Student Accomplishments and Highlights

Woman of the Year

Huntsman student, Grace McGuire, was nominated for the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year Award. McGuire, a goalkeeper for the USU soccer team, graduated in May, 2019 with her MBA, having previously earned her BA in Management.
McGuire led all keepers a season ago by playing more than 1,400 minutes in goal and led the Aggies with 80 saves, the ninth-most in a single season in Utah State history. McGuire started between the posts in each of USU’s victories last season and ranks sixth in school history with a 1.13 career goals against average.
Established in 1991, the NCAA Woman of the Year award recognizes graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.
In addition to her excellent academic record and athletic achievements, McGuire served as the Mountain West Conference’s NCAA representative for the conference’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). She interned in Washington, D.C. as a member of Representative Mia Love’s staff during the summer of 2017.

Undergraduate Researcher & Scholar of the Year

It seems Ivan Cheah has always had a head for research, having worked on a research project at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece to develop a prototypical software application at the age of 14, and at 16, developing a basic accounting information system from scratch. As an under-grad in the Management Information Systems Department, he performed and presented academic research with two faculty members. Having grown up in poverty in Malaysia, one of Ivan’s goals is to inspire and support children from impoverished areas to pursue their ambitions.

Chapter of the Year

The USU student chapter of the Association for Information Systems (AIS), an international professional association for individuals and organizations that research, teach, practice, and study information systems, was awarded AIS Student Chapter of the Year – the highest award given to any AIS chapter.
Dr. David Olsen, the Management Information Systems Department Head, believes the student club provides immense value to students by bringing outstanding practitioners and leaders to the AIS speaker series and by offering technical presentations on cutting-edge technologies that give students a competitive edge.
This substantial value is not missed by the leaders and students in the club. “AIS has really grown into a fantastic program over the last few years,” said Benton Smith, the Vice President of Events for AIS. “Members from all majors can listen to great speakers, learn technical skills, and participate in competitions. It’s really a great way for students to get involved, meet new friends, and learn some marketable skills.”

Winning Team

For the second straight year, a trio of students from the Huntsman School won the state-level competition for the CFA Institute Research Challenge. 
The team of Tyson Clark, Kemerey Thompson, and James Huber advanced to the final round on the strength of their written research report, and then secured first-place honors with their verbal presentation on Pluralsight, an online education company based in Farmington, Utah. 
Overseen by the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute, the Research Challenge is a global competition involving more than 5,000 participants from more than 1,000 universities each year. Working in teams, students gain real-world experience as they assume the role of research analysts and are judged on their ability to value a stock, write a research report, and then create a presentation on a buy, sell, or hold strategy surrounding the company’s stock.