From modeling, to working in the Indiana House of Representatives, to eventually moving to Utah to help a friend chase a girl, Napoleon Nosker’s journey has been less than linear. But it led him to the BYU Marriott School of Business, where he is now graduating with a degree in business management. Largely through the relationships he has formed with others, Nosker says he has been able to change his setbacks into strengths.
Bullied for a speech impediment and being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in his small town of Colfax, Wisconsin, Nosker says he wanted a chance to “prove himself.” His branch president challenged him to frequently bear his testimony and speak from the pulpit in church.
Nosker credits those opportunities with helping him develop a passion for public speaking, which he honed through participating in various competitive speech events in high school. As he overcame his speech impediment, public speaking became his favorite way to connect with other people, with an unexpected benefit: He also grew strong friendships with many of the peers who had teased him. “It’s hard not to become friends when you have a graduating class size of 44.”
After graduating from high school, Nosker served a church mission in Stockholm, Sweden. But upon returning home, Nosker was disappointed to learn that his full-ride scholarship at the University of Wisconsin–Madison hadn’t been deferred with his enrollment. “I was left not knowing what I was going to do.” Needing to earn some money while he planned his next steps, Nosker says he thought back to the connections he made on his mission.
One of Nosker’s companions had worked as a model, and Nosker decided to send some headshots to a local talent agency. “I was just playing it by ear and hoping something would pan out,” he says. “I trusted that God had a plan for me.” Nosker began modeling part-time alongside his day job selling vacation packages before landing an internship with the Indiana House of Representatives.
Toward the end of the internship, Nosker was approached by a mission companion who wanted to date someone in Utah and needed a roommate. “On a whim, I told him yes, and when the internship ended, I packed my car and moved to Utah.”
In Utah, Nosker enrolled at BYU and once again began looking for jobs. “I had less than $100 in my bank account—I had rent coming up, and I needed a job ASAP.”
Then, from another mission friend, he learned about a job opening as a salesman for an optometry practice. Once hired, Nosker gradually worked his way to operations and training manager. “From the mission, and then doing sales, I discovered that I really liked talking to people and getting to know them, and business just felt like a very natural fit for that,” Nosker says.
The business management major at BYU Marriott provided Nosker with the flexibility he was seeking to continue his work at the optometry practice while studying business. “A friend of mine described the business management degree as an MBA in an undergraduate learning setting, and I really liked that description,” he adds.
As Nosker began taking classes, he says he initially felt a bit lost at BYU Marriott, which was so different from his hometown—where cows outnumber people. But Nosker says he has made many friends at BYU Marriott as he has tried to be a disciple of Christ and focus on forming genuine connections.
“I think part of making genuine friendships is trying to understand people beyond their interests, trying to get to know them as a person and what motivates them,” he says. “I am able to connect with people through our shared love for Jesus—and that has been really, really rewarding.”
