BYU Info Systems Students Dominate National Competition

From left: Spencer Robinson, Tyler Seader, Eric Christensen,
Nathanael Eborn, Benjamin Bytheway and Bryce Clark.
PROVO, Utah – Apr 8, 2010 – Competing against 68 other colleges and universities, six Brigham Young University information systems students brought home eight awards this spring at the National Collegiate Conference for the Association for Information Technology Professionals held in St. Louis. The BYU teams continued their winning tradition from previous years, leaving with the most awards per student entrant.

The two-man teams garnered first and second place in the systems analysis and design competition; first and second place in the business intelligence competition; first place in the visual studio application development competition; second and third place in the Java competition; and honorable mention in the database design competition.

"Our success is due to our bright students and their great work ethic," says Craig Lindstrom, assistant professor of information systems and adviser for the competition. "They created a winning strategy early in the competition and then were able to execute that strategy based on the principles they've learned in the program; it carried them to the top."

The BYU student competitors were Benjamin Bytheway, a senior from South Jordan, Utah; Eric Christensen, a junior from Provo; Bryce Clark, a senior from Calgary, Alberta; Nathanael Eborn, a senior from Boise, Idaho; Spencer Robinson, a senior from Columbia, S.C.; and Tyler Seader, a junior from Normal, Ill.

BYU students competed in six of the nine competitions at the AITP conference and placed in five. Each competition lasted three to five hours, but students say they were able to tackle the grueling schedule thanks to preparation from their classes.

"The training we receive in the information systems program is probably the best there is and makes us capable of doing well in challenging circumstances," Bytheway says. "I can't say enough about the professors, the students and BYU as a whole."

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 and entrepreneurship. The school's mission is to prepare men and women of faith, character and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world. Approximately 3,000 students are enrolled in the Marriott School's graduate and undergraduate programs.