"You are the fruit and flower of the Lord's Kingdom"

One of my favorite things about the BYU MBA program is the quality of speakers we have access to.

Last Friday morning, the women of the Marriott School (MBAs, MPAs, MACCs) and the Law School had the opportunity to hear from Sister Julie Beck, the general Relief Society president of the Church. She was so gracious and genuine. Immediately upon entering the room, she walked right over and greeted us.

She didn't have a formal prepared speech; she just took questions from the audience and some previously emailed in.

Here are some of my notes from her talk (paraphrased of course):

• You are the fruit and flower of the Lord's Kingdom. The Lord had engineered your lives to be here, learning these things so you can build the kingdom.
• Lesson she learned: Tough questions will come. Get over yourself...this is not about you. [It's about the Lord.] Maintain your confidence even when criticism comes (and it will).
• Regarding the controversy surrounding her talk in October 2007 about women working... "In a church of 5.5 million women, why would I be opposed to women working?" Women all over the world are not only working but the sole breadwinners for their families. Make your choices with the Plan [of Salvation] in mind.
• Because we know the plan, we have to take the long road.
• Education is very important for our women.
• You cannot delegate the home responsibilities (i.e. raising and loving your children NOT "housework")
• There is never going to be enough of you to go around. Remember what is important.
• Regarding single women without families and opportunities in front of them: "GO FOR BROKE! Take the opportunities presented to you -- But don't allow those opportunities to take you away from the gospel."
• Regarding insensitive comments about single women and the perception they may be choosing career over family/marriage: "Hold your head up about what you are doing with your life."
• Study Rebekah, Mary and 1 Nephi for examples of women. Remember every experience Nephi went through, his wife also went through. The scriptures tell the story of women indirectly.
• Go to the temple and pay attention!
• Our role in the Plan can not be delegated.
• When the Relief Society was organized, women were officially part of the Church. This is NOT a women's club lead by men. We are active participants in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The women early in the Church knew the whole thing depended on them. (Haha! Who makes sure the men get to the temple?). It is a shared partnership.
• Regarding where she gets her subject matter for her talks: "Talks come straight from the Lord."
  
• Everything is possible by relying on the Savior.
• Regarding getting an education at the BYU Marriott School and Law School: "The Lord is investing his funds in you."

I have such respect for Sister Beck. She truly is a woman of God and is mindful of ALL the various life situations of women. I'm very grateful to her counsel and for her selfless service to the Lord.

Outta P-Town!

Sometimes even though the homework is piling up, you just gotta get out of town. Last weekend, a bunch of us MBAs headed down to Moab to support some of our own who were running in the Canyonlands 1/2 Marathon and 5 Mile Race.
I am not really much of a runner so I heeded the advice of the principal in the movie Grease ("If you can't be an athlete, be an athletic supporter") and wooted my support for friends.


We all had a blast! It was definitely worth the late nights doing homework afterwards, to be able to have a change in scenery. On top of that, it is trips like this that help me build close bonds with classmates. Friday night, four of us stayed up until 3 am talking. Plus, my brothers just happened to be in Moab too for their Spring Break so they dropped by for a little visit.

Highlights of the trip:
- Carbo loading at Dave's parents' condo (watch out for Matt's "hole-y" pants)

- The crazy lady's disco-ball hat

- The group photo shoot below Delicate Arch

- The impromptu dance party in the parking lot by the Windows area of Arches
- Playing ROCK BAND all night long
- Kara's awesome cooking! Yum!
- Getting pulled over on the way out of town by the Moab Police (oh wait. that was a lowlight.)

Fun was had by all.

Wake Forest!

Because I all about working smarter not harder, here is an article I wrote for the MBA newsletter about our adventures at Wake Forest. I figured why write about it all over again!

The first week of February, seven BYU MBAs left P-town for the 18^th annual Wake Forest Marketing Summit MBA Case Competition in North Carolina. Brigham Cochran, Anthony Nielson, Mike Davis, Spencer Hill, Derron Bishop, Tom Orito and I spent the weeks prior preparing. Although we felt ready to compete, we were unprepared for the celebrity welcome we received upon arrival. Wake Forest treated us to a SUV limo ride, walk down the red carpet (complete with paparazzi flashbulbs and reporters shouting “Who are you wearing?”), plus lots of food.

Following the announcement of the super secret Summit sponsor (it was AllTel Wireless), our team locked ourselves in a study room for the next 36 hours to work. We busied ourselves getting up to speed on the current state of the wireless industry and filling the walls with Post-its of ideas. Two nights and lots of Diet Coke later, we presented our recommendations about how to take AllTel’s business to the next level.

