Community gives us strength. Every decision we make and goal we set is made easier when we have people around us to encourage and support us. Sometimes those goals need an extra foundation or pillar to take us to the next level.
“Sometimes those goals need an extra foundation or pillar to take us to the next level.”
Over the next two blog posts, I will be sharing interviews I had with women who knew they wanted to grow and pivot in their careers, and how Pepperdine University’s Graziadio Business School helped them succeed.
When I graduated over 10 years ago, I thought that was it. But it has been truly inspiring to dig in and see how Pepperdine University’s Graziadio Business School aligns with Yellow Co.’s mission and could positively impact my long-term career goals. They focus on amplifying your voice as a leader, student collaboration, community networking, as well as encouraging bold thinking and shaping confident decision-makers.
In case you have similar concerns as me, everyone who applies to Pepperdine is evaluated for merit-based scholarships, and for their Bachelor of Science in Management (BSM) program they have evening and Saturday classes, with priority admission for Fall 2021, open through May 31, 2021.
Today, I had the pleasure of speaking with Graziadio Bachelor of Science in Management alumna Nadine Tapia (MBAJ ‘20), to discover how the community at Pepperdine has helped shape and support her and her business. She graduated from Graziadio’s joint BSM and MBA (MBAJ) program as well as completing their SEER certification. Currently, she is getting ready to launch her own skincare brand (inspired while studying at Pepperdine), which will be Ecocert COMOS certified aka organic and sustainable, working towards becoming a B Corporation to continue to use business as a force for good, and is focused on giving back to help foster youth get into and stay in school. Talk about meaningful work!
Ella London: Nadine, thank you so much for joining me today here on zoom. I’m excited to hear about your journey and why you decided to go back to university.
Nadine Tapia: Lovely to meet you too and get to know about Yellow Co.!
EL: With over 20 years of experience in the beauty industry and the connections you have created throughout that time, what was the catalyst that encouraged you to seek out continuing your education?
“I was on my own pretty early. I had an apartment before I could even have a drink.”
NT: My father passed when I was young, and I grew up with my aunt and uncle, so I was independent and on my own pretty early. I had an apartment before I could even have a drink. This was back in the 90s, and the first job I had paid me $15 per hour. I thought, “Oh my gosh, I’ve hit the lottery!” So, I stopped going to school. I kept growing in my career because I was scrappy and resourceful and did what I had to do, but I always wished I had continued my education. Then I got to a point in my career, where I had led a skincare company to an acquisition with Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy. After that, I decided to fulfill my dream and go back to school.
EL: Wow! Did you ever feel like maybe you didn’t need to go back to school with all you had achieved in your career and with your company, Tapia Beauty Group?
“I achieved a lot, … but I wasn’t feeling 100% fulfilled.”
NT: Prior to Pepperdine, I had been going, going, going for six years straight with blinders on. I achieved a lot, but it was a very intense process and I wasn’t feeling 100% fulfilled. I felt like there was something more for me to do. In addition, I was noticing a shift in the beauty industry, and I knew I needed to learn ways to understand the consumer better and where they were looking to buy. I’m a lifelong learner, so it was natural for me to want to take my career and business to that next level, and I believed Pepperdine would be able to do that for me. In my research, I saw they have a great network of alumni who had done the same thing—being in a career, and either they were pivoting or they wanted to grow in some way.
EL: Speaking of researching, with all the colleges and universities out there, what drew you to Pepperdine University?
“I saw Pepperdine had a great networking structure, which was really important to me.”
NT: I could have gone to an executive program, but I knew I still had a lot to learn. I researched a lot of schools, but Pepperdine Graziadio Business School had everything that I wanted. I saw they had a great networking structure, which was really important to me. Their class sizes were smaller than the typical class size. Even just meeting with their advisors, they were just more open, available, and nicer than anyone I had approached everywhere else! Everything was being checked off my list, so they won, and I have not regretted a minute of it.
EL: I love your business motto, “If you love what you do, you never work a day in your life.” A lot of our members either run their own businesses or are managers. How did Pepperdine’s programs help you with hiring and managing your team, to ensure they love what they do for you?
“Pepperdine offers this wonderful system where you can do your BSM and your master’s within 3 years!”
