Human Resource Management News 

Spending a Saturday in the Tanner Building may not be everybody's preference, but for BYU Marriott School of Business students Claire Bird, Katie Bahr, Mara Hansen, and Kyle Campbell, their all-day brainstorming session in March was the first step toward winning the 2022 Utah Society of Human Resources (SHRM) Case Competition.

Nine students at the BYU Marriott School of Business were recently honored as 2022 Bateman Award recipients for their excellence both inside and outside the classroom. The annual award, named for Merrill J. Bateman, allows each undergraduate program at BYU Marriott to select a 2021–22 academic year senior for recognition.

Remember when all those Twitter and Instagram posts thanking front-line workers blew up after the COVID-19 pandemic hit? Turns out those were a big deal to essential workers according to new research from BYU Marriott HRM professor Taeya Howell.

The combination of 15 hours of practice and two games a week, 18 team members, 13.5 credit hours, and numerous dance and basketball videos shared with her 29,000 followers on TikTok add up to the everyday life of Kaylee Smiler. As a member of the BYU women’s basketball team and a senior in the human resource management (HRM) program at the BYU Marriott School of Business, Smiler does it all without breaking a sweat. 

Developing others and watching them grow is Joe Hardie's favorite aspect of human resources. His love for the field formed during his time in the human resource management program at the BYU Marriott School of Business and while he worked as a student on campus. Now, Hardie lives his passion every day as an HR leader for Walmart.

Two student teams from the BYU Marriott School of Business traveled to Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, and walked away with four top-two finishes at the 2021 Purdue HR Case Competition this month. The annual competition tasks human resource students across the country with presenting an analysis of a prevalent HR issue.

When visitors enter a LEGO store, they are often treated to elaborate designs painstakingly put together to represent favorite characters, movies, games, architectural wonders, and more. When BYU Marriott senior Megan Atkisson visited a London LEGO store in 2018 on a study abroad trip, she instead focused on learning the blueprint for how to build her dream career in employee experience design.

Even masks brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic can't stop McKenzie Rees from memorizing the faces—at least the upper half—and names of all her students. The human resource management professor has built her career on connecting with people and their stories, a tradition she looks forward to continuing as a new professor at BYU Marriott.

Seniors in the human resource management program at the BYU Marriott School of Business will gain valuable industry experience through a unique class this fall. HRM 421: HRM Implementation pairs students with companies and asks the students to help solve workplace problems. This hands-on approach to learning is designed to help seniors sharpen résumés and learn valuable skills.

The Brigham Young University Marriott School of Business welcomes nine new professors this fall.

Many college students leave behind the comforts of home when they head off to school. When Alexis Rankin arrived at BYU as a transfer student, she chose to give up the comforts of the career she grew up thinking she would pursue. Despite this big change, Rankin was able to attend student association meetings at the BYU Marriott School of Business, which helped her find a new career path as a human resource management student.

As an adjunct professor at the BYU Marriott School of Business, Beth Wilkins knows her students want to make a difference in the world. Wilkins teaches a leadership class in the human resource management program that helps students learn how to make that difference by first understanding themselves better. To this end, Wilkins strives to bring her knowledge and experience as an industry professional, including running her own consulting firm, to the classroom.

Consistently performing above expectations is often a recipe for success. For Chandler Bush, rising above what is expected seems to be instinctive. This natural ability has resulted in accomplishments throughout his career, including earning his current job as a design strategist at Adobe. The BYU Marriott School of Business 2016 human resource management (HRM) graduate credits BYU Marriott for helping him achieve success in his young career.

Since the beginning of time, humanity has looked up to the stars for guidance, navigation, and inspiration. Peter Madsen, a professor of organizational behavior and human resources at the BYU Marriott School of Business, helps people reach for those stars, both literally and figuratively. As a researcher, he’s worked with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to prevent accidents in space exploration, and as a professor, he prepares students to find the jobs of their dreams.

When 2016 HRM graduate Kelly Andrews first came to the BYU Marriott School of Business, he didn’t imagine that his career would include presenting to Fortune 500 companies, writing a book, or helping eliminate global poverty through his work with the United Nations. However, the principles of ethics and service that Andrews learned at BYU Marriott have guided every step of his professional journey.

A victory at the Utah Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) Case Competition on 27 March 2021 marked back-to-back wins for undergraduate students from the BYU Marriott School of Business. A BYU Marriott graduate student team also took first place. As students in the human resource management (HRM) program worked to tackle real-life HR problems, their willingness to learn from each other led each team to success.

Popular media typically portrays prison as a dark, antagonistic place. With that image, it’s hard to imagine why anyone would want to work there. However, a group of human resource management (HRM) students from the BYU Marriott School of Business recently looked past this stereotype as they brainstormed solutions to make the Utah Department of Corrections a better place to work.

Every year, each department in the BYU Marriott School of Business selects one outstanding student to receive the Bateman Award, which recognizes excellence both inside and outside the classroom. The award is named after Merrill J. Bateman, who served as the dean of BYU Marriott from 1975–79 and the president of BYU from 1996–2003. 

Whether he’s training employees, helping nonprofits set their budget, or staging fights in authentic medieval armor, Austin Smith follows his passions to find success. His journey as a human resources management (HRM) junior at the BYU Marriott School of Business has helped him share his enthusiasm for HR to find business opportunities for his fighting team and internship opportunities for himself.

As an underdog in the world of singing, BYU Marriott School of Business alum Jake Hunsaker never imagined that his determination to perfect his musical talents would lead him to share the stage with world-famous musicians or compete against groups such as Pentatonix on national television. The same work ethic that brought Hunsaker to NBC’s The Sing Off has since shaped his life and career as an HR professional.