Meet the Vanderbilt Owen MBA Class of 2018

Maria Jose Rodriguez Gaitan

Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: I love throwing myself out of my comfort zone.

Hometown: Bogotá, Colombia and Quito, Ecuador

Fun Fact About Yourself: I am terrified of heights, yet I convinced myself to join a mountaineering club for three years, and in the process, I climbed a 19,347-foot-high volcano.

Undergraduate School and Major: BA in Fashion Design, Colegiatura Colombiana Institucion Universitaria

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:

GM Gustavo Moscoso – Head of Design, Product and Business Development

Manufacturas Americanas – Head of Design

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My greatest challenge happened during my first job, right after graduation, and it led to my biggest accomplishment.

I joined a shirt manufacturing company as a fashion designer, but I immediately realized that the job required me to be more than just a fashion designer. The company had been producing the same basic shirts for over 50 years. With the entrance of big fashion groups in Ecuador, it was experiencing a drastic decrease in sales.

Seeing that something needed to be done, I decided to apply the guidelines that I learned as a designer: observe, create, test, and refine. Using this strategy, I set up a new design department and a process that integrated the creative department with manufacturing and sales. It was a difficult process; some of my proposed ideas didn’t work out and many of them met resistance. In the end, however, I was able to work with the manufacturing, sales, and marketing teams to implement my ideas, revolutionize the company’s old process, and help the company remain competitive in the face of a changing market.

Looking back on your experience, what advice would you give to future business school applicants? Start early. As soon as you decide that you want to apply to an MBA program, get a journal. Start writing about why you are pursuing an MBA and what you want to get out of it. Consider writing about yourself and what you are passionate about. This journal will be helpful in at least three ways:

1. Application essays will be easier – all the material you need is in your journal.
2. It will serve as a guide for which schools to apply to.
3. When you are stressed about the application process and feel like giving up, it will serve as a reminder of why you want to pursue an MBA.

Remember that a successful application always has a great story behind it, so learn how to tell your unique story.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA? There are three main reasons why I chose Vanderbilt Business: collaboration, personalization, and location. Vanderbilt’s community is truly collaborative. From the staff to students, everyone is open to helping and supporting you in any way they can. Another main factor was the size of the program. Because we have a smaller class size, you get to know everyone on the staff and, with their help, tailor the program to your specific needs. In my case, coming from a nontraditional background, I have been able to leverage these conversations and relationships to customize a career path that resonates with me. Finally, there is Nashville. The city is growing, and there are so many startups, which creates a great environment for collaboration and innovation.

Tell us about your dream job or dream employer at this point in your life? I would love to work for IDEO. They work on solving problems through design, and they demonstrate that cross-cultural collaboration is key to innovation. When we confront people who think different than us, we are forced to re-evaluate our positions, and we learn in the process. By doing so, we are able to find solutions that we would have never ideated on our own. I want to work for a company that allows me to learn every day, make an impact, and push my limits. IDEO is one of those companies.

What would you like your business school peers to say about you after you graduate from this program? “I loved working with her.”

Whether I helped them, taught them, or just supported them in their endeavors, I want to make sure that I contributed positively to their lives.