My Journey from Music to Business

My life up to 2016 revolved around piano and music composition. I always been in love with great piano compositions and incredible classical performances. I get it from my family; both of my grandpas' careers were in music, and my mom was a music education major at BYU. I started playing piano for my ward when I was 13. 

As I moved through my music composition classes, I realized I didn't have much of a specific career path in mind; Rather, I just liked music!

It got me thinking about my future financial situation, so I got a minor in business. I took the prerequisites for applying the Marriott School during the 2015-2016 school year. Surprisingly, I did well in the classes, though I was not interested in marketing, finance, and accounting, though I thought economics was fascinating.

During one of my marketing classes a professor from the Global Supply Chain (GSC) program introduced me to the major. He taught me how supply chains affect every aspect of our lives and is a growing industry. As an added bonus, he broke an iPhone during the presentation. Leaving the lecture curious, I talked to students in the program and a GSC professor who was once a musician like myself.

Even though I was happy as a music major, I felt like GSC could broaden my horizons and prepare me to get a job when I graduated. I decided to apply. Much to my surprise, I got into the program!

Since I’ve been in the program, many musicians have condemned me for switching music to pursue business. If you're one of them, let me tell you I haven’t abandoned music. In fact, on April 4 I’m playing a piano concerto that was composed by a composition major. Music is still a big part of my life.

Believe it or not, life’s been easier as a business student. I actually enjoy composing and performing music more now than as a music major because I play on my own time. I’m also financially less stressed; I’m making more money in my current supply chain job than ever before.

For the record, I’m glad I’m in GSC but I don’t find anything wrong with studying music. I applaud all music students because I value fabulous classical music. Yet, my switch to GSC was the right decision; I’m confident I will have a bright future in business while still enjoying music.

Vegetarianism

Vegetarianism

Growing up as a Mormon outside of Utah, I get questions about my faith. Almost all Mormons can relate, even ones in Utah. For most, the temptation of drinking coffee or alcohol isn’t hard to bear; we are quite content with chocolate milk and board games. Rather, peer pressure makes living life difficult. That’s what’s hard being Mormon and vegetarian. A vegetarian doesn’t eat meat.

Vegetarians’ standards face the same stigma within the Mormon community because Mormons love meat. Meat is necessary at most LDS gatherings. When I tell people I’ve been a vegetarian for almost a year, they’re first thought is, “Why are you vegetarian? Don’t you miss eating meat?” I give my response based on scientific research on the effects of meat on the environment and your personal health. People are respectful 99% of the time, even though many people disagree with my lifestyle choices.

My mom disagreed with vegetarianism long ago. From what I remember, she talked about how God gave us dominion over the earth. Surprisingly, she became vegan when she got breast cancer and researched the benefits of veganism. In case you don’t know, A vegan is somebody who doesn’t eat any animal products like meat, dairy, and even odd products contain parts of animals like some medicines or marshmallows. It’s the next level of vegetarianism. By being vegan, my mom significantly reduces her risk of getting breast cancer again.

Below are some questions I get and my answers:

Q: Where do you get your protein?

A: Many plant-based foods contain protein. In fact, vegetarians and vegans get 70% more protein than they need¹. So … where did this question even come from? I don’t really know.

Q: Do you ever feel full?

A: Of course! I never have problems getting enough food. Most restaurants provide vegetarian/vegan options.

Q: What about vitamin B12 deficiency?

A: This is a valid criticism of vegetarianism; many don’t get enough B12, which can lead to things like nerve damage; however, many foods are fortified with B12 (i.e. most cold cereals, sports drinks, almond milk etc). This is because B12 is naturally found in the soil. Animals eat the soil. People eat animals. People get B12. The vegetarian way is to get your B12 directly from the soil.

Q: What about God giving us dominion over the earth?

A: He said long before anybody cared about climate change or deforestation or animal manufacturing. He knew we need to take care of the earth. That doesn’t answer your real question which goes something like this: Hasn’t God given us animals to eat? D&C 89: 12-13 describes my opinion on that.

Do you see the similarities between questions for vegetarian and questions for Mormons? In both cases, I don’t push my beliefs on anybody. Instead, I want everybody to understand and respect my decisions. I’ll respect yours.

11.  http://www.care2.com/greenliving/do-vegetarians-get-enough-protein.html

Why Spotify?

How we listen to music has evolved dramatically in the past 50 years. While many people don't see the evolution of music channels as less significant that than of other evolutions like technologies, it has made music easier and easier to listen to. How dull would the world have been without the record player, cassette, CD, radios, or even the iTunes store?

I see Spotify as the next generation of music listening because you can listen to practically any song. If you get premium you can download thousands of songs from their entire library on your phone with no commercials. I don’t see how music listening to could get any more convenient for me. You can make playlists to customize your listening experience.

Naturally, we’d like to listen to music for free, but this is a better option; artists worth listening to actually get revenue which allows them to produce more songs that would not have been produced without that revenue. This is a zero-sum situation because artists win by getting paid by Spotify and we spend less on music and have it on our smartphones.

Two downsides I hear about Spotify from my friends is Spotify requires more work than radio, and they don’t have storage on their phone for the songs. The first downside is easily refutable; Spotify has radio options. The second downside is just a problem with people’s phones. Get a new phone and be over with it!

