Cutler Klein didn’t have to look very far when making decisions about his education. “I have been a Vanderbilt fan since I was a child,” says the Chappaqua, New York native. “My mother went to high school right across the street from Owen. I would often visit my grandparents in Nashville and would always go to Vanderbilt football, basketball, and baseball games.”

As an incoming Vanderbilt student, Cutler received the Fred Russell-Grantland Rice Scholarship, awarded to an outstanding high school senior interested in a sports journalism career. After graduation, he put his sports interests to work as a marketing coordinator for Nashville SC, the city’s Major League Soccer club.

Four years later, he was ready for a career leap. “I knew I wanted to continue in a marketing role, but I needed to round out my business acumen,” Cutler says. He looked no further than his alma mater. “The Vanderbilt MBA matched my ambition for my career and the life I wanted,” he explains. “My family was in Nashville, and I wanted to put down roots here. Owen allowed me to pursue an elite MBA degree and extremely competitive job placements in my desired field while allowing me to live in an exciting city I want to call home for the long term.”

In addition to his family ties, he found a rich community at Owen. “I knew going in that I would meet amazing people, but I did not think I would form such lasting bonds,” says Cutler, who cites the Closing Bell social gatherings as “the best way to spend time with the entire Owen community every week.

“I have met alumni and faculty who became my mentors in a short time. It is rare to find people willing to do so much to help you succeed. And because our class is the size it is, I was able to form friendships with so many more people.”

The program, he says, “helped me make the precise career jump I was looking for when I enrolled. The experience changed my life. I have become the best version of myself because I found my confidence and potential at Owen.”