As she neared her graduation from Colgate University, Charlotte Lawson knew two things. First, as an aspiring entrepreneur and self-described “branding fanatic,” she knew she wanted to build a career in marketing. Second, with a double major in German and psychology, she knew she would need to pursue a graduate degree to achieve her goal.

Vanderbilt’s Master of Marketing program stood out to her for several reasons. For the native of suburban Nashville who had spent the previous four years in upstate New York and Germany, being close to home again was an important draw. Even more important to her was the caliber and design of the program. “I wanted to be in a prestigious program that brings people from different academic backgrounds together,” Charlotte says. “So many other programs required a marketing background. But the Vanderbilt MMark actually encourages people from non-marketing backgrounds to apply.”

During her year at Vanderbilt, Charlotte found that, even with no prior training in business, she could directly apply lessons from the classroom to her internship and project work. In one case, she says, “We learned in class how to build a website wireframe. I took my notes from that class and three days later built a website wireframe for the company where I was interning. I ended up building the full website from that plan and got really good feedback.”

Charlotte also cites the Career Management Center and her leadership development coach as indispensable resources. “I must have met with Zeke Arteaga at least 10 times,” she says. “The CMC was pivotal to my experience here. Whether it was resume prep, cover letters, or navigating tough interview questions, I always had someone in my corner.”

She credits the program with helping her reframe how she thought about networking and career development. “I came in thinking I was a little introverted and would be bad at networking,” she says. “But this program taught me that networking is really about relationship-building—and I’ve learned how to do that in a genuine way that makes sense for me.”

“So many things here have contributed to my future professional and personal life. This program will help you embark on incredible new opportunities if you open your eyes and find them. You will meet impressive people, build strong relationships, and learn so much about yourself.”

Fun Fact: Charlotte’s first marketing presentation was to German business executives—and delivered entirely in German.

This program taught me that networking is really about relationship-building—and I’ve learned how to do that in a genuine way that makes sense for me.