After nearly two years in the business world, Nile Marshall became a charter school teacher in Washington, D.C. Five years later, she decided it was time to enter a different kind of classroom.

“I wanted to round out my experiences,” Nile says. “I grew significantly on the personal front while I was teaching, but I wanted to grow professionally and further develop my business acumen.”

As she considered various MBA programs, she wasn’t able to come to Vanderbilt for a visit, but she talked to a number of admissions staff and students. She asked the same question of each person: What makes Owen unique?

“The first response,” Nile recalls, “was almost always, ‘The people.’ Now that I am a member of the Owen community, I have had the opportunity to experience the warm and caring community first-hand. Students, faculty and staff are invested in the success of everyone in the Owen family. The small class size allows me to find my personal fit and develop relationships with members of the community.”

During her first year in the program, in which she established a concentration in Human & Organizational Performance, Nile immersed herself in the life of the community, serving as an officer in two student-led organizations and as a member of the Honor Council, even as she was busy with her studies, with interviewing for internships (she landed a summer spot with Deloitte’s Atlanta office) and with the Leadership Development (which she credits with helping her “apply the lessons from my previous career in education to the corporate space”).

In hindsight, Nile says, she wishes she had made a formal campus visit to attend a class and meet current students. Instead, along with her other areas of involvement, she’s paying it forward, serving as a campus visit coordinator to introduce prospective students to the welcoming community she found here.

Fun Fact: In college, Nile and her friends started Georgetown’s first urban a capella group. Her goal before graduation is to learn to play acoustic guitar and perform at an open mic night in Nashville.

“The small class size allows me to find my personal fit and develop relationships with members of the community.”