News Releases 

Despite knowing almost nothing about the military, Chaim Zuniga followed a prompting and joined BYU’s Army ROTC program, which is hosted through the BYU Marriott School of Business. Now, Zuniga—who credits God for his life’s direction—plans to become a United States Army chaplain so he can help others spiritually. 

As an artist and musician, Alexa Fox wanted a career that would enable her to use her creativity. Fox discovered the experience design and management program at BYU Marriott and, now a senior, is using the program's blend of creativity and business skills to prepare for a career in consulting.

With three children and one on the way, Bruce Hymas and his wife Brittany found themselves quite literally losing sleep over issues like their kids not sleeping through the night. After attending a parenting conference in an effort to find answers, the 2009 BYU Marriott entrepreneurship alum recognized a need for parents to have their questions answered quickly and reliably. Relying on his education and connections at the BYU Marriott School of Business, Hymas created the app ParentPlaybook. 

Most 57-year-olds aren’t thinking about heading back to school and taking classes. However, Lyn Ellis, a 1985 accounting graduate of the BYU Marriott School of Business, found herself doing exactly that.

Jared Tate would rather build ties with his family than put on a tie every morning to go to work. So Tate, a 2016 graduate from the strategic management program at the BYU Marriott School of Business, has looked for a career that minimizes travel, protects his weekends from work emails, and allows him to participate in activities with his family all week long. 

The impact of growing up in Palestine sparked a desire in Zein Mosarsaa to work in healthcare. However, she did not decide which specific medical career to pursue until her recent student internship at the Ballard Center for Social Impact at the BYU Marriott School of Business.

Bryn Sieverts was always fascinated with the concept of business. As a young boy growing up in Bountiful, Utah, Sieverts set up a popsicle stand on a street corner in his neighborhood to earn some extra cash. In high school, he participated in DECA competitions, which teach students about business and leadership. Sieverts, now a BYU Marriott School of Business alumnus in global supply chain management (GSCM), continues to use his passion for business and the valuable lessons he’s learned at BYU to help him in his career.  

Jordan Sitterud, a native of Roseville, California, has always admired basketball player Michael Jordan. He not only respected everything about Jordan—from his work ethic on the court to his fresh line of sneakers—but he also appreciated the trials Jordan overcame in his life to become one of the greatest basketball players in the NBA. Sitterud followed Jordan’s example of persistence by never giving up on his own dreams, including being admitted to BYU after several attempts and later the BYU Marriott School of Business. 

A self-proclaimed “daddy’s girl,” Ruth Ann Jefferies followed her father into a public service career. While Jefferies pursued the field because of her father’s example, she has been a trailblazer herself, including becoming BYU Marriott’s first female MPA graduate in 1971 and establishing an extensive career at various levels of government.

As a principal partner marketing manager at Adobe, Ivy Portwood oversees a group she calls her "dream team." Twenty years ago as a music major at BYU, Portwood never would have imagined she would be working in such a position, or even that she would earn an MBA from the BYU Marriott School of Business.

On a beautiful, late-summer evening, information systems (IS) students, alumni, and faculty from the BYU Marriott School of Business gathered to kick off the start of the new academic year with the IS department’s first-ever southern-style tailgate. Providing everything from brisket and baby Cougar Tails to robots and Cosmo, the tailgate successfully connected students and alumni and served as a fantastic precursor to an epic home-game victory.

At the BYU Marriott School of Business, seniors are not the only ones looking for a final project. After teaching at BYU Marriott for 23 years, experience design management professor Brian Hill started searching for a culminating capstone to his career. As part of that pursuit, Hill applied for and received a Fulbright scholarship to teach at the University of Salzburg in Austria.

After initially attending Utah Valley University and Southern Utah University as an undergraduate in the early 2000s, Sara Hubbs felt prompted to transfer to BYU. That decision led to a fulfilling career that ultimately included returning to Provo as an assistant dean of finance and HR at BYU Marriott.

Being the head coach of the BYU men’s extramural soccer team means Brandon Gilliam is often stretched to the limits of both his time and resources. However, the BYU Marriott recreation management and youth leadership alumnus stays in the game because he can think of few things better than helping young people develop their passions.

As a child, Elizabeth Smith developed a lifelong passion for building connections across borders when she befriended a refugee from Libya. Now, that same passion fuels Smith in her position as a program coordinator for the Whitmore Global Business Center (GBC) at the BYU Marriott School of Business, where she helps students take steps across borders.

Darron Billeter cherishes the moments when his students knock on his office door for a quick visit. He sees the value and potential each student has as he sits down and chats with each of them about their current circumstances and lives. Billeter’s overall goal as an associate professor of marketing at the BYU Marriott School of Business is to spend his time serving those he works with and those he teaches, emulating the light of his Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Dallas Meldrum remembers his first time flying as a young boy. He hopped in his grandpa’s Vans RV-6A airplane and sat on a stack of yellow-page phone books to see through the window. He even took hold of the stick and flew. To this day, he remembers how incredible it felt flying through the air. Those moments in Meldrum’s young life sparked a passion for aviation that came with him to BYU as he joined the Air Force ROTC (AFROTC), hosted by the Department of Aerospace Studies at the BYU Marriott School of Business.

Katie Weddle doesn’t remember much from the accident that almost took her life. Serving as a missionary in Malaysia, Weddle was riding her bike with other sister missionaries when she was hit by a car.  

While on a business trip in Shanghai, Kurt Brown discussed business opportunities and social needs in the area with a friend. The pair recognized the potential to improve working conditions for local factory workers and realized they could start a business to help meet that need. Their idea blossomed into an impact investing venture, a topic Brown also teaches as an adjunct professor in the Ballard Center for Social Impact at the BYU Marriott School of Business.

As woman in her 40s sitting in a lecture hall full of young students, Julie Glasgow could have easily felt intimidated. However, when she entered the finance program at the BYU Marriott School of Business, Glasgow decided to focus instead on taking charge of her college experience by sharpening her personal strengths and shaping her future.