Tina Ashby's transition from a successful career in the business world to home life was a difficult but rewarding one.

"It was quite an adjustment to become a full-time, stay-at-home mom, but I embraced it quickly," she says. "It was difficult not receiving pay or accolades from work, but seeing the greater impact I had on my children made the sacrifices totally worth it."

After earning her MBA from BYU, Ashby began her business career working for a Big Eight accounting firm in the San Francisco Bay area. Soon after, she took a position with Catholic Healthcare West, her favorite client, as assistant director of finance. She was promoted to director of finance within a year. When her husband was accepted to the UCLA general surgery program, Ashby worked part time as special projects manager for UCLA's Business Enterprises Division.

"I was able to accomplish things in five years that, without my MBA, would have taken four times longer," she says.

Since retiring after the birth of her third child, Ashby has maintained her business skills working from home for Catholic Healthcare West, writing for the LDS Church, and volunteering in the community. She has dedicated her energies to the public school system as a classroom volunteer, PTA board member, and PTA president.

Ashby continues to use her MBA experience in her home and community in Farmington, Utah.

"My daughter had to do a survey for school and figure out what was the best way to survey people and how to analyze the data," she says. "That was a snap for me, and we had a lot of fun doing it together."

While transitioning from office to home was a challenge, Ashby has seen the positive effects of earning an MBA in all aspects of her life.

"In areas outside my career, my business school training has helped me be more effective in volunteer leadership and teaching positions," she says. "I have drawn on the skills of my MBA education to run civic programs and even in managing my home."


In 1978, John W. Limbong had nearly finished his master's degree in economics. Between studying and his family he kept himself busy. He went to bed early to keep up with his demanding schedule. One night, he had a vivid dream in which Brigham Young asked him to establish a university in Limbong's native Jakarta, Indonesia.

The next morning as he contemplated the dream, Limbong wondered if establishing such a university was possible. There were funding obstacles to overcome, government regulations to meet, and "everything else" to face, he says. But as he pondered the idea, he had the thought, "Everything is possible."

Limbong began to organize himself. After graduating from BYU in 1978, Limbong completed a PhD at the University of Utah in 1982 and returned to Jakarta that same year. There he worked with the Indonesian Bank but could not forget the dream, and he eventually quit his job to pursue establishing a university.

Because of government regulations, Limbong had to create a nonprofit foundation before he could begin laying the groundwork for a university. Enlisting his wife, Rosemia, Limbong created the Golden Nusantara Foundation. Paving the way for the university included establishing a kindergarten, an elementary school, two secondary schools, and a college.

The University of International Golden Indonesia was established in 1983 and now hosts 2,500 students, fifty-two faculty members, and offers seven areas of study ranging from marketing and accounting to communications and health.

"I'm trying to fulfill the dream and make this university a BYU-standard university," says Limbong, who serves as president of the university.

Limbong resides in Jakarta, Indonesia, with his wife. They have five children.


It's not every day you reach into your mailbox and see your face staring back at you from a magazine cover. Marriott School alumnus Brian Mower says this is one of many surprises hard-working BYU graduates may see from the professional world.

The Journal of Accountancy recently highlighted Mower's quick rise to chief accounting officer of a public company. Mower became the top accountant in only seven years-an accomplishment that usually requires ten to fifteen years of professional experience. Being featured in the publication was motivating as well as humbling to Mower, who attributes his quick growth to a positive attitude, high ethical standards, and accepting increased responsibility.

"I start each project with the expectation of success," says Mower, chief accounting officer of IOMED, Inc., a medical products company whose products are used to treat more than two million patients a year. "I continue to be thirsty for success in all my projects and try to implement the skills and standards I was taught by my parents and teachers."

Mower feels that strong home instruction coupled with a challenging BYU education propels graduates to business excellence. He recalls difficult, late-night coursework with strenuous exams and study projects with a tinge of nostalgia. According to him, the number of challenges and amount of hard work required never changes; it just shifts from preparation to practice after graduation.

"I've found that positive opportunities can come from each challenge that presents itself," Mower reflects. "As I look back on my professional barriers or setbacks I see how each one helped me grow and achieve."

He explains that refusing to compromise one's ethical standards will always be the correct and most beneficial choice, no matter how attractive the alternative may appear. "For the most part, those who have succeeded and risen to the top of these competitive business fields have done so through their integrity and keeping appropriate priorities," Mower says. "That is what the business world has learned to expect from BYU graduates, and I intend to do my part in maintaining that reputation."


Most people would consider three weeks marked by finals, law school graduation, and the birth of a first child as full ones.

Throw winning the legal community's equivalent to a Pulitzer Prize into the mix, and your average PDA might start begging for mercy.

That was J. Scott Dutcher's calendar this April and May when-in the middle of finals, graduation, and the birth of his daughter Kate-he found out he was one of fifteen national winners of the Burton Award for Legal Achievement. "I am just so proud of him," says his wife, Kyla. "I've seen how much work he puts into his writing. It's heartwarming for me because someone else recognizes his achievements."

Dutcher's literary endeavor began as an assignment for a punishment class at the Sandra Day O'Connor Law School of Arizona State University. With a background in business-he earned a BS in business management from BYU in 2002-Dutcher argued for harsher punishments for corrupt corporate leaders.

"I remember listening to business leaders who came to the Marriott School to speak about the tremendous pressure to compromise values for quick gains," he says. "Later, when I read about Bernie Ebbers, Dennis Kozlowski, and other corrupt corporate leaders, I knew I was going to write about them."

Dutcher wrote his scholarly paper, titled "From the Boardroom to the Cellblock: The Justifications for Harsher Punishment of White-Collar and Corporate Crime" almost a year earlier and didn't know it was being considered for the award. Every law school in the country is allowed only one entry, which is selected and submitted under the direction of the dean. "The Burton Foundation delays telling the winners, but notifies their respective deans immediately," Dutcher says. "The dean was all smiles when she gave me the good news. She was so happy for me."

What began as an assignment for Dutcher ended 12 June in a black-tie event at the Library of Congress, where he received the award.

The trip included a visit with Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, namesake of Arizona State's law school, and a photo-op. "He's already planning to frame the photo and hang it in his office," Kyla says.

Laughing, Dutcher adds, "I'll probably make copies and staple them to the back of every résumé."

Published by the Marriott School at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. Copyright 2012 by Brigham Young University. All rights reserved. All communications should be sent to Marriott Alumni Magazine, 490 Tanner Building, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah 84602. Email: marriottmag@byu.edu. Telephone: (801) 422-5083. Fax: (801) 422-0501. The views expressed are those of the various authors and not necessarily the Marriott School. Change your mailing address here.