For José Espinosa, starting the MBA program at Vanderbilt was an even bigger adjustment than for most students. Knowing that the degree would help advance his career, he says, “I wanted to live outside my country to meet new people and learn about a different culture.” But the distance between Nashville and his native Ecuador prevented José and his wife from visiting the campus before enrolling. (They were able to talk with two Owen alumni who are Ecuadorian, which helped guide their decision.)

When classes started, José encountered another surprise, but for him it was a pleasant one. “I am from a country where you to go to classes and hear the professor give a lecture,” he explains. “A highlight at Owen is the amount of interaction with the students during a class. I think it is great because I am learning a lot from my classmates’ past experiences.”

Perhaps the biggest adjustment was the need to market himself to potential employers for summer internships. “It was my first time doing networking events, calling people to sell myself, writing cover letters, and looking for companies to sponsor international students,” José says. “This whole process was entirely new to me. At first, I was feeling overwhelmed. But thanks to the help of my classmates and the Career Management Center, I learned how to navigate the process, and in the end I succeeded” (He landed an internship at Mattel).

In spite of the adjustments, José found more touches of home than he expected. As President of Owen’s Latin Business Association, he has connected with many successful Latino entrepreneurs in Nashville. “They have helped me grow as a leader and be less afraid of trying to start a project outside my home country,” he says.

There’s more Latino culture here than he had originally imagined, too, and it didn’t take José long to discover it. In fact, you can find him on most Thursday nights — Salsa Night — dancing at the Plaza Mariachi on Nolensville Road. “I never thought a place like that would be in Nashville,” he says. “The more time I spend here, the more the city surprises me.”

Fun Fact: A former member of Ecuador’s junior national squash team, José won the Tennessee Squash Open in 2018.

“I am from a country where you to go to classes and hear the professor give a lecture. A highlight at Owen is the amount of interaction with the students during a class.”