Although we didn’t come away the champion, the Chief Marketing Officer of AllTel met with us for more than an hour discussing our ideas and presentation. He even told us we should have won the competition, but the panel of judges from companies outside the wireless industry ultimately chose a team with a more polished presentation.

Being chosen as one of only seven teams to compete was an honor. It was a fantastic experience to go up against other top MBA programs like Duke and U of Virginia and discover we can hang tough with the best of them.

There were a few more things that I didn't include in the article. We got to hear from Dan Heath who wrote the book, Make to Stick. His speech was interesting. He covered many of the highlights of his book, but made some good points about finding a big idea to get your product, service, candidate, etc. into the forefront of the consumer's mind.As I said in the article, it was an incredible experience. Wake Forest put on a top quality conference. It was obvious a lot of work went into it. Hopefully we will get chosen to compete again next year and maybe even come back with a win.

Marching on.

So I can't believe it's been nearly two months since my last post. The early part of this semester was busy with lots of travel and competitions and this second half with the onslaught of homework for our 2nd block managerial accounting and strategy 2 classes.

In the next few posts I'll (briefly, since it is a busy weekend) catch y'all up on two months in the life of a business student. Umm... Enjoy!

There she....isn't.

I'm not really into the beauty pageant thing. Seems to be all fake and superficial. But one of my very best friends was a Miss America contestant and hearing her story a few years ago about competing in the pageant changed my mind about a few things.

Then this year Miss Utah Jill Stevens, army medic, marathon runner, fellow SUU college graduate, and nurse seemed to represent a different kind of girl. So I decided to not only watch the pageant, but follow it on TLC's reality show Miss America: Reality Check. The entire show was about how they wanted to contestants to throw out the pageant hair, the robotic walk and represent the modern woman.

Last night the pageant finally aired and Miss Michigan Kirsten Haglund took home the crown.

So... they wanted to update the Miss America pageant....but the problem is that the judges still chose an old school contestant as the winner. Miss Michigan is a very beautiful girl and I'm sure she is very intelligent, but she grew up in the pageant system and seemed very stiff and old school on stage. Big hair, plastic smile.

Where is the change? How about looking closer at some of the other girls that don't fit the mold. Miss Alaska? Or Miss Vermont? Or what about Miss Utah? She didn't start doing pageants until a few years ago, and only then at the urging of friends and a desire to get the word out about her platform of emergency preparedness. She is a Miss America contestant who truly represents us: the real American woman.

I was really excited to see how this year's pageant would be different. It wasn't. All the "changes" made were merely cosmetic.

Until the Miss America pageant can make changes that will result in the crowning of a young woman who we relate to and can admire, the ratings will continue to drop to all-time lows.

We'll miss you.

Tonight at about 6:30 p.m., our beloved President Hinckley passed away.

Although very sad for those of us left behind here on earth, I know he is in a better place and currently enjoying a joyous reunion with his wife, other family members, past leaders of our church and many others.

I followed him and listened to his counsel not only because he is a prophet of the Lord, but also because he is someone I respected and admired. I love his speaking style: his mix of self-deprecating humor with straight talk were always a joy to listen to. Although I hate to admit it, I would always sit up and pay attention to his talks during General Conference...even when I spaced out or nodded off during the rest. He always had a way of building me up, making me feel like I was a good person who just needed to do better.

One of my favorite memories was when I had the opportunity to attend Conference in person. The Conference Center is a HUGE auditorium that seats 30,000+ people and as people are filing in, it is always a bit noisy. But as soon as President Hinckley appeared at the door, the entire room fell silent and everyone stood up. It never ceased to surprise me. This particular time, he was walking in waving hello with his cane and as he passed the General Authorities seated on the stand, he pretended to rap them on the head with his cane. It was truly hilarious!

So President Hinckley. Thank you for leading and serving us for so many years. We will miss you dearly.

The rest.

Tech Trek 2008 wasn't all business. We couldn't stay in the Bay Area without seeing the sites in San Fran. A group of us had a blast playing in the city Friday night and Saturday morning. Even though Friday was a bit soggy, we checked clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl off our must-east list (as well as the Cali classic In N Out Burger). Here are the highlights:

Eatin' (inside thankfully) at Boudin at Fisherman

Justin and The Rock (Alcatraz)

Marta at a ginormous crab sculpture at Pier 39

Marta, Justin, Cray, Dave, me overlooking the Bay Bridge

Coit Tower

Alcatraz from the Coit Tower hill