Microsoft Unveils Office 2010 Beta with Video Featuring USU Student

As Microsoft unveils Office 2010 beta this week, one student from the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business will play a key role in the company’s efforts to promote the benefits of the new product worldwide.

In spring 2009, more than 30,000 individuals applied to beta-test Office 2010. From those 30,000, 30 were invited to join the beta-test program. Sterling Morris, a Huntsman Scholar with a dual major in international business and economics at Utah State University, was one of them. In fact, he is one of only three people Microsoft is now featuring on its Web site and at a major event, the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that started Jan. 7.

The Utah State University student was sent a laptop running Office 2010 beta in July, and utilized the new applications heavily during his on-campus classes and while traveling abroad as a Huntsman Scholar. Microsoft Office 2010 includes such applications as Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint. In fact, when Microsoft caught up with Sterling to interview him about his experience, he was in South America. In Peru he worked with other Huntsman Scholar volunteers who staffed several eye-glass clinics for those in need. The clinics were sponsored by The Hope Alliance, a non-profit based in Salt Lake City, and were set up by Logan residents Richard and JoAn Criddle.  

Morris’ experience was part of the reason that he was selected to be featured in a video profiling how Office 2010 beta impacts his life, according to Rachel Russell, Office 2010 consumer launch lead.

“Sterling was picked because his story was really multifaceted and compelling,” Russell said. “We were looking for college students as well as small businesses and families, and Sterling was unique in terms of his international travel and his philanthropic work. We felt he could stretch the boundaries of Office 2010 beta and share his experiences using the product in a variety of scenarios.”

Morris said his work as a Huntsman Scholar has given him ample opportunities to test out the new software.

“It was easy to give them honest feedback on their software because I had used it extensively,” he said. “I think the many opportunities I’ve had through the Huntsman School of Business made my story more intriguing to Microsoft.”

Huntsman Scholars participate in an intense academic program that emphasizes the importance of ethical leadership and innovative thinking, according to Dean Douglas Anderson. As the students travel around the world, they apply the analytical skills they’ve gained in the classroom and many of them work with the Huntsman School’s SEED program that helps third-world entrepreneurs start their own businesses, he said.

“Sterling truly exemplifies what it means to be a Huntsman Scholar,” Anderson said. “The Huntsman Scholars travel the world meeting directly with government, business and academic leaders as they develop the leadership skills they’ll need to be successful in a competitive global marketplace. The service work they do in Peru and around the world has changed lives. It’s rewarding to see a global firm like Microsoft recognize one of our students and the unique experience he has gained.”

Morris’ video is available on the Microsoft Web site (http://office.com/beta), and is being shown at the Microsoft booth at the Consumer Electronics Show Jan. 7-10, in Las Vegas. It is also posted on the Huntsman Web site. (https://huntsman.usu.edu/index.cfm?news&multimedia&sterling-morris-microsoft-office)

The Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University seeks to inspire and equip students to become innovative, ethical leaders with refined analytical skills that will help them understand and succeed in the global marketplace. The Huntsman School of Business is one of seven colleges at USU, located in the Wasatch Range of northern Utah. More information may be found on the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business Web site.