Tia Secasiu

Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management

“Upbeat Pacific Northwesterner, loves finding “off the beaten path” solutions in both business and nature.”

Hometown: Portland, OR

Fun Fact About Yourself: A friend gifted me a book of 60 essential hikes around Portland, and I decided to hike all of them. I’ve made it through 48!

Undergraduate School and Major: University of Washington. Cell, Molecular and Developmental Biology, BS

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Nike, Inc. Print and Pattern Textile Developer

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: While working at Nike, I took point on color development for the NBA Uniform Launch. In the licensed apparel world, color is a priority because it’s the most obvious representation of a team’s identity. I found myself very often working to balance the expectations of diverse cross-functional partners with actual limits of material achievability. It involved a lot of management of expectations, teaching, and balancing competing priorities. After a year-and-a-half of meticulous work and late nights, it was incredibly rewarding to see my favorite athletes out on the court wearing the product I’d helped create.

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? Inspiring! So far, I’ve only gotten to chat with a few of my classmates, but they come from such impressive, diverse, and exciting backgrounds—I can’t wait to get to know them and learn from their experiences.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? I work best in an environment where people work well as a team while also holding themselves and each other accountable for quality work. I wanted to be in an environment where students would be ‘collaborative but competitive.’ I knew this was in Owen’s mission statement, but it was important to me to make sure that the culture actually reflected it. In all the conversations I had with students, staff, and alumni, it was very clear that this was truly the environment at Owen—students work hard, get along, and keep each other on their toes!

What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? I’m extremely excited to work with the Turner Family Center for Social Ventures. I learned about it during my visit to Owen and am looking forward to working with my classmates and community to affect positive social change.

What was the most challenging question you were asked during the admissions process? “Why do you want an MBA?” is a hard question to answer until you realize that your honest answer is a good answer!

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career?  After six years of working in product development, I had reached a point where I felt like a true expert. While that gave me a sense of accomplishment, it also made me realize that I was getting too comfortable where I was—I was ready to take on a new challenge.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? 

• University of Washington- Foster School of Business
• University of Rochester- Simon Graduate School of Business
• Ohio State- Fisher College of Business

How did you determine your fit at various schools? I was looking for a small program where students are collaborative but also encourage each other to be their best. Talking to alumni and current students about their experiences and getting their perspective on these questions definitely helped me get a feel for what being in the program would be like.

What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? I adopted a puppy a few years ago and quickly realized she was going to be a handful—she had a tough upbringing and adjusting to normal life was a challenge for her. Over the years, we’ve spent many hours working through training classes and meeting other dogs and humans—and have loved building a new community though it. Watching her learn and grow has been a joy and a constant reminder that putting in time and effort towards something I love will always be rewarding in the end.

Where do you see yourself in ten years? My personal goal? Moonlight as a traveling yoga instructor who also rescues animals.  My professional goal, however, is to pay it forward by mentoring young women in business in the same way my amazing female mentors have inspired and supported me in my career.