Melissa King

Brigham Young University, Marriott School of Business

“Single mom of 6 who aspires to help entrepreneurs fulfill their business dreams.”

Hometown: Santa Barbara, California

Fun fact about yourself: I have two sets of twins.

Undergraduate School and Degree: Bachelor of Applied Business Management (accounting emphasis), Brigham Young University – Idaho

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? CFO of Spring Gardens Nursery in Texas.

Where did you intern during the summer of 2023? Walmart in their merchandise operations department, Arkansas

Where will you be working after graduation? General Management Acceleration Program at Republic Services for Utah and Arizona

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

Head student mentor for the MBA program

Chairperson for the women’s business conference (March 2024)

Leadership group for the MBA Kaizen group

MBA first year section leadership

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? As I worked with the MBA Kaizen group, we noticed a need for increased mental health resources for students in the MBA program due to the pressures of business school. We collected data and brought it back to the MBA program administration. Our efforts prompted significant adjustments. For example, we found that new student orientation was really overwhelming because it was like drinking from a firehose. The program added kickoff meetings before the program started as a soft introduction, and they also broke down orientation into smaller doses. Based on our feedback, the MBA program also adjusted the mentoring program to provide a support system to other students. We compiled a list of mental health resources for students so they could easily access services on campus. It made a huge difference for the students who just entered their first year.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? At Spring Gardens Nursey, I started an internship program to help new horticultural graduates. At a networking event, I met a professor of plant and soil sciences from Sam Houston University who said it was hard for graduates to get real world experience. So we set up a mentoring program, bringing students from Sam Houston to come and work with us at Spring Gardens Nursery. I introduced them to different areas of the company and rotated them through different career types to help them foster growth and see what they’re interested in. Our first year, we took three interns, and it was wonderful to mentor them and help them find parts of the industry in which they could thrive. One went on to work in parks and recreation, another moved up in a growing facility, and one started their own business.

Why did you choose this business school? Originally, I was looking at executive MBA programs because, as a single mom with full responsibility for six kids, it was hard to give up my job to do school full time. But I knew that a full-time MBA program would offer a different experience. I chose the BYU Marriott School of Business because I don’t just want to be a leader—I want to be a servant leader. At BYU Marriott, I would not only receive the academic learning and prowess that comes from the faculty here who have done great things and have great backgrounds to learn from, but I would also learn under the school’s vision to develop Christlike leaders. Here, I can gain the skills necessary to be a leader and also develop a servant-leadership mentality.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Professor Tom Peterson is probably the most impactful professor I have had during my MBA. He teaches a class called Blue Forge Studio, where we learn entrepreneurial skills and have the opportunity to consult for growth stage companies. He is the most impactful professor because he teaches us how to be wise in our decision making and to also be humble.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? I loved Advanced Corporate Finance with Taylor Nadauld because he teaches students how to be skilled finance professionals.  You learn how to have finance be the slave to strategy rather than the other way around—meaning that you’re able to fulfill your strategy through keen financial management rather than your finances dictating how you have to work strategically. That’s when businesses really succeed.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? At the beginning of the school year, all the first-years go on an actual trip with the other students in our track of the program. It’s an opportunity to really get to know and bond with your group from the very beginning. My first year I was in the finance track, and our group went to Park City where we rafted and did other events. Normally you only go your first year. After I interned at Walmart last summer, I was invited to attend the operations track trip as a mentor and help the first years understand working for a company like Walmart.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? I would probably get more involved in the other resources available at BYU. In my first semester, I was so busy trying to make sure I was keeping up with the program that I didn’t see all the resources available through the university, like the BYU Grad Studies office. So if I did it again, I probably would get more involved and take the time to learn from and network with students in other master’s programs outside the MBA program.

What is the biggest myth about your school? I thought coming here that I wouldn’t have a diverse class, and I am wonderfully surprised and enriched by the diverse class that exists here at BYU. There are people from all over the world and a large majority of the students in my class speak a second language. I been so enriched by them and their experiences.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? Having never lived in the mountains, I have grown to love these mountains. Provo is beautiful and offers so many wonderful outdoor activities and things to do. I love it. The view from the school offices and the work rooms is amazing. When you’re really stressed out and you’re in a study room, you realize, “Oh, I can look at these beautiful mountains.”

What surprised you the most about business school? I was surprised about how much time each professor makes for the students and how invested they are in our growth. I expected them to be cheering us on, but not at the level that they do. Their doors are always open. They tell us to text them when we need something, or they’ll connect us to other people who can help. They are our biggest cheerleaders.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? Brittany Bennion is a mom of five and we met at a women’s dinner. What’s so great about Brittany is that she is a very skilled professional in marketing, but she also gives back so much to this program. She runs a household of five amazing children while being pregnant with her sixth. Brittany and I were just chatting one day, and we felt like we wanted an opportunity to help women be elevated and grow through a network of women. And so we put together the idea of a women in business conference that’s happening in March. She is just amazing.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?

1. Invest money in, work on a board of, or start a company that gives microloans to women hoping to start small business and succeed in entrepreneurship.

2. Be the type of leader that can not only lift the business I’m working for to success but also lift others in the company and help them find professional success.

What made Melissa such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2024?

“Melissa Stone has made an exceptional difference in the BYU Marriott MBA program this past year, all while managing her home as a single mother with six children and caring for an aging mother. Her contributions to the MBA program include:

1. She was selected for our prestigious “Head Mentor” position and managed a team of 7 Track Leads and 55 “MBA Mentors” who helped the incoming class of MBAs adjust to school and in managing their career search.

2. She genuinely and deeply cares about the students and their personal, academic, and career success. She can regularly be found coaching students with “mock interviews,” resume reviews, and company connections.

3. Melissa’s leadership style encourages everyone to seek her out—she is smart and understands business, yet she is compassionate and meets everyone where they are. She is genuine and authentic toward all. It is no wonder that she had several companies competing for her with full-time offers.”

Perry Christensen
Director of MBA Career Management

DON’T MISS: MBAS TO WATCH: CLASS OF 2024