From the time that Matthias Dunn was a high school senior to the day he returned from his church mission to Córdoba, Argentina, and Lansing, Michigan, his 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.
Dunn, now a senior in the BYU Marriott School of Business finance program, was a “brand-new freshman” when he got cut from the team, and suddenly he didn’t really know what he was going to do with his life. “I was all sports in high school,” Dunn says. “Getting cut was really hard for me to swallow.”
Over the next year, however, Dunn started to find some direction. His first-semester economics class spurred an interest in an economics-related degree, and later classes in accounting and finance as well as an internship with Brigham Capital led him to the finance program. Dunn credits being cut from the football team with giving him the push he needed to figure out his academic plans. “I had to go find something else that really motivated me,” he says. “Without being cut from the team, I think I would have enjoyed my BYU experience less. The Lord always knows what He’s doing.”
As Dunn moved forward in his studies, he kept working to make sure that getting cut wouldn’t be the end of his football journey. In March of 2023, he tried out again for the team as a walk-on and earned a spot he hasn’t relinquished since. But regaining his position has brought new challenges: Dunn faces the demands of playing football in addition to the academic rigor of the finance program, his responsibilities as a husband and father, and his service in the church. “I have a lot going on,” Dunn says. “I get asked a lot how I balance it all.”
Dunn’s answer? Putting first things first: “Faith and family are the most important things for me,” he says. “When I put those things first, everything else figures itself out.”
This means that during summer football workouts, when Dunn needs to be at the facility at 7:00 a.m., he and his wife, Abby, are up as early as 5:30 a.m. to read scriptures together. “Anything good in this life requires a lot of hard work and a lot of sacrifice,” Dunn says. “Sometimes when you have to do something hard, it’s not very fun, but it always pays off.”
Recently, Dunn saw his hard work pay off during a Finance Society networking trip to New York. As Dunn served as a freshman peer mentor, he recalled his own freshman experience on a similar New York trip and found fulfillment in serving students who were in the position he once was. “I’ve sacrificed a lot of time studying investment banking, private equity, and venture capital,” Dunn says. “Now I get to give back, and I actually have something meaningful to share.”
It wasn’t long before Dunn was back in New York for finance—this time with members of his cohort for summer internship training. Dunn, who is interning for Morgan Stanley in California this summer, says that being in New York for training was another reminder of how the Lord has blessed him—not just because he achieved a professional goal with his internship but also because he accomplished his goal with people he loves.
“BYU Marriott is perfect because I have a community,” Dunn says. “We share this common vision and goal that we want to excel at our jobs, but then also help each other and the students that come after us be really good disciples of Jesus Christ.”
