After earning her undergraduate degree in marketing, Rachel Brenk found herself “craving” graduate coursework that would allow her to deepen her understanding of the subject. “We only got to pick 3 marketing electives in undergrad, so I had this craving for learning I could not finish in undergrad,” she says. “I was excited by the opportunity to deepen my understanding.”

When Rachel explored graduate business programs, Vanderbilt’s Master of Marketing program stood out because of its strong emphasis on consumer behavior. “I like to approach marketing by making the consumer the hero of the story and understanding their needs,” she says. “Vanderbilt’s marketing curriculum emphasizes that approach, and it quickly drew me in.”

She also liked the one-year program’s clear focus. “I was also considering other MBA tracks, and what I loved about Vanderbilt’s program was the complete package and the holistic approach to understanding marketing—rather than a few marketing electives tied to an MBA,” she says.

Her deep dive into marketing helped her identify a strong interest in advertising and exposed her to faculty with expertise in such topics as consumer surveys. “Professor Kelly Haws took extra time to meet with me to understand survey coding and analysis, so I could learn the topics and apply them on my own moving forward,” she says. “The faculty in the program are leaders in their fields and incredible mentors.”

Being part of the broader Owen community also enriched Rachel’s year. “The club fair at the beginning of the year was a sweet way to understand how we can be involved with people who share similar interests across programs,” she says. “I learned about the Christian Business Association, joined a weekly book club that created an incredible opportunity to meet MBAs and other MMark students, and joined a Texas club to build connections.”

She recommends students also take advantage of the Leadership Development Program. “Meeting with an incredible career coach before I even entered Owen helped me identify my strengths and weaknesses,” she says. “And shortly after we started, we took the Hogan Assessment used by top Fortune 500 companies, and our coaches met personally with us to help us understand and learn from our test results. The LDP is one of the best aspects of the Owen experience.”

Fun Fact: Rachel has completed 3 half-marathons and plans to run a full marathon. 

The program has given me a boost personally and professionally—and a clear idea of where I want to go.