Happy New Year: We're Going to Arkansas!

Some of you have probably heard and some of you are probably interested to know, the Hugh Family is heading to Arkansas and I, Ronell, will be working for Walmart Corporate. I have been blessed in my business school experience to have multiple offers from reputable companies (Adobe and Xerox) in two industries. But ultimately, we felt Walmart would provide us with the best opportunity and experience for our future.

Let me you tell how we made the decision. First, I had been networking and working on a full-time position as a Product Manager at Microsoft and felt that Bri and I needed to have a good idea of Walmart and Arkansas before a final interview with Microsoft happened. After receiving my offer from Walmart in October, I told Bri that we need to head east and check out Bentonville. So, during the first weekend in December, Bri and I made the journey out to Arkansas for a 4 day weekend. We thoroughly enjoyed our experience. The company was awesome, the community was family-friendly and -oriented, and we both felt it would be the best opportunity and experience for our family as whole. Once we returned to Utah, we decided that we now needed to wait and see what happened with Microsoft.

I received an email while we were in Arkansas from my Microsoft recruiter informing me that the Office team wanted to interview me on Friday, December 10. I made my preparations and flew out to interview with Microsoft. When I arrived, I was the only person from a school west of the Mississippi. I was interviewing with students from Wharton (3), Harvard (2), Duke and Carnegie Mellon. I did my best and decided that now it's in the hands of the decision-makers and the Lord. After my interview, I waited until the next Thursday and received a "no" from Microsoft. Two days later, we left for vacation in Oregon with my in-laws.

On Monday I received an offer from Adobe (Omniture) and they gave me 4 days (Christmas Eve) to make my decision. With the pressure on, I went to the Portland Temple and contemplated my little family's future. Bri (who was sick) joined me later in the temple and we talked and received the resounding reassurance that the Walmart is the best opportunity and experience for our family. We felt at peace about our decisions and I informed Adobe that I couldn't accept their great offer and on Christmas Eve I informed Walmart that I would be heading to Bentonville.

We are excited as a family for this new opportunity and now look forward to finding a great house to make our home and getting ready for the journey of a lifetime.