In April, I graduated in management with an emphasis in marketing. Graduating with me are three of the most influential members in the Marketing Department: Steven Huff, Sterling Bone and Paige Gardiner. Their departure is going to leave a great void in the Marketing Department. No other professors or advisors influenced my life more than they did.
Steven Huff was my Intro to Marketing professor during my first semester in the Marriott School of Management. His passion for marketing led me to pursue my own path in marketing. His zeal for teaching his students presentation skills not taught anywhere else at BYU, helped me throughout my final two years of school. He is leaving BYU to become part of a growing Marketing Department at UVU in the fall.
Sterling Bone is hailed by many as the greatest professor in the Marriott School. His innovative approach to Sales Management showed me a career in sales can be respectable, profitable and fun. His class was one where students were never eager to leave their seats. During his class competition “Sales Idol,” I was introduced to key individuals who would later hire me right out of school into a job I love and would not have found otherwise. He has played this role in countless students’ lives, introducing them to key contacts in an effort to help them find a career they love. He is leaving BYU and heading north to USU.
Paige Gardiner was most recently the administrator of Marketing Career Management. She stepped into this role and helped marketing students find jobs and connections. She invested herself in the life of every single marketing student who would let her. She did not want any marketing student to leave BYU unemployed. She personally helped me find not only the courage needed to pursue opportunities but the skills necessary to secure multiple offers prior to graduation. She also was in charge of and led the Marketing Association to new levels of membership and activity. She is also leaving to join the Marketing Department at UVU.
While I am sure each spot vacated by these faculty members will be filled with more than competent individuals, I also know it is a shame for the Marketing Department to lose them. My life would be vastly different if these three individuals had not been at BYU. To them I say thank you. It pains me to think their influence will no longer be felt in the Marriott School. I hope the Marketing Department understands the loss this is to the department and to current, past and especially future BYU students.
BRODY HORTON
Layton
