial analyst after graduation. Before starting his MBA, Sanchez studied business management at BYU and worked for DHI Computing Services for four years. He enjoys traveling, competing in triathlons and scuba diving. Sanchez is a Taylorsville, Utah, native and has four children with his wife, Aubrey. “I love that BYU is about becoming a leader and influencing for good,” Sanchez says. “I feel that this program has prepared my wife and me to serve more effectively in our church, family and community.”
Gary Vahey earned an undergraduate degree in economics in 2007 from Brunel University in his hometown of London. Before coming to BYU, Vahey worked for four years as a head business analyst at Shelter, one of the largest charities in the United Kingdom. On this side of the pond, he has accepted a position with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles after graduation. “What I love most about the MBA program is the people,” Vahey says. “The enthusiasm and collaborative nature of the faculty and students are what makes this program so unique. I hope to build upon what I have learned here to someday start my own social venture.”
Weiwei Zhang earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting as well as a master’s in corporate finance from Tongji University. Zhang then left her hometown of Fuan City, China, to come to BYU for her MBA. Zhang previously interned with the Kyriba Corporation, leading the company’s business strategy planning for expansion into China. Her many interests include hiking, reading and watching movies. After completing her MBA, Zhang plans to work as a financial analyst. “The BYU MBA program provides the best platform to learn and grow,” Zhang says. “I appreciate the culture where people are keen to help each other. I know I will be able to be an excellent leader in my career by utilizing what I have learned at the Marriott School.”
Before coming to BYU, Iris Zhou, from Zhuhai, China, earned an undergraduate degree in business management from Sun Yat-sen University. Later she received a master of accountancy in 2009 from City University of Hong Kong. Zhou decided to expand her knowledge even further by joining the MBA program at BYU. She has served as vice president of the Graduate Finance Association and plans to work for Dell after completing her MBA. “The experience here is very unique,” Zhou says. “I’m inspired by BYU’s motto, ‘Enter to learn, go forth to serve,’ and hope to build on that legacy.”
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Writer: Alex Burch