NT: I’m really happy that I have close relationships with many of the people that I’ve worked with throughout my career. It is not always perfect. Things don’t always go as planned. That is life. After completing my BSM, I started my Joint MBA, and Pepperdine made it possible for me to concurrently get another concentration within the MBA in Dispute Resolution.
BTW, I have to tell you, Pepperdine offers this wonderful system where you can do your BSM and your master’s within 3 years—I mean how fabulous is that?! I was actually almost sad it was over it went by so fast. I mean, Statistics didn’t go by fast, but all the other courses did!
“The course at Pepperdine really opened my eyes to the psychology behind what people need and want and how I could best serve someone working for me.”
But back to your question, I did the additional MBA with a focus in Dispute Resolution, because I really wanted to understand that aspect of working with people. Not to take it into the law field, but to know where the holes are—what I could do as a business owner. In the company I had worked at prior, there were a lot of legal disputes that did not have to happen. The course at Pepperdine really opened my eyes to the psychology behind what people need and want and how I could best serve someone working for me. Having empathy. Having understanding. It almost seems very basic and fundamental, but a lot of things like that get missed in corporations and even small businesses. It’s never 100% easy or foolproof, but if you have more understanding on that level, you will have an easier time working with people.
EL: Would you share a story with us from your own business that used the tools you learned from Pepperdine Graziadio Business School’s BSM program?
“There’s nothing better than aligning someone with what they really love to do.”
NT: I ask my employees, even the interns, “What do you really want to do? What really excites you? What stimulates you creatively? If you could do anything what would it be?” I had an intern who applied to work with me, and the position was in packaging. She responded that she really wanted to work in color cosmetics, and I said, “Well, we really need to find you a color cosmetics company then.” She said, “No, no, no, but I really want to work with you!” So I told her we could make a commitment over the next three months that while she was working for me, I would try and help her find a place in a color cosmetics company. There’s nothing better than aligning someone with what they really love to do. I want people to be on my team who want to be on my team. It does make it a lot easier if you are aligned with your goals, your vision, your interests, and your values.
EL: I love those questions and that you give your team the space to share and talk. What would you say to someone, like me, who is nervous about going back to school after a break or wondering how they will fit it into their day with work and family?
NT: When I said I was going back to school, there were people seriously telling me not to do it. I listened because they were people that I love, but then I said to them, the endgame is not that I need to, but that I really want to. If you have the mentality that you are always curious and want to learn and grow, do it for yourself more than anything. Because the opportunities will come.
“Pepperdine has made a way to make challenging courses so doable, even with a job.”
To someone who is entering these classrooms after not being in an educational environment for a while, I would say that there are more people who are like you than are not. Of course, we were all nervous and stressed that going back to the tough curriculum was going to be too hard, but it really isn’t. Pepperdine has made a way to make challenging courses so doable, even with a job. The BSM is a really well-thought-out program. Starting out, I thought there was no way I was going to be able to study economics and do my job during the day, but between online or in-person evening and Saturday classes and team environment, they made it very, very workable and gave me the support I needed.
EL: Tell me about the community at Pepperdine, and why you take the time as an alumna to give back?
“The professors were wonderful, accessible, and helpful … and have become resources for me in my now growing business.”
NT: When I was attempting to go back to school, I didn’t see someone like me saying, “You’ll be surprised at how much you’ll enjoy it, and what you’ll get out of it.” At Pepperdine, we had very close-knit classrooms. The professors were wonderful, accessible, and helpful. Not only have they become really close friends, but also resources for me in my now growing business. Also, I’m a natural connector. I love to connect people. What really draws me to share my experience is seeing people who are looking for something more, just like I was, because I would have loved to have had someone say to me, “Just do it, you will be so happy with yourself.”
EL: Brilliant! I love how passionate you are about Pepperdine—how can people connect with someone from your program to learn more?
NT: Bree Jensen is my go-to advisor at Pepperdine. I know her personally, and I know she would love to have a conversation with you about your career.
EL: Great! I’ll be sure to get Bree’s information to share with our members. I feel like we need another interview with you to unpack all of the goodness that you’ve shared with us today! Everything you are doing feels so aligned with what we do here at Yellow Co., and I love that you took the time to share with us your journey and how going back to school at Pepperdine really impacted that. Thank you.
To dive in and learn more about how Pepperdine can guide you in your career, their BSM advisor, Bree Jensen is available—sign up here for a 30 minute consultation.
