How people around the Eccles School celebrated summer

Excitement is building as the first day of the new fall semester draws closer. As summer is coming to a close, we decided to take a moment to reflect on the commencing school year and took the opportunity to ask the Eccles School community the same question: What did you do this this summer?

The wide variety of answers showcases individuals holding the spirit of the Eccles values true to heart as they make their impact on the world in their own way. It’s been a successful summer, and we look forward to another great school year at the David Eccles School of Business.

Jeffrey Wang, Student

“Throughout four weeks in June and July, I had the opportunity to participate in a service abroad trip through Help International. While serving in Thailand, I was able to become directly involved in the development process. Some of the projects we completed as a team included public health lessons, English lessons, water filtration pipelines construction, playground building, tea tree planting, rice planting and more. The most meaningful part of this experience was forming connections with the village leaders and children. I am so grateful I was able to have this experience.”

Kris Bosman, Director of Alumni Relations

I’m writing this from the seventh hole at Alpine Golf Course in Egg Harbor, Wisconsin, where  I’ve just birdied the sixth hole (this is extremely rare). My family and I are in the middle of summer vacation with my extended family, where we’ve seen Hamilton in Chicago (amazing, of course), attended the baptism of my new niece, and are now relaxing in my family’s favorite spot, Door County, Wisconsin’s peninsula. Pre-vacation, I spent most of my summer shuttling my kids from basketball camp to anime camp to theater camp and am now anxiously awaiting the first day of School – both for them and for our Eccles School students!

Nico Bronzati, MHA Admissions Coordinator

This past summer has been a rollercoaster of emotions for my family and me. To start off, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2017 and went through various chemotherapy treatments for the following seven months. Fast-forward to early May 2018, where my mom was on the final stages of her recovery, and I had just graduated with my Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA). Just a few weeks later my mother was declared to be in complete remission, meaning all signs and symptoms of her cancer had disappeared. This sigh of relief came just a week before my girlfriend of four years, Abbey, and I celebrated our wedding with close family and friends. The week following our marriage consisted of a well-needed honeymoon trip to Ko Olina Bay, Hawaii, where we did nothing but relax and hang out by the beach. Most recently, I have accepted the position as the admissions coordinator for the MHA program here at the Eccles School, and I couldn’t be more thrilled about the opportunity. Between finishing graduate school, my mother’s battle with cancer, tying the knot with my best friend for life and starting a new career, I cannot say this summer went how I envisioned, but I’m not sure it could have turned out any more perfect than it did.

Gabe Moreno, Student

Here’s a quick recap of my summer:
  • Sorenson Impact Center
    • My internship in the communications & marketing team at the Center turned into a full-time job over the summer
    • As a Communications Impact Fellow, I managed a team of interns, and created and managed websites, social media accounts, newsletters, graphics, marketing materials, advertising, press releases and center-wide outreach campaigns.
  • Other Adventures
    • I spent a week in New York exploring the city.
    • I went backpacking a few times.

Samantha Brodey, M.Ed., Administrative Manager (Scholarships)

Summer is my busy time at work for awarding and processing scholarships, so I usually don’t take a long vacation over the summer.  Nevertheless, I try to get outside as much as possible and go mountain biking in Park City or hiking at Snowbird, which is also my favorite winter destination.

Laura Schwartz, Student Engagement & Assessment Manager

I was spoiled this summer and spent most of my time wandering outdoors, which is always my preference! I was thrilled to spend time with friends in Portland, OR, family in Cleveland, OH, and my sisters in Yellowstone National Park and Las Vegas (predominantly for a Paul Simon concert). I also kept myself busy reading, backpacking with my partner and dog, and wheel-throwing pottery. A true highlight of my summer was starting my new position with student engagement & assessment at the Eccles School!

Tristan Johnson, Accounting and Information Systems Student

This summer, I left my 3-year tenure at Goldman Sachs for my new job at L3 Technologies, working as an industrial engineer. It has been an incredible experience, and I love my team here! So far I’ve learned two new coding languages, with plenty more down the pipeline. I also spent much of my summer on campus, whether it be going to classes or working with my wonderful officers to plan for the upcoming year for TEK Club, the Eccles School technical club. Outside school and work, I spent as much time as I could outdoors! In early May I went on a 10 mile backpacking trip to Havasupai, Arizona where my boyfriend proposed and it couldn’t have been more beautiful.

Brittany Wonsor, MAcc Admissions Coordinator

This summer I embarked on a lot of “firsts.” I finally made it camping for my first time in the Uintas with a group of friends. I embarked on my first solo-hike to Red Pine Lake, which had been on my hiking list since I moved here about two years ago. The peak of my summer, however, was a short road trip I took to Arizona to visit a friend and her newborn baby. The two-day trek allowed time for me to do some short hikes and visit horseshoe bend as well as the Grand Canyon.

Kevin Parrella, Student

Last semester I had an accident snowboarding and I broke my back, so I have used this summer to focus on getting back in shape, dieting, working out and doing a lot of physical therapy. Other than that and working at the Corporate Outreach office at the Eccles School, I have also used my summer to catch up on some photoshoots I had scheduled during the semester that I hadn’t had time to do. One of the photoshoots was even for the Eccles School. My family also came up from Brazil, where they live, and we spent a couple of weeks in Florida enjoying some family time.

Thad Kelling, Marketing and Public Relations Director at Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute

I took several trips during the summer. The biggest one was an annual trip back to my home state of North Dakota. While there, I enjoyed seeing friends and family and visiting my late grandfather’s ranch. My favorite thing to do there is sitting on the front porch, watching the clouds pass and catching up with relatives.

Lindsay Nelson, Associate Director of Development

I spent most of my vacation time and weekends in the mountains. My husband, kids and I headed to Bear Lake for a weekend and played at the north shore of the “Caribbean of the Rockies.” We also went camping in Logan Canyon, rafting on Tony Grove Lake and fishing. I spent a week in the Uintas with a group of youth from my church, where we did team building activities, archery, hiking, off-roading, yoga and painting in the trees. It was a fun summer, but we’re saving the biggest trip for this fall. We’re taking our sons, ages 11 and 7, to Disneyland for the first time in September, and are excited about for that next adventure!

Sara Fladmo, Business Systems Analyst

I spent weekends this summer camping all over the state. My 2 children, sister and niece all fit in my pop-up camper. After five days in Moab in July, my niece made me promise to never camp in the desert again. Many trout were caught in Idaho at Willow Flat campground, and the kids had a blast at Bear Lake. I also celebrated my daughter’s second birthday and helped my son get ready for kindergarten this fall.

Leentje Klingensmith, Alumni Events Coordinator

This summer began for me the second I threw my cap in the air at graduation! After celebrating with family and friends, my husband, Luke, and puppy, Lucy, and I hit the road to California. We had so much fun exploring Newport and Huntington Beach before adventuring to Disneyland. I thoroughly enjoyed the break from school by taking the time to get caught up on books I wanted to read and just relaxing. My family has an annual tradition of going up to Strawberry Reservoir for a big crawfish boil over Pioneer Day weekend, and it is always the highlight of my summer. I started my full-time position in Alumni Relations and Developemnt here at the Eccles School in June and have enjoyed settling into a new routine as summer winds down.

Amelia Dyck-Mccrary, Student

This summer I worked at my part-time job at Whole Foods and started as a Marketing + Communications intern for the Eccles School, all while taking summer classes. It was a busy summer indeed, but it helped me build character going into my junior year. When I wasn’t busy being an adult, I enjoyed hiking, trail runs and hanging out with my friends from other schools.

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