By Eigen Escario
Tomàs Quiroz
The Vanderbilt Master of Marketing (MMark) is a 10-month graduate program that equips students with the valuable skills necessary to launch a successful career in marketing, no matter the industry. Tomàs Quiroz (MMark ‘24) walks through a typical day in his life as a student in the Vanderbilt Master of Marketing program and a resident of Nashville.
7:00 AM | Early Morning Routine
To start the day, Quiroz keeps it simple yet effective to center himself before the day ahead.
“I mostly cook eggs at home or have cereal to start my mornings so I can get on the road earlier because I like to sleep in as much as possible,” Quiroz said. “On days when I don’t have class, I go to Pancake Pantry—my little breakfast spot in Hillsboro—and get four buttermilk pancakes with a side of bacon and some chocolate milk. I bike from Hillsboro to campus, which is about a mile away. I just think biking is really good exercise.”
8:00 AM | Marketing Analytics with Professor Iacobucci
His first class of the day, led by Professor Dawn Iacobucci, aims to provide students with technical skills to utilize technology in marketing applications.
“We focus on the data side of marketing and how to run reports, make models, and analyze marketing data, so we have exercises with segmentation data collection from surveys,” Quiroz said. “It is very data heavy, and we code and do different kinds of reporting on marketing data, which was really interesting.”
Quiroz describes the impact the Vanderbilt Master of Marketing program has had on his career trajectory, referencing the hard skills that make him a stronger candidate in the field.
“The program has really given me direction,” he said. “I have a lot more tools in my belt to apply the business knowledge that I learned. Before my internship and job offer, I was very much a spring chicken, but I really appreciate the Master of Marketing program for starting me off on the right foot.”
9:30 AM | Marketing Strategy with Professor Hoeffler
In Marketing Strategy with Professor Steve Hoeffler, Quiroz describes their class project that revolves around a marketing simulation that applies students’ knowledge of targeting and data collection to practical situations in the field.
“In this class, we compete in an online simulation of running our own company – we get into groups, each focused on different products within the same industry, and come up with our own marketing plans, research and development plans, and budgeting,” Quiroz said.
After a rough start with Quiroz’s group, he recounts their nail-biting finish and the genius strategy that put them ahead of the other groups in the class.
“My team ended up winning, which was the best part since they showed a leaderboard where we were down a little bit then ended up pulling ahead after we finished our research and development,” Quiroz said. “We had this one particular persona that was booming, so we tailored our product to meet the exact specifications that they wanted and took 2 periods to do the research and development to execute that.”
11:00 AM | Supply Chain Management with Professor Alan
Right before lunch, Quiroz attends Professor Yasin Alan’s Supply Chain Management class to dissect the operational and logistical factors of product development and distribution. Another benefit of the Vanderbilt Master of Marketing program is that students have the opportunity to take classes alongside Vanderbilt MBA students.
“This class is probably one of my favorites, and it’s actually an additional MBA class that I took advantage of,” Quiroz said. “We discuss problem-solving with the supply chain, from the raw materials through the production and all the way to the distribution of a product.”
In order to make the curriculum interactive and interesting, Quiroz talks about the relevant case studies that inform students’ expert understanding of the supply chain.
“We ran some simulations and a lot of case studies on different companies,” Quiroz said. “It’s interesting to learn about whether they’re outsourcing certain things or going overseas where it’s cheaper or needing to be more nimble with their production with in-house systems.”
12:30 PM | Lunch
Having completed a long morning of classes, Quiroz enjoys his favorite bites near campus for lunch.
“I’d say my favorite place to eat lunch is Cava. I usually get the braised lamb in a bowl, and it’s really good,” Quiroz said. “Then, my go-to for dinner is always HopDoddy since the Buffalo Bill and Hot & Honey Brussel Sprouts are amazing – and I’m not even a veggie guy!”
2:30 PM | Brand Management with Professor Posavac
Finally, Professor Steve Posavac’s class discusses viral scenarios with students to help polish their brand management skills and instincts regarding the social media aspect of marketing.
“In this class, we talk about strategies that brands employ to maintain their image, along with content curation and other PR moves that support their brand,” Quiroz said. “We look at the way certain brands operate on X and other social media, like Wendy’s roast in the comment section of viral posts.”
He explains the value of his takeaways from the class and its fun subject matter.
“One of the most important things I learned from the class is how to break down these cases and predict the creative leeway that would support your brand, whether it’s triggering virality firsthand or taking advantage of rising posts,” Quiroz said.
4:00 PM | Soccer & Yoga
After exerting a lot of mental effort in class, Quiroz loves to stretch out and get active outside, taking advantage of Nashville’s convenient and engaging environment.
“There’s always some pickup soccer scrimmages at Centennial Park, so I switch off between that and yoga,” Quiroz said. “There’s a small yoga studio called Small World Yoga right next to campus that I hit up sometimes too.”
6:00 PM | Closing Bell
At Owen, one of the student programs designed to bring the community together is a weekly tradition called “Closing Bell,” in which students can network, socialize, and/or blow off steam.
“Closing bell is an event we do every Thursday at the end of the day, and it’s usually hosted by a cultural group,” Quiroz said. “In my opinion, the best time was when our African cultural group hosted because they had really good food and cool afro beats that I appreciated as a ballet dancer.”
Quiroz further describes his experience with the student community and celebration of diversity at Owen.
“I was dancing to some afrobeats on the floor, and next thing I know, My Nigerian friend Olu puts his hat and robe on me,” Quiroz said. “Everyone showed up with their African garbs, and I felt honored that he put it on me.”
8:00 PM | Decompressing
After a long day, Quiroz decompresses either by relaxing at home or going out with his Owen friends.
“Usually, I wind down with study time, followed by Netflix or football, depending on the season,” Quiroz said. “Sometimes, my Owen friends and I go to Midtown at the end of the day, and Red Door in Midtown is the spot we like to hit up frequently.”