A Proud Wife

I have to take this opportunity to brag about my husband a little bit. 

Because, well, he is pretty awesome.

Yesterday we attended a luncheon where he and 9 other classmates were honored with the 

Hawes Scholarship.

This was truly special because, before coming to business school, he was afraid he might not be able to handle it.

Not because he is not smart or not a hard worker, but because he has high expectations for himself. 

Now, 2 short years later, he is among those receiving the highest distinction given to a MBA student at BYU.

The Hawes Scholarship is not awarded based on academic excellence (although I'm sure all of the Hawes scholars are excelling academically) or best internship/job, etc. It is awarded to the students that contribute to building up the MBA program far beyond what is expected. Each of these recipients made an effort to support and mentor their classmates, participate in leadership positions, help others get more involved, etc.

The qualities that BYU looks for in the recipients of this award sum up Derek perfectly.

He is an incredibly selfless person who sincerely enjoys helping people and watching them succeed.

Even though he's had a lot on his plate throughout the program, he doesn't hesitate to make time for others.

He is a mentor to a group of marketing students and I can see how invested he is in each of them.

He just genuinely cares about people. 

At the award luncheon, the Director of the MBA program said something that I really liked.

He said that in today's economy, we need transformational leaders.

Leaders that go beyond the incentive-reward approach and focus on collaboration and providing opportunities for their employees to grow.

Leaders who will take the time to mentor their employees and help them reach their goals.

Derek is that kind of leader.

I'll end my bragging there, although there is much more I can say. 

I'm just so proud of my husband for all of his hard work and making the most of his business school experience.

He will continue to be an amazing representative of BYU's MBA program.

Big congratulations to all of this year's Hawes Scholars!!

You can read about all of the Hawes Scholars at: http://marriottschool.byu.edu/news/index/article?id=915