Inaugural Competition Tests Student Career Preparedness

PROVO, Utah – Dec 10, 2012 – One by one, 10 students stood in front of hundreds of peers and a panel of prominent business executives, introduced themselves and presented their career plans — all hoping to win the first ever Marriott School of Management My Plan competition.

A brainchild of the undergraduate office, My Plan was created to help students in the Business Management 320 class prepare for obtaining internships and careers.

“Students really need to be more prepared for their careers, and this is a fun way to help them do it,” says Kristen McGregor, managing director of undergraduate programs and creator of the competition.

To participate, students drafted an elevator pitch to quickly and memorably introduce themselves. Students also created a career plan, outlining the route they would take both during and after their time at BYU to land their dream job.

“There are a bunch of steps students need to complete every semester to reach their goals, such as joining clubs, making company visits and calling people,” McGregor says. “Learning to identify and complete this process is the purpose of the My Plan competition.”

More than 200 entries were submitted, from which the undergraduate office picked 10 finalists. Of these finalists, four winners were selected by a panel of business executives from the Undergraduate Management Advisory Board. The victors collectively received more than $1,000 in awards for their performances.

Winners include Harmony Receveur, a senior studying business management from Kearns, Utah, in first place; Brett Dillon, a junior studying business management from Oro Valley, Ariz., in second; Sam Benton, a junior studying marketing from Layton, Utah, in third; and Jarett Jacobsen, a junior studying business management from Richmond, Va., in fourth.

The competition is an example of the innovative teaching style found in the Marriott School that yields tremendous benefits for students, beyond just the immediate reward of an award.

Jacobsen, who competed just four hours before his own wedding, sees great value in the experience. “It made me realize I didn’t know a lot about how to prepare for these steps in my life,” he says. “I realized there’s a lot more that needs to be done.”

McGregor hopes to expand the program so that students have the opportunity to present their plans to their respective Management Society chapters during the holiday break, providing one more way for students to effectively prepare for successful careers.

Benton hopes many students will be able to participate in the program in the future. “I learned a lot from the pressure of preparing to present in front of business professionals,” he says. “It really forced me to consider what I had to offer a company and why they should hire me.”

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.