Meet Vanderbilt Owen’s MBA Class Of 2023

Talent: The Nashville metropolitan area has been a top-10 metro for population growth for the past 5 years. The city is filled with diverse talent; the population growth, in Nashville, by ethnicity for Hispanics, Blacks/African Americans, and Asians outpaces the growth in Tennessee and the United States. With over 124,000 students attending the region’s 18 colleges and universities, along with 3 historically black colleges and universities right in Nashville, the city is a vibrant melting pot for the influx of talent arriving daily.

Places around Nashville? The booming downtown area is always a fun destination place for students, faculty, and staff. From the nightlife on Broadway (nicknamed Nashvegas, Honky Tonk Highway) to the historic Lower Broadway (home of the famed Ryman Auditorium), the city also offers many green spaces right within the city (Percy Warner Park, Radnor Lake) where students often find themselves taking in a long hike, a meandering bike ride, or simply enjoying the various seasons of Nashville.”

*Data gathered from Nashville Chamber of Commerce

P&Q: What have your employers told you are the two biggest strengths of your graduates and how does your programming bolster these differentiators?

Oldham: “Two things stand out as comments often made by our employers who hire our students. First, Vanderbilt students are humble leaders, which mirrors our culture of “competitive but not cutthroat.”  Our students are incredible leaders but also leaders who are not afraid to “roll up their sleeves” and serve alongside their team in whatever role is needed. Another comment is how our students are extremely effective and collaborative team players. So much of the work that MBA students do is cross-functional, and employers value how adeptly Vanderbilt students can enter the organization, understand the strategic problems that need to be solved, read the existing culture, and then build the relationships and navigate the human capital component, which is essential to solving the problem.

Vanderbilt students also come into the MBA program with very transferable, tangible skills (while coming from a wide variety of experiences and backgrounds).  Our students are extremely adept at quickly aligning their skills with the organization/function/industry to which they are transitioning. As I mentioned earlier, our Leadership Development Program does an excellent job at helping students identify areas of improvement and to make a tangible plan to address them over the two years.  Vanderbilt MBA students take full advantage of this by adding missing skillsets (e.g., Coding, Tableau, Python) and working on leadership skills (e.g., Presentation, Public Speaking, Leading Teams).”

P&Q: What is your two most popular course among MBAs? What makes it so unique and so attractive to MBAs?

Oldham: “We have a Top Two list of our most popular courses among Vanderbilt MBA Students.

Negotiation, taught by Professor Tim Vogus (a Poets&Quants 40 Under 40 Professor) comes in as the #1 most popular course. The class is designed to provide students, from all functional backgrounds, with skills needed to approach negotiations with confidence. This includes a framework for analysis, knowledge about one’s own tendencies in negotiation, and a chance to experiment with negotiating techniques in various contexts.

Topics include integrative and distributive negotiations, individual differences in bargaining styles, coalitions, team negotiations, negotiating through agents, and ethical issues in negotiation. The course uses readings and cases, with considerable emphasis placed on negotiation simulations.

Corporate Strategy, taught by Professor Brian McCann (named Outstanding Faculty of the Year pretty much every year for the past 10 years) comes in as the #2 most popular course.  This class focuses on the challenges of formulating corporate-level strategies and their implementation. In contrast to business-level strategy, which addresses competitive advantage in a single market or industry, this class analyzes how competitive advantage can be created through the configuration and coordination of activities across multiple markets and industries. As part of the course, distinctive challenges that face multinational corporations are also discussed. Students gain experience in discovering, diagnosing, and solving corporate-level problems including corporate diversification, strategic alliances, and global strategies.”

5 REASONS TO CONSIDER VANDERBILT OWEN

1) Leadership Development: “My favorite activity has been the Leadership Development Program, a personalized program where every student gets coaching sessions tailored to their professional interests. We started with some tests that gave us a better understanding of ourselves, our skills, and values, followed by coaching sessions. As a health coach, I am passionate about constant personal development. I believe these sessions have been an incredible opportunity to learn more about myself, receive feedback around career choices, and better understand the industries I am recruiting at.”
Maria Jesus Silva (’23)

2) Nashville: “There are so many reasons to love Owen. It’s vibrant community, fantastic faculty and staff, and personal scale all come to mind. However, one factor that bears mentioning is its location in Nashville. “Music City” is a wonderful place to spend two years. It has a legendary music scene, incredible food, and a fascinating history. From the perspective of a business school student, there are few better places to be. If you are looking for work, you can find it here. Nashville is in the middle of a renaissance. The skyline is dotted with cranes signaling the arrival of people and companies from across the country. With recent entrants like Amazon, Alliance Bernstein, and legacy companies like Bridgestone Americas and Nissan North America, there are many options to explore. Moreover, it is exciting to be part of a city that is buzzing with new energy. It is one thing to learn about the trends affecting our economy in the lecture hall. It is something else to step out the door and see those changes making their mark on the landscape.”
Daniel Cortez (’21)

