UC Davis Helped Me Become a Silicon Valley Communications Leader 

“Be different, not better.” 

That is a common phrase in Silicon Valley when entrepreneurs pitch their product or services to stand out and beat the competition.

Every industry has this thought process, and the same goes for higher education. Universities promote their distinctive perks, rankings and student life to both parents and prospective students.

When it comes to UC Davis, I have found after earning two degrees and becoming a “Double Aggie” that it lives up to its promise.

The student learning experience at UC Davis shines as a gold standard for graduates as they embark on their professional journey. 

UC Davis teaches learners everything they need to succeed while equipping them with an action-oriented mindset to tackle any personal and professional goal. That is the Davis Difference. 

Double Aggie: Shaping My Success as a Communications Leader

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As a Double Aggie having earned an undergrad degree in political science and government and most recently an MBA, I am thankful to have benefited from the “Davis Difference” multiple times along my career journey.

As an Aggie undergrad, I gained first-hand experience developing my skills in research, analysis, and a wide array of marketing and communications styles.

This experience was the springboard I used to become a communications leader in Silicon Valley. The skills I honed at UC Davis catapulted me to work at the world's leading nonprofits and e-commerce firms.

My career as a communicator building brands and leading through crises had been very rewarding and I’m fortunate to have made a significant impact and received accolades along the way.

But here's the thing: industry changes, trends come and go, and so do skills. Marketing has changed dramatically over the last decade and AI, machine learning, data analytics and other advanced technologies will reshape how we reach and communicate to customers and stakeholders.

I knew that to continue to grow as a professional, I needed to learn about the emerging best practices of marketing executives and the rapid advancements in technology that scale the impact of product marketing from the experts.

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UC Davis Faculty: Industry Leaders and Innovators

With this in mind, I set off to pursue an MBA. I was accepted into many top programs, but only one drew my attention—the UC Davis Graduate School of Management’s Bay Area MBA.

The Davis Difference was clear from my first class. The Bay Area MBA program focuses on equipping professionals and executives with skills that make daily impact, empowering them to launch new ventures and becoming global leaders.

Throughout my MBA journey, I have been deeply impressed by the faculty. Many of them have gone above and beyond to help me develop skills with AI in marketing, branding, category strategy, and how to use big data analysis to approach go-to-market decisions.

In my opinion, Vasu Unnava, Vanessa Errecarte and Prasad Naik are among the top thought leaders in marketing in the U.S. These three leaders help you build your personal brand and grow professionally.

In Errcarte's course on personal branding, her golden rule of personal branding is that "done is better than perfect." It’s a mantra that anyone who deals with imposter syndrome needs to take to heart.

Since graduating, I have strived to take this advice to heart and created a successful wilderness photography side hustle that has achieved over 11 million impressions in the last two years.

I am proud of the work I have accomplished as a UC Davis MBA. And if you want to become an impactful, collaborative leader, then check out the Davis Difference.