Marriott School of Business
Marriott School of Business student Mikayla Cheng hopes to help students blend together and make connections through her self-developed app 'Tiedye.' Tiedye is a social media app that helps BYU students form relationships.
Cheng and her fiancé, Aaron Chan, who also helped with this project, have always understood the importance of encouraging better interpersonal connections, making habits of hearing the stories of people around them. Cheng finds purpose through building relationships and does not take those connections for granted, which is what sparked the creation of Tiedye. The app was entered in the 2021 BYU App Competition hosted by the Rollins Center and was one of the winning entries.
'Listening is a powerful way to show others appreciation and love. By listening to these people, I formed several genuine relationships, even after only speaking to them once,' Cheng said.
Autumn Clark is another business student at BYU. She is trying to solve problems using her technological knowledge and passion for social innovation. Clark specifically studies modern-day slavery and the lack of educational opportunities less-fortunate people face. Clark's capstone project, OkWellThen, helps people understand the lack of pricing transparency in healthcare.
'For any other major purchase an individual makes in life, they can find plenty of pricing information beforehand, which helps them to make the best financial decisions. The healthcare industry didn't provide that kind of financial information to consumers. I created a platform with my peers called OkWellThen, where we compiled the information into a more accessible format,' Clark said.
Clark hopes to continue combining her knowledge and talents to create changes in different areas of significant social issues.
College of Life Sciences
JB Eyring, a public health major with a minor in human development, is normalizing women's health. He found it troubling that people could casually discuss strep throats or broken arms but not the menstrual cycle. Eyring is working with his mentor, public health professor Brianna Magnusson, to research how to better understand the negative attitudes surrounding menstruation, particularly from men.
'Nobody even wants to acknowledge that these issues are a thing. That was troubling to me, how we get this lack of normalization around women's health,' Eyring said.
Eyring hopes to eliminate taboos by informing men of his research and the stigmatization of women's health issues. He plans to open a women's health and fertility clinic in Utah to continue teaching people about women's health, especially those uncomfortable with the topic.