For seven years, Sina Seger had been steadily building a career in banking in her native Switzerland. Though she enjoyed her work, she says, “I still felt like something was missing — and the missing piece was related to purpose and alignment of personal values and interests.”

Getting an MBA, she concluded, was the best way to pursue a career transition since, she says, “it would allow me to grow as a person, learn new skills, gain valuable international experience, and build a strong professional network.”

Because she was interested in the music business, Sina settled on Nashville before she decided on Vanderbilt. She also considered Belmont University’s music business program, but after visiting Owen, “I immediately knew I was going to have a home away from home here,” she says. “When thinking about moving to a new country, let alone a new continent, this was an extremely comforting feeling to have.”

Wanting to give back, Sina immersed herself in the community, serving on boards of the student-run Owen Music Club and Owen Tech Club, and as a senator in the Owen Student Government Association. Panels and lunch-and-learn sessions put on by clubs, as well as career-related sessions hosted by the CMC have been extremely helpful, she says, “especially as an international student trying to figure how living and working in the States works.”

For someone who grew up in a hamlet of 54 people and has spent significant time in the megalopolis of Mexico City, Owen is at the sweet spot between cosmopolitan and close-knit. “I have learned so much from my classmates,” she says, “because we are in a unique environment where people from so many different countries, states and industries come together and share insights about their backgrounds and experiences. I will leave Owen with a much broader horizon because of that."

Fun Fact: With little outside diversions in the tiny village where she grew up, Sina as a child often read as many as ten books per week.

"I have learned so much from my classmates because we are in a unique environment where people from so many different countries, states and industries come together.”