In a couple of weeks, BYU Marriott experience and design senior Catherine Gardiner will walk across the Marriott Center stage in front of thousands of peers, faculty, and family to receive her diploma. Graduation often musters feelings of gratitude and nostalgia for students as they think about their college career, and Gardiner is no exception.
It had always been a dream and a goal of Gardiner’s to attend BYU. She was accepted while she was working on her associate's degree at Dixie State. Experience at both schools taught her that BYU is where she was meant to be.
“There are so many opportunities at BYU Marriott, and the professors are phenomenal because they are passionate about what they teach,” Gardiner explains. “Also, the school has a wide offering of majors for students. You can pretty much find a major that is a good match for any passion you may have.”
For Gardiner, the recreation management (now the experience and design management) program was her perfect match.
“The summer before I came to BYU, my sister and I had planned a triathlon for my family," Gardiner says. "It was then and there when I realized how much I love event planning, recreation, and creating experiences that bring people together."
Her first semester at BYU, Gardiner started taking the prerequisites for the program.
“I remember experiencing self-doubt that first semester because of the difficulty of the classes,” Gardiner says. “I started to think that maybe I wasn’t cut out for the business school.”
But Gardiner stuck with it, and her hard work landed her into the recreation management program, with an evolving course that directed the rest of Gardiner’s BYU Marriott career.
“As the major changed from recreation management into the two branches of experience and design management and therapeutic recreation, a shift occurred within me as far as what I wanted to do,” Gardiner says. “The changes in the program opened my eyes to opportunities I did not know about.”
Gardiner entered the major thinking she wanted to focus on community recreation. Now, Gardiner plans to work in corporate event planning and earn an MBA. Gardiner owes her newfound passion for business to her mentors and professors at BYU Marriott.
“My capstone class with Peter Ward was a huge step forward for me in terms of how I perceived business,” Gardiner says. “It became interesting and fun, and Professor Ward showed us how we can tie experiences, people, and profits together.”
Gardiner also learned much as a research assistant with experience and design management assistant professor Mat Duerden.
“Working with him helped me apply classroom principles in the real world,” Gardiner says. “As a research assistant, I discovered how interesting and applicable some of these concepts really are. Also, being able to work with professors in a professional setting outside the classroom has been a neat experience.”
On top of finishing school, Gardiner is also an intern for I Run Utah, a local race timing company. At I Run Utah, Gardiner has learned the ins and outs—as well as the hard work—of event planning.
As Gardiner prepares to don a cap and gown and celebrate a job well done these past four years at BYU Marriott she has some advice for incoming students: take advantage of every opportunity.
“It is at networking events, club activities, researching opportunities, and internships where you will learn about yourself and your passion,” Gardiner says. “I am so grateful for BYU Marriott and the experiences it provided me.”
After graduation, Gardiner will move home to St. George where she will work with city recreation and be close to family as her brother returns from his two-year service as an LDS missionary. Later, she plans to move to Salt Lake City where she hopes to get involved in corporate event planning.
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Writer: Kelly Brunken
