During his five years with consumer packaged goods companies—including a stint with Procter & Gamble in his native Nigeria—Abdul-fatai Adetula aspired to become a leader in a corporate C-suite. An MBA, he concluded, “was the pathway that would allow me to gain the necessary technical and leadership skills to navigate that journey.”

When he began evaluating graduate business schools, Vanderbilt stood out right away. “I felt such a strong connection with the people I met from Vanderbilt, from the admissions team to the students,” Abdul-fatai says. “I was also looking for a school with strong recruiting outcomes in consulting and a curriculum that would help me make a career transition.”

His sense of connection only deepened after the program began. “My classmates are some of the most talented and brilliant individuals I’ve ever met,” Abdul-fatai says. “Learning alongside them and hearing their insights has been one of the most impactful parts of my experience.”

His journey toward the C-suite has also been one of self-discovery. He credits his Leadership Development Program coach with “challenging me to reflect on the kind of leader I want to become. The coaching component provided a valuable space to practice, receive feedback, and engage in meaningful discussions.”

Even more, Abdul-fatai discovered a passion for social entrepreneurship. It began with a conversation with Professor Mario Avila during one of the weekly Closing Bell gatherings. “That spark,” he says, “led me to engage deeply with the Center for Social Ventures, the Project Pyramid course, and the Impact Investing Fund. These experiences have taken me as far as Central America”—Abdul-fatai, named a Cal Turner Fellow for Moral Leadership, was part of a Project Pyramid immersion trip to Guatemala—“and just down the road to North Nashville, where I had the privilege of working alongside rockstar entrepreneurs and change makers.”

That passion, he believes, will continue to inform his direction as he transitions to a new career in strategy consulting with EY Parthenon. “My time at Vanderbilt was transformational,” he says. “I feel like a butterfly that grew a new pair of wings.”