MBA Voices: Planners, Doers, and Degrees: Celebrating the Vanderbilt Owen Journey

NETWORKING

Owen’s community is smaller than our Top 20 peer programs. This is a huge benefit; by the end of the first semester, we know the majority of our classmates by name. I’ve found the alumni I reach out to are often very responsive to current students. The practice of networking often gets a bad notion, but here the core idea starts with community.

Beyond the obvious career connections, what’s the most unexpected or meaningful relationship(s) you built during the program?

Lauren McElroy: “I am leaving Owen with lifelong friends and a deep appreciation for the close-knit community I have been a part of for the last two years. Getting to know my classmates, as well as their partners and families, has been one of the most meaningful parts of the experience. Learning from and alongside my peers has positively challenged my ideas and expanded my perspectives in ways I will carry with me throughout my career.”

Barkat Olatinwo: “I would say the most meaningful relationships I’ve built during the program are with members of the faculty and staff. The kind people of the ASA (Academic Student Affairs) and the LDP (Leadership Development Program), in particular, have created a safe space for me on campus. I would often go to their offices to hang out and chat; they are always open to hearing me out, offering advice, and providing helpful suggestions, and even warm hugs! Additionally, the professors at Owen are so warm and friendly outside of the classroom. I specifically remember getting excellent restaurant and travel recommendations for my visit to Turkey from Professor Mumin Kurtulus.”

Apple Chen: “We all know it’s not easy to make real friends as adults, but I was lucky to find some truly great ones at Owen. These are people I know I’ll stay connected with no matter where life takes me. I’ll show up for their big moments, and I know they would do the same for me. We’re a mix of international and domestic students from very different backgrounds, but we connected simply by being kind and comfortable around each other. At the end of the day, we bonded because we’re human. The U.S. is a big country, but when the connection is real. Distance doesn’t really matter.”

GROUP WORK

Over the course of this two-year program, I’ve participated in more than 40 different teams. Because of our intimate class size, we have the unique opportunity to cycle through group projects, case competitions, and club leadership teams with a vast majority of our peers. This constant rotation isn’t just about finishing an assignment; it’s about learning to lead and follow across an incredibly diverse set of working styles and backgrounds.

What does being a good teammate actually mean to you now versus what you thought it meant before the program?

Pete Witte: “Being a good teammate hasn’t fundamentally changed in meaning for me; it has just been reinforced. It means showing up. You have good days and bad days, high-energy stretches, and weeks where everything is running on fumes. What Owen made clear is that everyone in the room is dealing with something: a tough recruiting season, a hard conversation at home, or a project that isn’t going well. Watching this community continue to show up for each other anyway – carrying the weight when a teammate needs to tap out and picking it back up when they can – is what it truly looks like. It is not the “I,” it is the “we.” The best teammates I had at Owen weren’t always the hardest workers; they were the ones who made the team better than it would have been without them. That is the standard I try to hold myself to.”

Nicholas Dailey: “I think, before the program, I expected the best group members to be “Renaissance men and women” who excelled at everything. Now, I believe the best team members are simply the ones you can count on to put in the effort and take full ownership of their responsibilities.”

Zachary Cohen: “I used to think being a good teammate meant showing up prepared, doing your part well, and being someone people could rely on to execute. Basically, if I handled my piece and didn’t drop the ball, I was doing my job. Now, I think it is a lot more nuanced than that. It is less about just owning your lane and more about making the team better overall. Sometimes that means stepping up and leading; other times, it could mean stepping back, listening, and building on someone else’s idea instead of trying to push your own.”

OFF-CAMPUS EVENTS

The MBA is a 24/7 experience. Some of my biggest breakthroughs haven’t happened in a team room, but while traveling with classmates or exploring Nashville. Living in Music City means there is always a concert to catch, a new restaurant to discover, or a Vandy game to experience during a historic athletic year. These moments provide the perfect setting to turn classroom conversations into deep, personal connections, ensuring our time at Owen is shaped by the world we explore together.

What experience or memory outside the classroom, a trip, a dinner, a late-night conversation, shared travels, do you think actually taught you the most about your classmates and life?

