My BYU Family

Here I am, less than 6 months away from graduation, and I can proudly say that choosing BYU MBA program was the best decision I could have made 15 months ago. My decision to attend BYU raised many questions among my family and friends. Their concerns were multifaceted, but they all revolved around one question: Why would you attend BYU when you are not LDS? There were concerns about the religious and cultural differences, my ability to fit in, to form friendships and ultimately to integrate into the BYU family.

While I did not have an answer to this question 15 months ago, I had faith. Today, in looking back at what has been one of the most challenging, yet the most successful years of my life, I can say that the BYU family is behind my success story.

1. I had help. I was given all the tools necessary to succeed. The staff, professors and classmates cared about my success and provided me with the support to perform at my best. In countless occasions, students offered, unsolicited, to help me with my resumes, interviews, assignments, etc.

2. I had inspiration. I was surrounded by hard-working men and women, who were both my competition and my daily inspiration. I was inspired by the drive and determination of my classmates, who, for the most part, not only juggled schoolwork and internship search but also family responsibilities.

3. I had faith. While BYU is an LDS institution, it is an institution where anyone can freely live his or her faith. I have been able to live my religion and share my culture with very accepting colleagues. Religion has not been a differentiator but rather a way of bridging differences, learning from each other and growing as an individual.

The fact of the matter is that while the religious and cultural differences were initially a concern of mine, those differences fueled deep conversations and dialogues, which drove my integration into the BYU family.

-Thamina Sbai, Marketing, Class of 2011

Interned at: L'Oreal USA

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Perspective of an Non-LDS Student

A year and half ago, when I was vigorously searching for my dream MBA school, I had no idea how I can find a perfect match – one that will be my brand for the rest of my life. These 2 years would be the most critical 2 years of my life, and the investment of time and money and all personal sacrifices that I had to commit to better be worth this.

After a grueling period of GMAT preparation, actual exams, application processes and lot of soul searching, I made my way to the Marriott School MBA program. The Marriott School is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. The program, though universally recognized, is not among the most popular choices among many international students (I can speak for the Indians only). More so for those who are not members of the LDS church. The reason might be the apprehension of a culture shock in an environment that has not been publicized so well. Or even a more grave reason may be the commitment to a Code of Honor and ethics and a fear of the consequences of not meeting those standards in the course of 2 years. The Honor Code requirements of the program can put an initial block in the mindset of the candidates and more research about the heart and soul of this program will cease to continue. I am glad that I never made that same mistake.

Everyone has to make his/her own choices. I respect everyone’s choice. I made my own choice when I visited the BYU before I got admitted. When I was on campus on a cool February morning, I immediately felt at home. Now I have quit my job, made my big move to the Happy Valley of Utah and am waiting for the strenuous and dreaded Fall semester to begin. But during the orientation, I could realize the fact that there are no other MBA programs where I can be happier to see myself in. The values and ethics do run in the blood of this program and it is not like a “secondary ethics class” put in the block to rationalize the requirement of ethical standards of an MBA program.

And feeling of acceptance in another culture? Well, the following incident just talks about how accepted I was in this setting. During orientation, we were told to bring an artifact to describe our identity or story related to the object. This was a good way to delve into the members of your group. The feeling to your peer’s inner self will make the bonding easy and will pay off during a tough time. I brought a picture of 3 revered Hindu religious leaders who were the inspirations and founders of the institute (Ramakrishna Mission) I studied for 12 years in my school days in India. Almost 8 years back, my mom gave the picture to me when I first left home to do a job outside my home city and since then I am carrying this to remind me of my roots. My story of failures and persistence and the role of this picture in my personal and professional life moved my team members and I felt their recognition and acceptance of this different religious perspective. They saw the picture and appreciated me sharing my story with them.

Diversity is the way of life. In every walk of life, people have choices of pin-pointing the differences and make the life a lot more difficult or they can go look for the similarities. As far as the future of mankind is concerned, we are better off going for the second choice. Today, I am glad to embark on my Mission MBA. “Bon Voyage” to my classmates as well.

—Arindam Majumdar, Class of 2012, Finance

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