By the time she arrived at Vanderbilt, Leah Robinson already had a Master’s degree. And she already knew something about gaining it at an accelerated pace.

At the University of Delaware, where she launched her own successful business as an athletic tutor, Leah earned an MA in Economics while simultaneously completing her undergraduate degree in the same subject. She chose Economics, she says, because she’d been advised that it was a good pathway to law school. And she was interested in law because she thought it was the best way to pursue her long-time aspiration to work within the entertainment industry.

Eventually, however, Leah became disillusioned with the idea of practicing law. “It just felt too far removed from the creative process and even from the business side of entertainment, which I was becoming more and more interested in.” After turning down offers from several law schools, she decided to pursue a degree that would help her eventually enjoy a career in media and entertainment.

“Once I discovered the Vanderbilt MAcc program,” says Leah, “I was all in. It gave me the opportunity to earn accounting and finance credential, intern with a Big Four firm (with pay!), and secure full-time placement all in one year. And then there is Nashville! Honestly, I could not find a graduate program anywhere that scored on so many dimensions.

“When so many of my friends were trying to figure out, through trial and error, how to transition from college to the working world, Vanderbilt provided me with focused academic preparation, incredible professional opportunities, access to an elite professional and personal network, and a level of confidence it would have taken me years to gain on my own.”

Fun Fact: Leah learned to play steel drums during a study abroad in Trinidad & Tobago. She hopes to return one year for Carnival.

“Vanderbilt provided me with a level of confidence it would have taken me years to gain on my own.”