Student Spotlight

As a senior in high school, Christian Dahneke decided to be a better example to the younger members of his congregation, and he says he’s carried a passion for building people up ever since: “I learned in that really small example that I can be a leader, and that I can help people feel the love of the Savior and grow closer to Him.”

With the end goal of becoming a lawyer, earning an MPA for John Lidang is less about his career aspirations and more about his desire to become a Christlike leader.

The following are students who were highlighted in BYU Marriott's 2025 Annual Report on page 9.

In a room full of healthcare veterans, experience design and management senior Emily Weber challenged herself to speak up. Weber says it's important to push herself to grow—even when she feels inexperienced, intimidated, or uncertain.

After 10 years in technology development and engineering, Fabian Serradell quit his job and moved his young family more than 5,000 miles to a foreign country to join the MBA program at BYU Marriott.

As he's served in the Army ROTC and studied information systems at BYU Marriott, Spencer Wright says these communities have shaped his character, perspective, and trajectory.

He isn’t trying to become a professional baseball player, but BYU Marriott strategy senior Cole Bourne hopes that both “professional” and “baseball” still end up in his future job description.

Heidi Wakefield had planned to spend the months after her freshman year at Brigham Young University as a Nauvoo performing missionary, but her application was denied. She took a chance on finance and learned that for her, God's timing is perfect.

Human resource management (HRM) senior Anna Parry has a bit of an unconventional hobby: coding spreadsheets. After learning how to code Excel in class at the BYU Marriott School of Business, Parry used her skills to serve others in her mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and in her goal to earn The Congressional Award Gold Medal.

Through serving on the Global Supply Chain Association at BYU Marriott, senior Tyler Anderson connects with students going through the same uncertainty he experienced in his freshman and sophomore years.

When Sarah-Jane Tate started the accounting junior core, she had no idea she'd have to navigate a concussion, a new job, and a broken engagement to make it through the school year.

Rebekah Koster's first finance midterm in the MBA program challenged her, so she switched her track—not away from finance, but to it. Whether she's seeking education, career growth, or an internship at her top choice consulting firm, Koster says she thrives on pushing beyond her limits.

Matthias Dunn's college plan was simple: play football at Brigham Young University. But that plan was put on pause when Dunn was cut from the team in March 2022—and he says it’s the best thing that could have happened to him.

Spencer Parker, a cadet in Brigham Young University’s Air Force ROTC, has learned that seeking growth opportunities can help him reach spectacular heights as he strives to achieve an ambitious objective.

An unexpected opportunity to improve his English led Jesus Raul Martinez Piña to his dream program at BYU Marriott and a renewed desire to serve his community through business.

While Kate Shriber was serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Chile during the COVID-19 pandemic, she discovered an unexpected passion: marketing.

Kristen Hansen is learning to be intentional about her relationship with technology. She hopes to use the tools she is acquiring as a strategy student at BYU Marriott to help others address their digital habits, too.

It was in the aftermath of a devastating 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Talcahuano, Chile, that Josue Bustos realized what he wanted to do with his life: help those in need.