3) Healthcare Concentration: “I chose to attend Owen because of its healthcare concentration. As a submarine officer, I came from an operational and technical background, but had a serious gap in healthcare knowledge and experience. The healthcare curriculum at Owen, as well as the close ties to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, made Owen the perfect choice. I have been able to observe a hip replacement in the OR, shadow nurses in the NICU, and listen to healthcare leaders from all aspects of the industry speak in my MBA classes. I came to Owen for a high-caliber education where I could also be immersed in the healthcare industry, and Owen delivered.”
Kenneth Barnes (’21)

4) Mod System: “Owen operates on the Mod system, which means that students take four different rounds of classes each year. This means that our core classes don’t take over your entire schedule, and we have freedom to choose our elective courses earlier. Some programs don’t allow you to choose your classes until late in your first year or not until your second year – that was a deal-breaker for me.”
Libby Crowe (’23)

5) Closing Bell: “I love Closing Bell, Owen’s Thursday night tradition. Each Thursday after classes end, we gather in the courtyard for a happy hour sponsored by a different club or organization on campus. It’s a great time to bond with your classmates, talk to your professors outside of the classroom, and learn about everyone’s interests. Even before I got to Owen, people were gearing up for the International Food Festival Closing Bell, and it certainly did not disappoint. Speaking to my classmates about the dishes they made (and of course eating them) gave me such an appreciation of the community here at Owen.”
Libby Crowe (’23)

“One of the best traditions at Owen is Closing Bell. Every Thursday afternoon, all students converge on our central area where various student organizations prepare food, drinks, and entertainment related to their respective club. My favorite Closing Bell was hosted by the Global Business Association, where our international students decorated tables and prepared traditional food from their home countries. Walking through the Owen lobby that evening was like walking through an international marketplace, where I could drink a pisco sour and discuss politics in South America and then step across the aisle to eat Jollof Rice and hear about common business practices in Nigeria. International students already bring such an incredible amount of knowledge and perspective to our classroom discussions, but connecting with those students while being partially immersed in their cultures was an extraordinary experience.”
Kaitlyn Barrett Wilson (’21)

ADVICE TO POTENTIAL CANDIDATES

“Be yourself and know that schools are looking for reasons to admit you, not the other way around. Owen prides itself on recruiting well-rounded individuals looking to learn from one another. If that’s you, then you’ll fit in well!”
Libby Crowe (’23)

“I am not sure I had an “edge” for my application process, but my strategy was to clearly demonstrate how Owen could help me achieve my professional goals and how I could contribute to the Owen team if accepted. My hometown is near Nashville; Owen has an established healthcare concentration; and the culture seemed to be a perfect fit based on my student and staff interactions. I passionately explained why I wanted to be at Owen in the application process. I also felt that my background as a submarine officer and my experiences leading teams in the military would add a unique perspective to the collective student conversation. In the end, I ended up in my dream program, so my “edge” worked out!”
Kenneth Barnes (’21)

“Visiting the campus during the “Discover Owen” weekend was especially helpful. For one, it helped me better understand the school’s culture and offerings. The visit also allowed me to connect with current students and faculty. This was vital when it came time to craft my “why Owen” story. Finally, I met the admissions office face-to-face. This is especially valuable at a smaller school like Owen, where admissions officers strive to get to know applicants on an individual level.”
Daniel Cortez (’21)

MBA Student	Hometown	Undergrad Alma Mater	Last Employer
Libby Crowe	Jacksonville, FL	Princeton University	Bloomberg
Kenan Gebizlioglu	Flanders, NJ	Rutgers University	Business Talent Group
Neil Granberry	Dothan, AL	Auburn University	Toyota Motors Manufacturing Alabama
Ba’Carri Johnson	Miami, FL	Duke University	Pilot Company
Rinji Kassem	Jos, Nigeria	University of Jos	PharmaSymbiosis Ltd.
Marina Klecha	Los Angeles, CA	University of California, Davis	Admit.me Access
Ryan Leadbeater	Redwood City, CA	United States Military Academy	U.S. Army
Taylor Rasmussen	Hinsdale, IL	Georgetown University	Professional Actor
Maria Jesus Silva	Santiago, Chile	Universidad de Los Andes	Banco de Credito e Inversiones (BCI)
Brandon Valentine	Austell, GA	Rhodes College	FedEx
Savannah Weatherell	Brentwood, TN	Samford University	Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital

© Copyright 2026 Poets & Quants. All rights reserved. This article may not be republished, rewritten or otherwise distributed without written permission. To reprint or license this article or any content from Poets & Quants, please submit your request HERE.