Reginald Gardner

University of Tennessee, Haslam College of Business

“I will never forget to pour into others because of who poured into me.”

Hometown: Covington, GA

Fun fact about yourself: I won a hot dog eating contest!

Undergraduate School and Degree:

Undergraduate School: University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Degree: BS, Wildlife and Fisheries Science

Graduate School: University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Degree: MBA, Supply Chain

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school?

University of Tennessee Medical Center

Role: Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit Nursing Technician

Where did you intern during the summer of 2025? Dell Technologies: Round Rock, TX

Where will you be working after graduation? Dell Technologies: Senior Consultant

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School: During my time in the MBA program, I had the incredible opportunity to serve as the Vice President of Diverse Organization Propelling Excellence. Diverse Organization Propelling Excellence is a student organization that aids in supporting underrepresented graduate students in personal and professional development. The organization was founded by a 2025 alumni of our MBA program and Best and Brightest Class of 2025 honorary, Savannah Brown. This student organization provided us with the opportunity to get involved with different organizations in Knoxville and have a positive impact on our community.

I also had the opportunity to serve as the Secretary for the Association of Graduate Business Veterans. Our mission was to provide a supportive network of Haslam MBA veteran students and alumni to form meaningful professional connections, share opportunities, and promote the unique value of military: experienced business leaders. These two leadership opportunities are very different on paper but still draw on them today in my current role.

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? An extracurricular achievement I am most proud of was competing in the National Black MBA Graduate Case Competition in 2025. Public speaking had always been a fear of mine. When I decided to pursue my MBA, I knew I would have the opportunity to strengthen this essential skill, but I wasn’t sure in what capacity.

Preparation for the first round of the business competition took months of intense industry and organizational research, many late nights, and teamwork. I had the daunting task of being the opener in our presentation, I had to set the stage. I knew this would be a challenge, but I didn’t back down. I walked toward the opportunity to grow a skill with a positive attitude. With the power of a positive mindset, trust in our preparation, and incredible teammates, we were able to reach the finals. Even though the final result of the competition wasn’t what we hoped, I learned to never turn away from an opportunity just because you are scared. Do it scared and grow from the experience!

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? At the age of 17, I decided to sign on the dotted line and serve in the United States Navy. To this day, it will forever be one of the best decisions I have ever made. I was a Hospital Corpsman; I worked in healthcare and have seen some frightening things and even beauty in some of the darkest times.

One of the proudest moments from my career is when I saved my first patient. In the moment you hope that you can perform because someone’s life depends on it. I was able to perform to the best of my ability and think clearly under pressure; this allowed me to contribute to saving lives. I recognize and acknowledge that you can’t and won’t be able to save everyone; however, you do your best to try. My career in medicine is something that I will always attribute to my success throughout my MBA and in my current role at Dell Technologies. It provided me with an ability to communicate with a wide variety of people in a variety of ways. In healthcare, a certain level of grit and determination is required, and I find that same trait is necessary in my current role.

Why did you choose this business school? For me, the choice was simple on why I should choose the Haslam College of Business, it felt like a family. From my very first conversation with the Haslam MBA staff, I was made to feel like more than just a number in their application pool. I felt as if they cared equally about whether the program was a good fit for me as well as if I was a good fit for the program. I knew from the conversations I had from staff and alumni that Vol was a verb. Everyone wanted to ensure that I was supported and successful and that still holds true even after my time in the program. I will continue to do the same for those who come through the program after me.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? My favorite MBA professor is Dr. Randy Bradley. He had a tremendous impact on my life, and it far exceeded the expectations of an MBA professor. Dr. Bradley taught Advanced Critical Thinking and Experiential Learning in Business, which is a course for those who are considering a career in consulting. Dr. Bradley taught us early on that there is no substitute for hard work. To be successful and excel you must be comfortable with being uncomfortable. He is also one of the best presenters I have ever had the opportunity to watch. His class was always engaging and was the highlight of my day.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? My favorite course was Dr. Bradley’s Advanced Critical Thinking and Experiential Learning in Business. This course was for students who were considering a career in consulting. When I heard about this course, I knew it would be challenging but rewarding. I knew that when I completed this course, I would be a more well-rounded presenter and would sharpen my research skills. Many of the skills and much of the confidence gained from this course, I can apply in my role at Dell Technologies.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? Without a doubt, my favorite MBA event was our winter-term international business trip. The goal of the 10-day international trip is to allow the MBA cohort to gain hands-on experience and visibility into how international businesses operate. The trip also provided ample networking opportunities and opportunities to immerse ourselves in the country’s culture. As a cohort, we were able to grow closer. My cohort had the opportunity to go to Santiago, Chile and Lima, Peru. While in both countries we had the opportunity to tour multiple businesses in a variety of industries. While in Chile, we were presented with a business case for a local business, and we aimed to help grow their overall profits and brand awareness through unique and creative business strategies.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? I truthfully don’t have many regrets or things I would do differently. If I were to pick one thing, I would say I wish I would have spent more time outside of class with my classmates. I was quite a bit older than some of my classmates and didn’t spend as much time with them as I would have liked. Looking back, forming those relationships and bonds is equally if not more important than succeeding academically.

