TAMPA 鈥� For married couple Mayuri Sarkar and Vijay Puvvada, love has always meant walking side by side.
When Mayuri committed to pursuing an executive MBA at the 黑料爆料 Muma College of Business, Vijay quickly realized that her studies would reshape their routine 鈥� and he didn鈥檛 want to sit on the sidelines.
Mayuri, a senior manager at Citi, saw an EMBA as a way to reach the next level of her career. For Vijay, an AI architect and platform owner at Zelis, it was an unexpected opportunity to leap with her.
Pursuing the EMBA together
Vijay says it was Mayuri鈥檚 idea to go into an EMBA program.
鈥淲e do about everything else together. Why not do this with her? I thought if she is going to go through it and she has to do all of this homework and reading, that probably will take away from our personal time, so we might as well do it together,鈥� he said.
Enrolling into the EMBA program as a couple wasn鈥檛 just practical; it defined their experience.
With demanding careers and a shared home life, taking on an intensive graduate program simultaneously forced them to rethink how they organized their days, their relationship, and their goals.
Finding balance through structure
Balancing two full-time jobs, graduate coursework, and marriage could have become overwhelming. But Mayuri says their similar working styles made the transition feel natural.
鈥淲e are both managers. We organize and prioritize,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t was never a question of either or. But you're going to see each other more this way than you would have otherwise, and you have to be comfortable with each other's constant presence.鈥�
The pair鈥檚 dynamic became one of their strongest assets in the program.
Instead of competing for time, they coordinated it. Instead of drifting apart under pressure, they grew closer.
Growing together in the program
Enrolling in the EMBA side by side shaped how they worked and how they understood one another.
For Vijay, the shared challenge deepened their partnership.
鈥淚f nothing else, it brought us closer together,鈥� he said. Then, with the humor that seemed to define their rapport, he added, 鈥淎t least, yeah, you're not thinking about divorce or anything?鈥�
The program became a shared project 鈥� one that demanded communication, scheduling, sacrifice, and teamwork. In the process, it highlighted the strengths that made their marriage work.
As they near graduation, Mayuri and Vijay are already feeling the impact on their careers and personal lives. Their decision to pursue the EMBA as a unit has allowed them not only to grow individually, but also to grow in sync 鈥� professionally and personally.
What started as her ambition quickly became their shared adventure 鈥� proof that the strongest dreams are the ones pursued together.