In Chicago, Olivier Kanicki had established a niche for himself in software consulting, first at Oracle and later at Hitachi Solutions. He was proud of his accomplishments for both companies—and for creating inclusive spaces, such as the LGBTQ+ employee resource group he established at Hitachi. Still, he says, “As a values-driven leader, I was not fully living out my values in the work I was doing.”

Inspired by his “need to live authentically and have purpose in my work,” he decided to pursue an MBA and reorient his career toward human resources. “I had been externally facing for so long,” Ollie explains, “that the idea of having an internal impact on employees was refreshing.”

Vanderbilt’s human and organizational performance concentration was “immediately attractive” to him. Combined with the Leadership Development Program (unavailable in the other MBA programs he considered) and the opportunity to be part of a smaller program “where I could have a major impact,” Vanderbilt was the obvious choice.

But Ollie entered Vanderbilt with 2 concerns. One was that “I would somehow be landlocked to job opportunities in and around the city.” Another was that, as a self-described “queer person who has spent a lot of time in very liberal cities like Boston and Chicago,” he would find Nashville unwelcoming.

Ollie was pleased to discover that both worries were unfounded. “Tennessee gets a lot of bad press because of attacks on LGBTQ+ rights, but Nashville and Owen are different,” he says. “I have found community within Owen through Out & Allied [a student club for which he served as president] and in the larger community, which is very queer-friendly.”

He was also “pleasantly surprised,” he says, to find that “Owen places talent all over the country.” After spending his internship with Amazon in Seattle and earning his MBA, Ollie returned to Chicago to join Cisco’s FLEX Rising Leaders program, a 3-year program consisting of a series of HR-focused “people and communities” engagements.

He walked away from Vanderbilt with the knowledge that, just as he’d envisioned, he made an impact—by writing 2 cases with a professor that were in preparation as he neared graduation, through student clubs like the Owen Culinary Society (for which he also served as president) and through opportunities to start and reboot organizations, such as the Owen Music and Entertainment Club. “Owen loves initiative,” Ollie notes. “If it doesn’t exist, you can make it happen.”

Perhaps the most valuable lesson, he reflects, came from his executive coach in the Leadership Development Program, who told him, “What got you here will not get you there.” Regarding his career trajectory, he says, “The value of Vanderbilt was this moment where I woke up and realized, ‘I am here, but I need to go there, but I don’t know how.’” Now, post-MBA, Ollie says, “As one role sunsets and I need to step up again, I will be able to recognize the transition and be confident I have the skills, alumni network, and faculty connections to make the transition.”

Fun Fact: A first-generation American, Ollie holds U.S. and Belgian passports and is eligible for one from Poland, the country of his father’s birth. 

Owen loves initiative. If it doesn’t exist, you can make it happen.