What was the most impactful case study you had in business school and what was the biggest lesson you learned from it?

The most impactful for me was the case study we did while in Chile for the local Chilean business. At the time, we knew the name of the business, their financials, and their goals for the business. After getting to Chile, meeting the founders and learning more about why they started the business put it in perspective. The business was started to help a sick relative. The biggest lesson I learned was that you don’t have to come up with the best or craziest ideas to be successful. If you see a need, attempt to fill that need and the rest will fall into place and never forget why you started in the first place.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? With the close proximity to the outdoors, you can turn in any direction and be 10-to-15 minutes from a body of water or on a hike with a breathtaking view. I also wouldn’t be a Tennessee fan if I didn’t mention sitting in Neyland Stadium with 102,000 of your closest friends singing Rocky Top, it is a memory I will never forget.

What business leader do you admire most? A business leader that I admire is Ken Chenault, the former CEO of American Express. He is most known for welcoming and encouraging creativity and not just saying that American Express believes in a positive company culture but instilling the importance and relevance of a positive and healthy company culture to all who walk through their doors. Chenault is also releasing a book this June titled Life Is Not a Straight Line: The Upside of Every Downturn in Business and in Life. I am looking forward to getting a copy when it is released.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? The Haslam College of Business does a fantastic job of utilizing AI as a tool and not a crutch. For example, one way we utilize AI is with our resumes. We are encouraged to utilize AI to ensure that our resumes are tailored to specific job postings to help get past the applicant tracking systems and land more interviews. I realized that AI can be a great tool and our professors understood that we will be the generation that will be asked to utilize AI in our careers; however, we should not rely solely on it. We were taught how to leverage AI but in an effective and ethical manner.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? Faisal Rashid, an international business student from Bangladesh. Faisal is one of the hardest-working and most intelligent individuals I know. From our first conversation, I knew he was destined for incredible success. I can only imagine his apprehension coming to the U.S. from Bangladesh with his wife and having to leave his family and friends behind. My goal from our first conversation was to make him feel comfortable. Even though he was far from home, I wanted him to know he had a second family here in the U.S. He loves teaching others about his culture. He even introduced us to Bangladeshi food at the Knoxville Asian festival. Faisal was even honored as an MBA Scholarship Award recipient for which he was selected by his peers for contributing to class learning inside and outside of the classroom. I am honored to have met such an incredible person as Faisal Rashid and with the utmost certainty I can say that I have made a lifetime friend.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list? Goal one for me on my professional bucket list is to continue to be a reliable and trusted advisor on my team. I am just scratching the surface of my career, and I am excited to see where it takes me in the future. The second goal is potentially starting my own business. Right now, I have no idea what that would look like, but I want to let my current role pave the way for me. Maybe down the road I see a need and through my experience I see an area where I can provide value in some way. However, for now I am enjoying the journey and trusting the process.

What made Reggie such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2026?

“Reggie has a rare gift for recognizing others’ potential and turning that recognition into a genuine relationship. Where others treated early conversations with classmates as routine, Reggie’s curiosity ran deeper. What made this remarkable was that he often believed in his peers more than he believed in himself. He wrestled with imposter syndrome, questioning whether his skills measured up, yet never let that uncertainty slow his investment in others. Even as doors opened for him, he questioned whether he was the right one walking through them. Through coaching and reflection, he came to understand that by walking through those doors, he was quietly empowering others to walk through their own. As his performance improved, so did his confidence, and the cohort benefited from both.

That selflessness, shaped in part by his service as a Navy Hospital Corpsman, held steady even as he navigated personal challenges that would have sidelined others. During a 1 AM prep session for a consulting engagement, a teammate hit a wall and couldn’t break through. Rather than redistribute the work, Reggie paused to share his own professional struggles and how he found enough traction to push forward. He then helped his teammate break the work into smaller segments to build momentum. That’s who Reggie is. He leads by making himself vulnerable first.

But Reggie wasn’t only the heart of his cohort; he was a sharpening force. During a consulting engagement for a family-owned business, the team gravitated toward recommendations prioritizing efficiency and scalability. Reggie pushed back, challenging any idea that risked stripping away what had been passed down through generations. He found a way to honor both, balancing intellectual rigor with the collective intelligence the family had built over time. What made Reggie such an invaluable member of the Class of 2025 was his relentless pursuit of excellence, not just for himself, but for everyone around him.”

Randy V. Bradley, PhD
Dean, Jack C. Massey College of Business at Belmont University
(Former Supply Chain Management faculty member at the Haslam College of Business and case coach/BUAD 583 instructor)

DON’T MISS: MBAS TO WATCH: CLASS OF 2026

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