I see that many competitors will try to challenge Spotify’s power because Spotify has been listen to music easier than ever. CDs and even the iTunes store won’t stand a chance against Spotify in the next ten years. With Google Music and Apple Music jumping on board, it’s clear music is only becoming more accessible than ever.

Why Amazon is the BEST Place to Work

This blog post is just a celebration. I just got an internship as an operations finance summer intern at Amazon! I've applied and interviewed at many companies in the past few months, but Amazon has always been at the top of my list. I'm not kidding; at the beginning of last semester I made a list of the top 40 companies I wanted to work for, and Amazon was at the top. It has everything that a new supply chain management student could ask for: an environment of creativity and innovation, potential, resume experience, and challenges. 

I actually just stumbled upon their info session in January in the TNRB because a friend was going and Amazon provided free food. I heard their message and realized how amazing their company was. (Just Google "Amazon innovation" and you'll see how amazing they are.) On top of that, I realized that my experience as an Amazon seller at my current job at Super Healthy Kids would uniquely qualify me for this role. The next day at the career fair I talked to the recruiter and she put my name down for an interview. Three phone interviews later, I got an offer from Amazon! 

In the process I talked to several people who have worked at Amazon. They all mention how fast-paced the culture is, but how rewarding it is, too. That's what I want to hear in a company. I'm an ENFJ personality, and I want to make a difference in the world, so Amazon is where I want to go. Plus, they pay pretty well, even for interns. 

Provo: Home of the Happy and the Stressed

How can the happiest town produce the most stress-inducing college? That's the case for Provo and Brigham Young University. USA Today ranked Provo the #1 happiest town in the US in 2014 while CollegeMagazine.com rated #4 in the nation in overall stress levels in 2013.

We understand that BYU expects great things out of its students; i.e., the honor code, academic excellence, and missionary service. This trend has built many great leaders of the church and built a great name for BYU. But it comes at a cost.

Go to a testimony meeting in a student ward at BYU and hear the underlying message of almost all of the testimonies.  Count how many times you hear words like trials, tests, troubles, difficulties, and problems. Granted, things typically turn out well because they rely on the Lord, but I don't see why everybody has to feel so much stress in the first place.

Spring break is BYU's attempt at decreasing students' stress levels; however, this just chips away at a much deeper problem. That problem is pressure. Students are always having a hard time handling pressure, especially when everybody else looks like they are doing just fine.

What would happen if BYU decided to focus more on learning and enjoying life and lesson and grading and campus rules? I'm confident students would be more satisfied with their education and still be able to get the jobs that BYU expects them to get. Additionally, the average age of marriage would go down because students aren't stuck studying for a test that's curved. We would actually fulfill our purpose: "men are that they might have joy" (Alma 32:34). 

The Story of "A Refugee Story: from Citizen to Castaway"

Have you ever run into somebody you haven't seen in over five years and they ask, "what have you been up to?" Typically, you just say "oh, ya know... nothin' much. How about yourself?" Later, you start asking yourself the same question - what have I done? Most people cover up their undertakings during face-to-face conversation, but have you ever thought what you could say? Maybe you'd ask yourself the following: "If I'm busy all of the time, what am I busy doing?"

A few months ago, I felt like I was just running in circles, doing work and school and scraping any remaining time with my friends. I'm not saying it was bad, but it wasn't remarkable to me. If you have a similar life to the one I had (and now have), I'm not saying your life isn't satisfying, I'm just explaining why I decided to make "A Refugee Story." I wanted to make a difference, albeit tiny one. Nevertheless I don't want to hide that my intent in writing this is to have people—YOU!—make a difference and do good as well.

Before school started in late August, I started working on a charity run created by students called Run4Refuge. I was intrigued by the idea that regular students could go out of their way to do something meaningful. I sought to turn my music background and business skills to make something that's never been done before, too. The idea was a benefit event would fill the people's demand for helping refugees at BYU. I started talking to people. One conversation led to the next and actions led to more actions. Before I knew it, BYU Humanitarian Club had approved the event, people had started volunteering, and we got speakers and musicians for the big night.

I spent 30-40 hours a week in the month and a half leading up to the event. It didn’t happen because of hard work alone, though. Clear to me, it happened because of dozens of small miracles. I wanted to give up about six times from beginning to end because of tough obstacles. To my surprise, every time I felt like giving up, another miracle would occur! For example, when we found out from BYUSA that we could not actually do the silent auction, which raised $465, I was considering eliminating the cultural fair completely. Then unexpectedly, 24 hours later, the BYUSA advisor over the event (who initially said it was impossible) called me and told me a unique way to still raise funds.

I'm convinced all the miracles came through other people. As the event drew closer, people would show up at the right time to fill in the necessary roles to make it succesful. Every type of volunteering included; i.e., booklets, musical performers, advertising, fundraising, organization, etc., I estimate that total volunteer time totaled to about 1,200 hours. Each hour made a significant difference. In the end, we raised almost $2,200 towards Lifting Hands International. 

My last takeaway from the event is really simple: people want to do good and make a big impact. I hope that my efforts showed them that making a difference is possible.