Before coming to Vanderbilt, Lee Pierce had worked in consulting for seven years, and she didn’t plan on changing careers. She had a different reason for choosing a Vanderbilt MBA.

“I wanted the experience and the network,” Lee says. “I had pretty much ‘grown up’ in consulting, but knew I could gain 200-400 additional peers who I could call on.”

Her interest in exploring what she calls “the academic side of organizational change management” — a Vanderbilt strength — led her to look into the school. But “the deciding factor for me,” she says, “was the super-friendly admissions reps and the helpful and resourceful students.”

Within the area of change management, Lee has focused on human and organizational performance with a health care emphasis. “The HOP classes are great and on-target,” she says, “and the health care classes that are available offer the opportunity to analyze real-life problems. Because we’re a smaller school, we don’t have to worry about not getting into classes.”

Lee immersed herself in both academic work and opportunities to be involved in several student organizations from the Women’s Business Association and Black Students’ Association to the Texas Club launched at Owen by fellow natives of the Lone Star State. And amid everything else, she made time on Wednesday nights for salsa and bachata dancing at a local club.

When she left Vanderbilt with her MBA and a senior consultant position in Healthcare & Life Sciences in the Chicago office of West Monroe Partners, Lee could say she got what she hoped Vanderbilt could give her. “I have increased my network exponentially and am able to leverage contacts not only from Owen but also from Big Vandy,” she says. “This will prove beneficial as I climb the corporate ladder or even if I decide to relocate back to Nashville.

Fun Fact: Lee, who began dancing before she was three years old, has been a member of three different dance companies. Recently, she has taken up Latin social dancing.

Before coming to Vanderbilt, Lee Pierce had worked in consulting for seven years, and she didn’t plan on changing careers. She had a different reason for choosing a Vanderbilt MBA.“I wanted the experience and the network,” Lee says. “I knew I could gain 200-400 additional peers who I could call on.”