Austin Cotton: “For Thanksgiving, my wife and I hosted two of my international classmates who couldn’t travel home, so they joined our family’s celebration. It was one of my favorite memories; it reflected how every one of my classmates has their own unique background, and we get to walk part of our stories together for two years. My time at Owen has been marked by countless moments like this, and that dinner was a great microcosm of the worlds that have collided in our class.”

Jeff Chen: “Organizing ski trips with my classmates was an incredible experience. Watching a group of high-achieving MBA students, some of whom had never skied before, willingly hurl themselves down a mountain was telling. It showed me that my classmates weren’t just smart on paper; they were comfortable being beginners. That willingness to take calculated (and literal) tumbles for the sake of a new experience is exactly what I look for in the people I want to work with after Owen. It’s a reminder that growth requires both risk and resilience.”

Dale Anderson: “During my study abroad in Vallendar, Germany, with WHU, the MBA experience initially seemed isolating, students dotted around the world in schools far from one another. However, I realized that our shared experiences are not that different, yet they hold valuable lessons we can share. What someone learns or does in Singapore may not be directly relatable to the U.S. in every detail, but the core idea is often the same, and the approach is novel.”

LEGACY

As you read through these reflections, a picture of the Owen community emerges. You will see a common thread of bridge-building. This is true whether that is connecting students to the Nashville business community, bridging the gap between domestic and international cultures, or creating pathways for future student leaders. You can make an impact and create a legacy in the way you choose.

What’s something you built, changed, or left behind at Owen that you’re genuinely proud of?

Mengyang He: “I’m most proud of founding the Global Shapers Nashville Hub, a social impact initiative of the World Economic Forum. Starting from zero, I built a 15-member team of young leaders. I launched the Shapers Mentor project, delivering career workshops to undergrad students to help answer the question, “What do I want to become when I grow up?” I also led Shred the Debt, a fundraising initiative to help erase medical debt. More than the projects themselves, I’m proud of creating a platform that will benefit the local community in Nashville and continue empowering the next generation of leaders.”

Apple Chen: “Over the past two years, I have tried to share Taiwan with the Owen community in my own way. I wanted to bring a bit of Taiwanese hospitality and warmth into the spaces I was part of. I made a genuine effort to share who I am and who we are through our food, our perspectives, our challenges, and what we can offer the world. Whether through deep conversations, small moments, cooking Taiwanese lunch for friends, or simply showing up to support others, I hope I helped my classmates see Taiwan in a more real and personal way.”

Selena Martin: “I launched my coffee roasting business, Pan & Kof.feé Roastery, at the beginning of my second year at Owen. What I am most proud of is not just the act of starting, but how deeply the Owen community has shaped its growth. I have had the opportunity to learn from my peers and mentors in a way that has made me a more thoughtful and effective builder, constantly refining everything from strategy to execution. Being surrounded by others who are also in a phase of growth and exploration has pushed me to think bigger while staying grounded. Along the way, I have formed several serendipitous connections that have already influenced the direction of the business and will continue to be part of its evolution as I work to scale.”

…

As we enter the annual MBA ranking season, the major publications are weighing in on the value of the degree. Forbes recently recognized Vanderbilt in its 2026 “New Ivies” list, highlighting the shifting landscape of elite education. While a recent article from The Atlantic questioned what an Ivy education “really gets you,” one specific insight resonated: the true value is the opportunity to learn how to succeed among the world’s most talented and ambitious people.

In these final weeks of classes, I look across the room at the friends who were strangers just 634 days ago. I don’t need a ranking to tell me what I see in my classmates: the raw talent, relentless ambition, and creative grit the Atlantic described. I am excited to see what my class achieves well beyond graduation. Whether we move across the country or remain in the area, Nashville will always be the place where our journey crossed paths.

Cheers to the Class of 2026.

Anchor Down.

Aaron Varella is an MBA candidate (Class of 2026) at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management, where he serves as the Student Body President of the Owen Student Government Association (OSGA). Aaron’s professional experience includes executing high-impact, company-wide strategic HR and organizational projects for multinational Fortune 500 companies. At Owen, he is bridging his human capital expertise with a concentration in Strategy and emphasis in International Studies. A passionate advocate for community building, Aaron frequently shares insights on the MBA experience and the evolving landscape of HR. Connect with Aaron on LinkedIn here.

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