By Arial Starks
Marnelle Garraud
Marnelle Garraud graduated from Boston College in the Spring of 2022 with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Analytics and Information Systems. As a student athlete looking to continue playing basketball, and aspirations of working in the marketing industry, Garraud knew her journey with school was not over.
“I knew I wanted to pursue marketing because I like numbers and I’m math-oriented,” she said. “I am also a people-person, so I wanted to combine my 2 interests to have more of an impact while conducting business.”
During her senior year of undergrad, Garraud worked on a project for the marketing department at Boston College, where she gained experience in the industry. The project, centered around the history of Boston College sports, solidified her passion for marketing. After an informational session with Suzanne Feinstein, Director, Vanderbilt Master of Marketing Program in April 2022, Garraud applied to the Vanderbilt Master of Marketing program.
“A huge factor in my decision to pursue the Vanderbilt Master of Marketing was the timeline of the one-year degree,” Garraud said. “I also learned about all of the resources Vanderbilt Business has to offer through Suzanne, and I liked the idea that this program is a stepping-stone of marketing to get you immersed in business whether you go into marketing or not.”
Garraud entered the program in August 2022 and by September she began networking and getting involved in organizations on and off campus that would help prepare her for recruiting. She joined the Owen Strategy and Consulting Club, where she received interview preparation resources and she got involved with the Make A Play Foundation (MAP), a non-profit organization created to provide athletes resources to succeed in executive careers. Through MAP, Garraud was able to gain mentorship from a current Deloitte employee.
Throughout the month of September, Garraud continued networking with Deloitte Executive Coordinator Olivia Caldwell, and Deloitte Manager DeAndre Jones (VU‘12). On September 27, 2022, Garraud officially submitted a job application to the firm. After an hours-long Super Day on November 18, Deloitte’s Boston office extended Garraud a full-time offer of Strategy Analyst on November 21, 2022 and she accepted.
Garraud says she is excited to join the Deloitte team and she couldn’t have done it all without the support of the Vanderbilt Business network.
“I don’t think I would have gotten this job without Vanderbilt Business,” Garraud said. “The school provided me with so many resources, and getting to talk to Kathleen Rall and Suzanne Feinstein, and having them help me every step of the way from resume review to connecting me with people at Deloitte, all played a part in my landing the job.”
Click through the timeline below to see a visual of how Marnelle Garraud got the job.
