First Job After Darden: Rebecca Dsilva’s Walk to Work in St. Louis

Today’s edition of The Darden Q&A explores the early, post-graduate experiences of Rebecca Dsilva, who is in her first months of a new career after graduating from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business in May.

In June, Dsilva began working full-time for Emerson, a global technology and automation company based in St. Louis, Missouri.

Dsilva, who was born and raised in Bangalore, India, before moving to Charlottesville to attend Darden, pursued a Management Science Specialization. She also specialized in Marketing, Business Analytics, ESG and Strategy Consulting.

What’s your job title?

I’m currently a corporate marketing manager within Emerson’s Leadership Development Program (LDP), designed specifically for MBA graduates. It’s a four-year rotational program – two years in corporate (based in St. Louis), followed by a rotation into a business unit, which could be anywhere in the U.S. or even abroad.

How’s your commute?

It’s amazing! I live just seven minutes from work and walk every morning through Shaw Park, which is right next to my apartment. It’s the perfect way to start the day.

What does your work entail?

In my role at Emerson, I focus on enterprise brand marketing and communications. I’m part of the Brand Marketing team, where my work ranges from updating brand guidelines and developing marketing collateral to building AI tools that help streamline how we communicate our brand globally.

A big part of my day-to-day is supporting our chief marketing officer. I help her shape the marketing strategy for the fiscal year, coordinate global leadership meetings, and develop executive-level materials for both internal and external audiences. Since my role is corporate-focused for the first two years, my team has been really intentional about giving me exposure across different areas of marketing – which has been an incredible learning experience.

Overall, it’s a great mix of strategic brand work and executive-level support, and it’s given me a well-rounded view of how corporate marketing operates at a global scale.

Did you intern with this company?

Yes! Emerson held on-campus interviews at Darden, and I was fortunate to be selected as part of a small cohort of 10 MBA students from across various business schools. I interned with the same marketing team, where I worked on developing an AI strategy for marketing and piloted an internal chatbot for the sales and marketing teams.

What have you discovered that’s fun about your new city?

St. Louis is incredibly community-driven, with tons of events focused on bringing people together. Forest Park and Tower Grove Park have become my go-to spots for running and attending events. In September, Forest Park hosted a hot air balloon race – completely free and open to the public. The night before, they had a “balloon glow,” where all the balloons were lit up on the ground. There were food trucks, live music and so much programming. It was beautiful!

What’s been the biggest challenge?

Emerson is a massive conglomerate with a wide range of businesses, and I’m still getting my arms around all of it. Transitioning from the tech industry to the automation technology space has been a big shift – but it’s been a welcome one, and I’m learning more every day.

What has surprised you about your new career so far?

The level of visibility is incredible. I never imagined that right out of my MBA, I’d be working directly with C-suite executives at a Fortune 500 company – and they actually know me, my background, and even had dinner with our entire cohort! The leadership program is designed to accelerate your growth, and they’re very intentional about assigning high-impact work. Plus, we get access to executive coaches and peer coaches, which has been such a valuable bonus.

What kind of projects do you work on?

All my projects are marketing-focused, but they span across brand marketing, design, communications, strategy, AI and more. It’s a great mix that’s helping me build a well-rounded skillset before I move into my next rotation.

Do you have any colleagues from Darden there?

Yes! Emerson has a strong Darden presence. In the St. Louis office, there are currently five of us – two from the Class of ’24 and three from ’25. We also had two more Darden alums who recently completed their rotations and are now working in other parts of the world. It’s great to see Darden folks across various functions like Marketing, Strategy & Planning and Supply Chain Operations.

What’s the most useful thing for your new job that Darden prepared you for?

Darden played a pivotal role in helping me develop essential soft skills, like having the confidence to ask questions and share my perspective, even when it challenges the status quo. The marketing courses were directly applicable to my day-to-day work, but I’m especially glad I stepped outside my comfort zone. For instance, I took Valuations in my second year, and it came in clutch when I had to explain which metrics to use for peer benchmarking to a senior executive (never thought I’d find myself in that position!).

Anything else you might like to mention?

Don’t overlook smaller cities when it comes to recruiting. You might find incredible opportunities that align perfectly with your career goals if you’re open to looking beyond the usual hotspots.