When Mayana Dos Reis MBA’26, MS’26 came to the U.S. from Brazil, she was looking for an international experience and a graduate education that would expand her business perspective. Through Fairfield Dolan’s Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Science in Marketing Analytics and Strategy (MSMAS) programs, she found both—and a pathway to a full-time career opportunity.
After completing her undergraduate degree in advertising from the University of São Paulo (Universidade de São Paulo), Dos Reis pursued her MBA and MSMAS concurrently at Fairfield. Throughout her experience in these graduate programs at the Charles F. Dolan School of Business, Dos Reis found that the two complemented one another, and the combined learning helped her develop a distinct and competitive edge.
“The MBA gave me a broader understanding of how different parts of a business connect, while the MSMAS allowed me to go deeper into consumer behavior, marketing strategy, and analytics,” she said. “Having both perspectives has been especially useful in my work. I can look at data and understand what is happening, but I also think about what that information means for the consumer, the category, and the business.”
The Impact of Experiential Learning
Experiential learning was woven throughout both programs and was a defining aspect of Dos Reis’s studies.
“Many assignments were based on real situations, which helped me become more comfortable working through open-ended problems where there is not always one correct answer,” she said.
Of these experiences, the MSMAS capstone project stands out for Dos Reis. As a concluding element of the program, the capstone allows students to provide research-based strategic recommendations to a focal business. Dos Reis’s capstone was done on Tommee Tippee, a global baby care brand within Mayborn Group.
Her research and recommendations covered consumer behavior and digital shelf strategy. Throughout the project, she collaborated with members of the Tommee Tippee team under the guidance of Julie Marella, instructor of the practice of marketing and MSMAS program director.
“Through the capstone, I had the opportunity to work on real category questions, analyze consumer and market data, identify opportunities, and present recommendations back to the company,” said Dos Reis. “It gave me an early understanding of the brand, the category, and some of the questions the team was working through. More importantly, it showed me the type of work I enjoyed doing.”
