Growing up in California, Mia Maloney long aspired to work in the country music industry. So it only made sense to pursue a graduate degree in marketing in Music City as a way to get a head start on her career.

She applied to no other school but Vanderbilt — a place that wasn’t entirely unfamiliar. “I visited the campus back in high school when I toured for undergraduate,” Mia says. “Being from California, I remember being blown away by how green everything was and by the expansive lawns and magnolia trees. I also remember feeling very welcomed and at home when I stepped on campus; everyone says hello when they pass you, and there’s just a sense of camaraderie that comes with being here.”

Her sense of being in the right place and among the right people grew stronger after she arrived (along with her guitar) to begin the program. Even before classes started, Mia landed a part-time position as a marketing and communications assistant with the Country Music Association.

Meanwhile, the program and the people at Vanderbilt are helping her make the most of her new opportunities in her chosen city. “Especially during the pandemic, it is evident how much Owen’s team cares about each and every one of its students,” she says. “You can really feel how personalized and individual everything is.

“The whole team works so diligently to ensure that you have the tools and resources you need to succeed, while also being there should you need additional support along the way. I think the best example of this is that all 44 students in our program got the chance to sit down with people from the Leadership Development Team for an hour each to go over our Hogan Assessments and talk through our career goals, fears, and hopes for the future. It made all of us feel like the team was really invested in our success and genuinely wanted nothing more for us than to watch us accomplish all of our goals.”

Fun Fact: Mia loves to cook — so much that, during the Covid quarantine, she prepared new meals every night using a variety of cookbooks.

You can really feel how personalized and individual everything is.