Honors Alumnus Luke Jowers recently began an MBA program at Harvard Business School. Getting into this program has been a goal of Luke’s for a long time. We are thrilled to celebrate his recent accomplishment.

Luke graduated from the University of Utah in 2020 with an Honors Bachelor of Science in Quantitative Analysis of Markets & Organizations (QAMO) and a Bachelor of Science in Political Science. During the last year of his undergraduate education Luke was accepted to Harvard’s “2 + 2” deferred admissions program, which guaranteed him a spot in their MBA program after 2-4 years of work.

Luke spent the next few years building his work experience in the government technology space in a variety of roles. After graduating, Luke moved to Washington DC to work for Palantir Technologies as a Deployment Strategist where he managed software deployments for the United States’ military. Luke then decided to join a public-safety focused start-up called Peregrine Technologies in San Francisco. While at Peregrine, he led projects helping emergency responders and police to improve wildfire response and police operations. Luke also helped stand up and lead the companies’ strategy and finance team, which enabled the companies’ rapid growth.

Luke is excited to now be pursuing an MBA and aspires to use his skills in business to solve societal problems. In the future, he wants to tackle these challenges at the intersection of the public and private sectors by harnessing the scale and resources of the government as well as the innovation of the private sector. He sees himself likely working in the government technology space following business school and wants to start or invest in a business that makes a difference for communities.

Luke is grateful for his time at the University of Utah, and in the Honors College. One of the most memorable parts of his Honors experience was writing his thesis titled “The Impact of Political Partisanship on Voting Behavior”. Writing a thesis made him a more competitive candidate for graduate school as well as gave Luke opportunities to connect with others in intellectual ways, which has led to many meaningful conversations.

His advice for applicants to graduate school: start early and get involved outside the classroom. Luke worked hard to earn a strong GPA and test scores, but he felt it was important to demonstrate that he was more well-rounded. Throughout his college experience, he consistently had a job or internship that enabled him to gain experience and have impact outside of school. He linked these experiences together to create a compelling personal and professional narrative for graduate schools and employers. He is grateful that he got involved outside of school and believes that it matters more what you have done in the real world than what you have done inside of the classroom.

We are excited for Luke to continue his education and see where his future goals and career path lead him