Highlights of My Tuck MBA Experience
WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO PURSUE AN MBA AT THIS POINT IN YOUR CAREER?
I love learning, and I was ready for a change. I was excited about the opportunity to immerse myself in a community of ambitious, driven, and equally-enthusiastic people for two years.
WHAT ARE SOME HIGHLIGHTS OF YOUR TUCK MBA EXPERIENCE SO FAR?
We are so lucky to live in Hanover for two years. The highlights of my Tuck MBA experience are all about the people and the location.
Small Group Dinners (SGDs) are my favorite Tuck tradition—it’s a privilege to host my classmates for dinner in my tiny studio apartment and get to know them over a meal.
At a recent TSVF Investment Committee meeting, we voted to invest in a startup that a group of classmates and I championed and presented. That moment felt like a culmination of my Tuck experience because it combined so many learnings, and we pivoted numerous times based on feedback. It’s a business and impact I believe in, and our team put a ton of work into the deal.
And a constant highlight is bike rides with friends that end at the Norwich Farmers’ Market!
CAN YOU SHARE A MOMENT OR LESSON FROM YOUR TIME AT TUCK THAT WILL STAY WITH YOU LONG AFTER GRADUATION?
Tracy Sun T’05, cofounder of Poshmark, says “Don’t let fear dictate.” This will stick with me. My time at Tuck has provided an opportunity to follow threads of curiosity in a supportive and cultivating community. These threads have led me to incredible places with amazing people—Kenya, Peru, China—as well as skinning up the Skiway, biking up Ascutney, and more. I cherish Tracy’s advice, and it helps me build conviction in a less-traditional post-Tuck career path.
WHAT WILL YOU MISS MOST ABOUT YOUR TIME AT TUCK?
I will miss so many things! The privilege of being in the classroom, the opportunity to meet so many new people, living near my friends, my daily walk to campus, long bike rides and spotting baby cows, running into my classmates everywhere in the Upper Valley, and so much more. I’ve loved living here and being part of the Tuck community.
WHAT TUCK RESOURCES HAVE HAD THE BIGGEST IMPACT ON YOUR EXPERIENCE?
The people and community at Tuck are the greatest resources—don’t take them for granted. The institutions that put me alongside those people mattered too: as a fellow at the Center for Digital Strategies and the Center for Entrepreneurship, a director of the Tuck Social Venture Fund, and a participant in two GIXs with Professor Ramon Lecuona Torras, I’ve had the chance to apply my learnings in the real world. Learning by doing, alongside people I now call friends, has been the through-line of my Tuck experience.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO PROSPECTIVE MBA STUDENTS CONSIDERING TUCK?
Think about what you want out of your Tuck experience—what are you optimizing for? I wanted to meet lots of new people, spend time outside, take advantage of opportunities outside of my comfort zone, and cultivate as many “learning by doing” opportunities as possible.
