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Senior Analyst, Modern Holdings, Inc.
Laura J—over the course of seven years in Boston, the native of Lithuania found it expedient to shorten her difficult-to-pronounce surname, Jaseviciute—knows how to change lanes adroitly.
After coming to the U.S. to continue her college education, she realized she couldn't afford the steep tuition without taking a job on the side. She juggled her studies with managing three restaurants, two bars and 50 employees. She graduated debt-free.
Post-college, Laura worked as a financial analyst for a small private wealth management firm. After considering numerous schools, she decided to seek a Vanderbilt MBA so she could shift into the world of corporate finance with a large organization.
Leaving Boston, where she hadn't needed a car, Laura made another big shift—to driving—and made the 19-hour trip to Nashville in a VW Rabbit she'd bought one week earlier. But coming to a much smaller city wasn't as big a leap as she'd expected. The friendly people, she says, reminded her of her native Vilnius.
So perhaps it wasn't surprising that, after a finance internship in San Francisco, Laura realized she preferred the more familiar, less bureaucratic environment of a small company. So she shifted her career focus to private equity and won a position in New York that she describes as "the perfect fit for me."
Perhaps, too, her preference for a small, hands-on organization was shaped by her Owen experience. "Owen is a place," she says, "where everyone makes you feel important and special, not just another number."
Laura Jaseviciute
Vanderbilt MBA Class 2010Senior Analyst, Modern Holdings, Inc.
Changing Lanes
Owen Puts Laura J in the Driver's SeatLaura J—over the course of seven years in Boston, the native of Lithuania found it expedient to shorten her difficult-to-pronounce surname, Jaseviciute—knows how to change lanes adroitly.
After coming to the U.S. to continue her college education, she realized she couldn't afford the steep tuition without taking a job on the side. She juggled her studies with managing three restaurants, two bars and 50 employees. She graduated debt-free.
Post-college, Laura worked as a financial analyst for a small private wealth management firm. After considering numerous schools, she decided to seek a Vanderbilt MBA so she could shift into the world of corporate finance with a large organization.
Leaving Boston, where she hadn't needed a car, Laura made another big shift—to driving—and made the 19-hour trip to Nashville in a VW Rabbit she'd bought one week earlier. But coming to a much smaller city wasn't as big a leap as she'd expected. The friendly people, she says, reminded her of her native Vilnius.
So perhaps it wasn't surprising that, after a finance internship in San Francisco, Laura realized she preferred the more familiar, less bureaucratic environment of a small company. So she shifted her career focus to private equity and won a position in New York that she describes as "the perfect fit for me."
Perhaps, too, her preference for a small, hands-on organization was shaped by her Owen experience. "Owen is a place," she says, "where everyone makes you feel important and special, not just another number."
