When she was in fourth grade, Michaela Horn wanted to run for class president. So when the sign-up sheet landed on her desk, she wrote her name down.
Then she noticed the name of another student also running for president, and doubting herself, Horn erased her name off the list. Now an experience and design management (ExDM) student and the program’s student association team lead, Horn is grateful for the confidence and empowerment she has gained since the fourth grade to follow her aspirations.
A native of Orem, Horn lived in close proximity to BYU while growing up. In fact, as a senior in high school, Horn met with a BYU advisor because she wanted a head start on becoming a pediatrician for children with special needs. However, Horn realized that instead of pursuing medicine, she wanted to create more accessible experiences for families of individuals with special needs.
Horn’s decision was influenced by her work at an autism academy during her first few semesters at BYU. She realized families of children with autism faced significant challenges when taking their kids to different places and events because of sensory and accessibility issues. So Horn switched to studying family life and human development to figure out how she could design more accessible experiences for these families.
Shortly after, her husband, a student in the ExDM program at the BYU Marriott School of Business, encouraged her to attend one of the program's social events. While there, she realized studying experience design would provide her with the business skills to design more accessible experiences and increase her leadership skills. Meeting professors, including one who was lounging on a yoga ball, feet clad in Chacos, solidified her decision to join the program. Now, as a senior in the program and a team lead in the student experience organization, Horn wears her own pair of Chacos on campus.
“Experience design totally changed me as a person,” Horn says. “Before I started with the ExDM program, I never would have applied for a leadership position.” But she says she had a vision for the program that would bring students closer together, and so she decided to go for it. This time, she felt nothing but confidence.
Horn’s responsibilities as the student experience team lead include organizing the Senior Spark, an event for incoming ExDM seniors. This school year, the event, which centered on a weekend rafting trip in Moab, Utah, was the most challenging and rewarding activity Horn has planned. “The trip brought everyone together, and afterward somebody even created a directory for everyone’s contact information so we can continue gathering and hosting reunions,” Horn says.
Just as she worked to make the journey down the Colorado River possible, Horn strives to make the overall student journey better. She and the other members of the student experience team organize events, create experiences for students on campus, and help students tap into their leadership potential.
“My favorite thing about BYU Marriott is the unique and transformative experience I have received here in the ExDM program,” she says. Horn feels empowered to get involved and encourages other students to do the same.
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Writer: Liesel Allen
