When she was considering MBA programs, it wasn’t possible for Radhika Karve to come to Vanderbilt from her native Mumbai, India, for a campus visit. So Kim Killingsworth of the Owen admissions team went to Mumbai to interview Radhika. It made an impression. “No other business school takes such effort to go and meet the candidates,” Radhika says. “I saw that here you really get the personal touch.”

She knew that an MBA would help her achieve her goal to advance her career in finance. At the same time, she understood that “an MBA is more than a degree. It teaches you important skills,” she says, “such as networking, building skills in all areas, giving presentations, speaking out for yourself, and meeting people from different perspectives. I wanted to gain a more holistic global view.”

With that aim in mind, Radhika filled her first year in the program with experiences that extended her business education far beyond the classroom. She served on the board of the Turner Family Center for Social Ventures, which gave her a chance to explore social enterprise. (She also was on the boards of the Women’s Business Association and the Owen Finance Club.)

She was chosen to visit Colombia as part of the student-driven poverty remediation initiative, Project Pyramid, to study social enterprise involving coffee growers and pickers. She also was selected to participated in a Leader-in-Residence program which gives participants an insider’s perspective on a merger and acquisition involving a Fortune 50 company and a chance to interact one-on-one with one of the company’s VPs. And she participated in conversations over coffee with CEOs and CFOs of Fortune 500 companies.

“In India, a lot of the emphasis is on classroom study,” Radhika says. “Owen is teaching me how to become an influential leader in a global setting.”

Fun Fact: Radhika is trained in Indian classical (Bharat Natyam) dance. I have visited 20 countries till date and am a travel freak!

“I saw that here you really get the personal touch.”