7 Weber State business students accepted into Carnegie Mellon graduate program
OGDEN, Utah — A perfect set of Weber State University business students will continue their education at Carnegie Mellon University next fall.
All seven students from the John B. Goddard School of Business & Economics who applied to CMU’s Heinz College were accepted into their graduate programs — an “incredible” achievement that speaks to the quality of a WSU education, said Randy Boyle, professor of management information systems.
“This group represents some of the top students from Weber State,” Boyle said. “Being accepted into prestigious graduate programs at the Heinz College is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
More than 50 Weber State students have attended graduate school at CMU since 2018, when WSU signed an educational partnership with the university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Students often complete a summer internship at CMU before the start of their senior year and then choose to pursue a master’s degree there.
Boyle said the partnership gives students a pathway to better jobs, higher salaries and faster promotions.
For Olivia Brown, majoring in management information systems and business economics at WSU, receiving a full scholarship made pursuing a master’s degree possible. She plans to study business intelligence and data analytics, eyeing a career in risk modeling based on her experience working at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and her research at Weber State.
At WSU, Brown conducted research with economics professor Gavin Roberts, pulling Bitcoin prices and 10-year bond rates to synthesize a Bitcoin pseudo bond. She also expanded on a class project with economics professor Brandon Koford to build an econometric model to assess the impact of interest rates on bank earnings.
“There’s never a shortage of help at Weber,” she said. “Just being able to stop by a professor’s office, having that support system, it’s so helpful.”
Isaiah Wood, a management information systems major, is interested in community safety and will go on to study information security policy and management at CMU.
“I’m studying how digital and physical attacks can impact our power grids, water supplies and national defense systems,” Wood said. “I’m committed to protecting our communities.”
He chose CMU because of their reputation in cybersecurity and information systems management. Wood appreciated the mentorship and guidance his WSU professors provided during his undergraduate studies.
“My professors have shown me the strength and quality of our education,” he said. “They’ve affirmed that we belong in high-achieving positions. I can’t wait to see what more we will do.”
The other WSU management information systems students headed to CMU include Bryan Escobedo, Landon Francis, Porter Geddes, Braxton Gray and Jacob Lowe.
Photo caption: (from left) Jacob Lowe, Bryan Escobedo, Landon Francis, Olivia Brown, Isaiah Wood and Braxton Gray. Not pictured: Porter Geddes.
Jessica Kokesh, Marketing & Communications
801-626-7316, jessicakokesh@weber.edu- Contact:
Bryan Magaña, public relations director
801-626-7948, bryanmagana@weber.edu