When Mamie Murphy moved to Nashville a few years ago, she worked to revamp the client services department of a business doing complex medical claims management. However, “I always had the intention of leaving [the company] after I got them on their feet and ready to transition to selling the business,” she explains.

During the fall of 2017, Mamie took not one but two steps forward in her career: she changed jobs and started Vanderbilt’s Executive MBA program. In fact, when her current employer, Premise Health, began recruiting her, Mamie was only two weeks away from starting her EMBA. Premise honored the time commitment she needed to gain more executive skills.

“Premise was well aware of my educational goals when they hired me and have been very supportive,” Mamie says. “My boss thinks education is essential, and the company’s openness to my EMBA was definitely a reason I went with them.”

As classes progressed, the need to balance work and school led Mamie to take her time management skills to a new level. “You have more being thrown at you than you ever have in your life,” she says. “At the highest level, you prioritize and be efficient and make every second count.”

Before the second year, her newly honed managerial abilities became even more important when a vice president on her team went on maternity leave and Mamie took on an additional role. “The program really helped me be more effective,” she says.

Less than 18 months into the program and her time at Premise, Mamie earned a promotion to become Associate Vice President of Growth Strategy. And with the newfound confidence that she can balance a growing career with her responsibilities at home, she and her husband also decided to take another big step—starting a family. They welcomed their new addition in the summer of 2019, a few months after graduation.

My boss thinks education is essential, and the company’s openness to my EMBA was definitely a reason I went with them.