By Dominic Yau T’16
Dominic grew up in Hong Kong and London. After graduating from University of Warwick in 2008 with a bachelor’s in mathematics, he worked as an insurance underwriter for Markel International. Outside of the classroom, Dominic enjoys playing rugby, tripod hockey, and reading.
Although most of my fellow classmates and I came to Tuck to round out our business skill set and to think about different career opportunities, we also enjoy taking part in things we do not get a chance to do while working.
Being active and playing different sports was definitely something I enjoyed before coming to Tuck. I was a varsity American football player in college and also played in a men’s league in the U.K. I wanted to continue playing team sports once I got to Tuck.
Hockey is a common pastime for Tuckies with around 50 percent of the class either playing for the tripod leagues, or for the A and B teams that compete in a local league. While I do play tripod and enjoy it immensely, I also play on the less well-known Tuck rugby team.
Playing on the rugby team has been a great way for me to get to know my classmates better and to meet more second-year Tuckies. The team itself is very representative of the diverse nature of Tuck with members coming from South Africa, the U.K., Portugal, the U.S., Canada, Ireland, and Uruguay. There is a wide range of abilities but all that is necessary to learn is enthusiasm. Our members range from those who previously played at a high skill level, to those who have never played and know very little about the rules. The common thread is that we love the camaraderie that comes with playing a team sport.
The importance of teamwork in rugby has parallels with the Tuck experience. Whether you are on a rugby pitch with 14 teammates or in a study group meeting with five classmates, the main focus is always the team goal—not the individual goal.
Playing rugby for Tuck is also a great way to meet and network with MBAs from other schools as well as others in the local community. We play local colleges such as Colby-Sawyer and the Vermont Law School and take part in the MBA Rugby World Cup, a tournament hosted annually by Duke. The team will travel to Durham next April to compete against a host of other MBA schools and hopefully return with some silverware.
Although, like my teammates, I definitely do not recover quite as quickly as I used to, I have enjoyed my time so far on the rugby team and feel extremely proud to pull on my green jersey every time we play.