“I chose the Merage School, because I wanted to learn about growth, leadership and strategic innovation. I have benefited greatly from the program’s focus on these key areas and have applied what I’ve learned to my internship at Amgen.”

Vital Statistics
	Graduating Year: 2009
	Hometown: Salt Lake City, Utah
	Undergraduate and Previous Work Experience: B.A., Honors Economics, Brigham Young University, Master’s in Engineering, University of Utah, Analyst/Senior Analyst, Investment Banking Division, Morgan Stanley
	Major: Economics
	Internship while in the Program: Amgen
	Extracurricular Activities: Vice President, Merage Consulting Association, Vice President, Human Resources and Organizational Behavior Club, Merage School Representative, Association of Graduate Students, UC Irvine
	Just for Fun: Surfing, mountain biking, running, swimming, outdoor activities
	OC Favorite Places: In-N-Out Burger and Steelhead Brewery are right across the street from the school, and the Crab Cooker in Newport Beach is also a favorite spot.

Orange County is a Beautiful Place to Be The Merage School is unique in that by virtue of its location, there is both great weather and outdoor activities, combined with access to great career opportunities at dynamic companies. Orange County is a beautiful place with a lot of smart people who appreciate the value of the Merage School MBA education. The School’s location was a big draw for me, as I enjoy mountain biking, running, swimming, and most recently, surfing. I have access year-round to these and other types of activities. I also like the fact that I am close to other major Southern California metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles and San Diego, each of which is within an hour or two of the Merage School.

There’s No Ivory Tower at Merage It would be difficult for any other business school to be as close knit as the Merage School.  Professors not only have open doors; most of their offices are within steps of classrooms and study areas. While the faculty is highly respected for their scholarship, they are also very accessible and responsive. There’s no ivory tower at the Merage School. With healthy support from faculty, staff, returning students, and fellow first-years, the first year of the MBA was exciting. While in challenging core courses, we built a collaborative culture. I will miss the sense of togetherness as our paths diverge from our first-year sections.

"Orange County is a beautiful place with a lot of smart people who appreciate the value of the Merage School MBA education." Brad Stoker

The School’s Connections Got Me into Amgen Because of the existing relationship between Amgen and Merage, it was much easier for me to get an internship. The many Merage alumni at Amgen also helped me during and after the interview process. The Amgen internship was a tremendous opportunity for me to apply what I had learned in my classes to the real world. My position there was very strategic. In my role as a business analyst, I found that I could actually shape decisions on how the company markets their products.