College of Life Sciences
This past year, BYU alumna Isabella Errigo won the Fulbright scholarship and had the Utah legislative body cite her research in an effort to prevent pollution.
Errigo began studying the effects of air pollution along with plant and wildlife professor Ben Abbot. They found air pollution was the cause of death in several scenarios such as strokes, heart attacks and even suicides, and associated mental and physical health with air pollution.
After making these discoveries, she called dozens of members of Congress and asked for their ideas on how to improve the air pollution crisis.
“I really care about science communication and environmental policy, and how we can communicate these issues effectively,” Errigo said. “And it’s not just a political stance. Any harm we do to the environment impacts our own health and wellbeing, so we need to protect our planet.”
After traveling to Ecuador to study elevational transect, she applied to and won the National Fulbright scholarship, which provides grants to individuals who want to pioneer a creative project, teach English abroad or conduct independent research.
“I’m excited to create lifelong friendships with people like me,” Errigo said.
Marriott School of Business
BYU strategy major and Humor U leader Michael Gibbs finds connections between the genres of comedy and strategy.
Gibbs is part of the BYU stand-up comedy group Humor U and as part of his role, he performs and writes scripts for comedy sketches. He said comedy consists of observing things most people don’t see and then proceed to connect them. He also explained how most verbal humor is the result of overlapping worlds, where two things which appear disconnected come together.
“I make associations that people can resonate with, and those links are what make everyday situations funny,” Gibbs said. “In that way, comedy helps me a lot as a strategist because I can observe and connect different situations to help companies find solutions to problems.”
Gibbs also has to think outside the box in the BYU Marriott School of Business strategy program.
“Strategy just fits my style,” Gibbs said. “I’ve always loved communicating with people and being in front of a crowd. I love solving problems and solutions I wouldn’t have considered.”
