How Mick Denner (MBA ’18) Went From Opera to the Marines to Darden

11 August 2017

By Dave Hendrick


Students at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business come from a wide variety of backgrounds and careers, but few have followed the path charted by Mick Denner (MBA ’18).

Denner, a rising Second Year student, is a classically trained opera singer who put his music career on hold to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps. After six years with the Marines, Denner pivoted again, this time to Darden, where he is strengthening his leadership skills to pursue a career in the private sector.

 “A lot of the reasons that drove me to join the Marine Corps are what drove me to Darden. It has a reputation for being extremely tough and for being an MBA that you really earn. Given my untraditional background, I knew I needed a school that emphasized the academic aspect of the MBA to learn business skills.

Read the full profile on the Darden MBA Admissions blog.

About the University of Virginia Darden School of Business

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business prepares responsible global leaders through unparalleled transformational learning experiences. Darden’s graduate degree programs (MBA, MSBA and Ph.D.) and Executive Education & Lifelong Learning programs offered by the Darden School Foundation set the stage for a lifetime of career advancement and impact. Darden’s top-ranked faculty, renowned for teaching excellence, inspires and shapes modern business leadership worldwide through research, thought leadership and business publishing. Darden has Grounds in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the Washington, D.C., area and a global community that includes 18,000 alumni in 90 countries. Darden was established in 1955 at the University of Virginia, a top public university founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 in Charlottesville, Virginia.

 

Press Contact

Molly Mitchell
Associate Director of Content Marketing and Social Media
Darden School of Business
University of Virginia
MitchellM@darden.virginia.edu