College was far from Maile Berg’s mind for much of her life. A native of Alpine, Utah, she dedicated years of her youth to preprofessional ballet—attending school part-time and spending her summers training at different ballet schools. Then a career-ending injury changed her plans.
“I had a lot of forced downtime to rest. So much of my identity was wrapped up in ballet; I took the time to pray, think about what my other passions were, and ask: Who else can I be?” Berg recalls. “That’s when I decided that I would come to BYU and start studying business.”
Unsure of which program to apply to, Berg began exploring opportunities at the BYU Marriott School of Business. She stumbled upon a study abroad fair and learned about a business study abroad to Brazil and Argentina, to which she was soon accepted.
“Seeing other cultures and interacting with the other BYU Marriott students was an incredible experience for me,” Berg says. “I saw such kind people who were so impressive. I also saw how amazing and how uplifting and encouraging the students were throughout the trip.”
Berg participated in various student associations upon returning from her study abroad. When she attended a Women in Supply Chain (WISC) meeting, she found an unexpected connection to the global supply chain management (GSCM) program.
“What really appealed to me about supply chain is that you get to think about the world in processes from beginning to end, at every point in the chain,” Berg reveals. This way of thinking is familiar to her. “In ballet, you have to understand how every muscle is moving—how every step creates the sequence of dance.”
She says her ability to think in sequences and understand moving parts has served her well in her classes. “Often when we see issues in supply chain, they happen much further up than where the immediate need is,” she explains. “You have to see how those issues connect together and find the root cause to find a solution that’s going to be sustainable.”
Berg found not only a program that suited her skills but also a community of support at BYU Marriott—several of the friends she made in student associations and on her study abroad helped her refine her résumé and work through the challenging junior core. Now a senior in the GSCM program, Berg feels a pull to give back to the people who helped her. So she involved herself in WISC and the BYU Marriott student leadership advisory council (SLAC), which works as an intermediary between student associations and the Deans Office to voice student needs and promote unity and belonging within the college.
“I think student associations are so important for our community, because they are another space where people can come connect with each other,” she explains. Many events offer insights and skills from visiting executives and young professionals. “At the same time, we’re building our network of support, the people who are going to help launch our careers.”
As she works with student associations and SLAC, Berg hopes to help people internalize the mission, vision, and values of BYU Marriott to help them feel more connected to their peers and mentors. “I applied for SLAC because it’s important to me that people know they have a place here, that they can be successful, and that everyone wants them to do well,” Berg says. “A lot of the things that we’re doing with the events at BYU Marriott are about encouraging people to serve others: Little acts of service are often what help people feel connected and feel like they belong.”
Berg knows through experience how difficult it can be to find a new place to belong, but she learned that the best way to get through is together. “It can be scary here; it can be competitive, and it’s easy to doubt yourself,” Berg says. “But I had people who reached out to me—and because of them I want to help others.”
_____
Written by Melissa Een
