Fifty-Five Students Receive Global Management Certificate

Global Management Certificate recipient
Emma Douglas (center) with Heidi Clark (left)
and Chelsea Scanlan (right) at the Great Wall of
China during her study abroad to Asia in June 2009. PROVO, Utah – Jun 25, 2010 – This spring 55 BYU students received the Global Management Certificate from the Whitmore Global Management Center. These graduates join an elite group of more than 300 certificate recipients in the last five years.

"Getting the Global Management Certificate was the most beneficial endeavor I had during my college studies because I gained hands-on international experience," says Daniel Dickson, one of this year's certificate recipients and a recent finance graduate from Sandy, Utah. "This has given me a greater edge than anything else I studied."

Dickson and the remaining 54 graduates that made up the eighth class of certificate graduates were honored at a banquet with Michael Bertasso, former president of Heinz Asia-Pacific, as the keynote speaker.

Bertasso encouraged students to make use of the experiences they've had in their lives to successfully move forward in the current global environment.

"We must be prepared in order to participate," Bertasso says. "Businesses across the world are in need of people who are willing to work in other countries. And I strongly believe that if any school can produce students to succeed globally it's BYU."

The Global Management Certificate provides students with visible, concise evidence to potential employers that they are proficient at integrating classroom learning with international experience.

For Emma Douglas, a 2010 MAcc graduate from Indianapolis, Ind., fulfilling the foreign language skills requirement through her French business class was a crucial component in giving Douglas confidence to reach for her goals.

"I would love to work in France, and it'll be helpful to already have experience with French business vocabulary," Douglas says. "It's not scary anymore; I've seen what it's like to work internationally and am confident to go forward."

Douglas will be joining PricewaterhouseCoopers in Irvine, Calif., as a staff accountant in July, with the ambition of working in the international tax group.

The Global Management Certificate requirements provide a recognizable edge in the international business sphere. One of the hundreds of recipients who have experienced the benefit of the Global Management Certificate in the workforce is Wade Eyerly.  

Eyerly, a 2007 master's of public policy graduate from Independence, Mo., says the experiences and skills he acquired through his international business classes and study abroad experience have given him the opportunity to shine as an intelligence officer for the Defense Intelligence Agency.

"Having the certificate sets you one step above those who just have a degree," Wade says. "The Global Management Certificate truly prepared me for the challenges you face in an international environment. Particularly as an intelligence officer, understanding where people come from has been critical." 

Whether the cap and gown have recently been put in the closet or the graduation photographs need some dusting, the benefit of the Global Management Certificate is clear.

"I'm extremely grateful I was able to obtain the certificate," Wade says. "It's very valuable to me and has allowed me to build a career instead of seeking a career; I'd recommend it to everyone."

The Marriott School is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. The school has nationally recognized programs in accounting, business management, public management, information systems, entrepreneurship, and recreation management and youth leadership. The school's mission is to prepare men and women of faith, character and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world. Approximately 3,300 students are enrolled in the Marriott School's graduate and undergraduate programs.