Meet The Masters Of Marketing

Esade Business School

DIVERSE STUDENT EXPERIENCE

Students enter Vanderbilt’s master’s of marketing program with diverse backgrounds according to Posavac. Being a small school, Posavac says that many master’s of marketing students take classes with students of other programs, such as MBAs and master’s of finance and accounting students. “It’s good for the master’s of marketing students to be amongst a diverse set of individuals because their future success will depend on working in teams with people of different backgrounds,” he says.

Posavac explains that there is a benefit to master’s of marketing students being amongst so many MBAs. “If you’re an MBA student, you need four or five years of experience to draw from in case discussions,” he says. “Master’s of marketing students don’t have that. We want to keep them in environments where they feel comfortable yet are also stretching themselves.”

Vanderbilt Owen students taking notes in a marketing class

But it’s not only Vanderbilt’s master’s of marketing students who benefit from a collaborative classroom environment with people from all walks of life. For Matthew Schnelker of Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management, working in diverse teams prepared him for industry experience. “It was an invaluable experience to understand how to communicate and work with different perspectives and backgrounds,” he says.

Imperial College Business School’s Beatrice Levantini echoes Schnelker’s thoughts on the power of collaboration. “Constant collaboration with people from different backgrounds, both in the classroom and during group projects, not only made me learn a lot but also made me work on my soft skills in dealing with a tea,” she says.

Despite the collaboration with students of other programs, Vanderbilt master’s of marketing grad Marissa Ivery-Rogers found connection with her immediate class. “The marketing class was close-knit, so we got to know each other well,” she says. “We studied together, but we also spent most of our free time fostering genuine relationships. Through this program, I made lifelong friends and created memories I will cherish forever.”

THE POWER OF ALUMNI INVOLVEMENT

The diversity of experiences positively impacts students at Vanderbilt, and so does the exposure to the program’s alumni. Graduates regularly return to teach classes on topics such as management, personal and professional fulfillment, and the marketing industry.

Steven Posavac says that this provides students with opportunities they wouldn’t otherwise have. “We have a great network of alums who come in who do some of our specialized training,” he explains. “One of the absolute privileges and joys working at Vanderbilt is how loyal our alums are and how much they give back. Many alumni hire interns and take students to lunch.”

Michigan State’s Audrey Tripp, credits some of her career success to alumni connections. “I used the vast MSU network to find the company that best suited my skill set. The alumni network, professional events, and career fairs were essential in finding a job,” she says.

For Vanderbilt grad Marissa Ivery-Rogers, she advises anyone interested in the master’s of marketing program to reach out to alumni. “Do as much research as possible. Schedule a tour of the campus and set up some time with Alumni to learn about their experiences. I found that the best way to prepare yourself for any grad school journey is to talk to people,” she says.

IDEAL MASTER’S OF MARKETING CANDIDATE

Aside from wanting prospective students to do the work to prepare themselves for the rigor of a master’s of marketing program, Posavac explains there are a few qualities that make an ideal candidate for Vanderbilt’s program. “We look for someone with intellectual horsepower and who knows they want to be a marketer. Emotional intelligence is also really important to us; the ability to solve problems requires having the emotional intelligence to work in teams,” he says.

The majority of students come to the program straight after their undergraduate degree or with one year of experience, according to Posavac. Vanderbilt gives their students the fundamentals of leadership and management that they can take with them and grow. However, he says that another important factor for potential students to consider is building their industry knowledge. “Learn how other firms handled managerial situations in the past. Master’s of marketing students will want to have those examples in the back of their minds so that they can handle difficult decisions later in their careers,” he advises.

Posavac also urges students to build their personal brands and get as much experience as possible prior to graduation. “For any graduate student in business, building your brand is going to be all about the stories you can tell about yourself, what you’ve learned, and what you’ve accomplished,” he says. “MBAs have that work experience. For master’s of marketing students, they don’t have as much. Doing an internship before or during the program will give them the ability to build a narrative about what they’ve done when speaking to potential employers.”

HEC Paris

ADVICE FROM GRADS

Recent master’s of marketing grads across the globe also encourage prospective students to build their brands.

Thibault Cambiaghi-Tricoire of ESADE Business School advises that candidates show what makes them special when telling the story of their personal and professional background. “Don’t be afraid to express yourself and your ambition to make this world a better place. Be unapologetically yourself,” he says.

HEC Paris’ Silvia Airaghi also believes in the immense power in telling your story. “Discover your interests and build your success story around them to stand out in the crowd,” she says.

For Texas A&M University Mays Business School’s Avery Fowler, she stresses the importance of delivering your story in a way that helps the admissions team connect with you. She says, “While your GPA and test scores are important, don’t forget to show your personality in the application process. The letters of reference and interview are a great opportunity for you to paint a picture for the admissions team of who you are and what you can bring to the program beyond your transcript.”

Learn more about the educational and career journey about these Master’s in Marketing students who are creating impact. Click on the links below.

Alumni Member	Master’s in Marketing	Current Employer
Thibault Cambiaggi-Tricoire	Esade Business School	Nike
Silvia Airaghi	HEC Paris	Salvatore Ferragamo
Beatrice Levantini	Imperial College Business School	Amazon
Xingjian (Jesse) Ren	John Hopkins (Carey)	Channel Bakers
Audrey Tripp	Michigan State University (Broad)	The NPD Group
Matthew Schnelker	Purdue University (Krannert)	Accenture
Avery Fowler	Texas A&M (Mays)	Accenture
Tat Whitley	University of Texas (McCombs)	H-E-B
Curran C. Daly	USC Marshall	HyperloopTT
Philip S. Miller III	UT Dallas (Jindal)	Crull Fitness and PM3 Sports
Marissa Ivery-Rogers	Vanderbilt University (Owen)	Delta Airlines
Alara Özçam	Warwick Business School	Publicis Groupe Turkey