Meet Braden Hancock (’14)

Posted by Jeffrey S. McClellan (BA ’94), Editor

Hometown and High School: Fairborn, Ohio; Beavercreek High School

Applied To: Only BYU, but tempted by MIT

Major Plans: Mechanical engineering

Interests and Achievements: Performed twice in the Hill Cumorah Pageant, once as a Lamanite warrior and once as Lemuel; played drums in high school marching and jazz bands and performed in show choir and musicals; participated in math and science competitions and Advanced Placement classes; National Merit Scholar and Thomas S. Monson Scholar; worked two summers in the turbine division at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, processing data from engine sensors.

Plans to Bring to Provo: Toby and Al—two of his collection of 29 gnomes. Toby was his first.

True Blue: “I was wearing BYU clothes before I knew it was even a college,” says Braden Hancock, whose father, mother, and two older siblings went to BYU. “It’s always been the plan—BYU is the place to go for an undergrad.”

Growing up in Ohio, Braden developed the belief that “Mormons go to BYU.” When he was about 9 years old, his family attended a BYU–Weber State basketball game while on a trip to Utah. Young Braden was surprised to see his Ogden cousins cheering for Weber State. “I don’t get it,” he said to his brother. “They’re all good members of the Church. Why are they not cheering for BYU?” With the added wisdom of a decade and his imminent status as a Cougar, Braden reflects on that experience anew: “I still don’t get it. Why would you not cheer for BYU?”

Optimizing His BYU Experience: With a careful life road map already drawn out, Braden plans to get an engineering PhD (and possibly pick up an MBA along the way) and work in industry doing optimization. “I love saving time, saving money—just complete efficiency,” he says, talking rapidly. But the immediate next step in the plan—the BYU experience—presents some sources of anxiety for Braden. “It’s kind of stressful, this first bit at BYU. There’s so much, and I can never do it again. I want to make sure I do everything right the first time. So there’s pressure to discover everything right away and not miss out on any programs.”

Braden’s views on optimizing his BYU experience are not confined to academics. He went online and selected a ground-floor apartment in the Heritage Halls building closest to campus. But then he received an e-mail from his bishop-to-be and learned he would be in a student ward that includes two buildings of men and one building of women. It doesn’t take a math wiz to know the odds weren’t ideal, and Braden went back online seeking to trade rooms. He found a taker in a ward with a better gender balance, but this apartment was in the far northeast corner of Heritage Halls, and Braden faced an optimization challenge: which do you favor, campus proximity or social potential? “I traded my first-floor, perfect-location apartment for the top floor of the farthest building—but at least it’s a one-to-one ratio.”

And while Braden anticipates engineering clubs, math classes, and research opportunities, he is also mapping out a few lighter activities. “Fencing club sounds fun,” he says. “It’s something where it’s not a huge time demand, but still, who wouldn’t like to sword fight?”