As CFO at PayCargo, Carolina Demi (MAcc ’14, BBA ’13) operates in a sector little-known outside the circles of those who use it, yet that affects us every day. A B2B online payment and supply-chain financing platform for the freight and cargo industries, it pays transporters upfront. This saves the receiving company time, speeding cargo release and reducing fees. “It pays for the whole shipment on your behalf,” Demi said.

Before attending medical school, Dr. Joshua Tarkoff (HCMBA ’19) aimed for a career as a professional tennis player. “My life was mostly tennis before anything else,” he said. That included playing on the team at Vanderbilt University, where he also majored in economics and chemistry. “I didn't have much of a social life,” Tarkoff said, “but I always wanted to keep my options open. I was realistic in the sense that most people don't play professional athletics.”

Nicole Rudner (DBA ’25, MBA ’12), director of engagement at TerraLex, an association of law firms, is neither an artist nor a therapist, yet she joined the Art Therapy Credentials Board, which sets standards for and certifies art therapy practitioners. “I’ve been able to advise on and apply business and not-for-profit best practices in a completely different sector,” she said, noting she helped refine the group’s governance while learning how art supports healing.