Few MBA students have a background like that of Caroline Rogers. She began her career as a human capital analyst for Deloitte. Then, two years later, she returned to Georgetown—where she had earned her B.A.—for a nursing degree.

Her second career brought the Maryland native to Nashville, where she serves as an R.N. in the neonatal intensive care unit at Vanderbilt Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital. (She continues to work there part-time during business school.)

“While working in a hospital setting, I realized firsthand how many complex issues the health care industry faces,” Caroline says. “I wanted to effectuate meaningful change, and I felt that supplementing my nursing knowledge with a business foundation would be extremely beneficial for my long-term career.”

In Professor Michael Burcham’s Health Care Innovation class, Caroline found her future. She had entered the MBA program with a career in hospital administration in mind. But the class piqued her interest in bringing new ideas to health care delivery. She and several classmates worked on a project to support a Nashville health care startup, which led to a summer internship offer from the company’s CEO.

“Vanderbilt has provided me with strong business and health care knowledge,” Caroline says. “But it also has opened my eyes to fields and careers I never even knew about. I feel that I will leave here a much more well-rounded person.”