By Allyson Himelstein, Tuck Partner (TP) '16
Allyson works at Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth in the career services, communication, and advancement departments. Before moving to the Upper Valley, she worked as a recruiter in Manhattan and guest lectured at NYU's Career Center. While she misses New York’s food scene and architecture, she’s fallen in love with her new life in the Upper Valley. She recently bought ski gear and has learned to appreciate snow—and lots of it, at that! She loves to read memoirs, explore cities, is an outspoken book club participant, and is currently learning how to cook.
After some preliminary research (e.g. reading and viewing photographs from previous blog posts about Admitted Students Weekend from 2011 onward), I am fairly certain that the MBA Program Office and the weather are working together to ensure that Admitted Students Weekend (ASW) is consistently glorious. Let me explain.
Last year, I was shocked to experience perfect weather April 18–20. And, by perfect, I mean 70 degrees and sunny the entire time (excluding the evenings, of course). I thought the perfect weather was an isolated event. But, no—the same thing happened this year. My Yahoo Weather app predicted that it would be crummy, rainy, and grey for this year’s ASW. But, guess what? It wasn't. Of course, ASW isn't just about the weather, although it does help make Tuck even more enticing. ASW is about the glimpse into the next two years of your life. Hand on heart, this glimpse is pretty super.
When my boyfriend and I boarded the Dartmouth Coach from Manhattan to Hanover for ASW one year ago, I was nervous and had no idea what to expect. In hindsight, this was helpful because life is really all about moderating expectations. The moment we got off the bus, gaggles of current students in matching t-shirts welcomed us with cheer and food from The Box. What’s The Box you ask? It’s just an exceptional food truck founded by a TP’15, and has a ubiquitous presence at Dartmouth to boot. I chose a falafel pita sandwich with homemade hummus and felt like I was at home. This year, I missed lunch because I was working—thank you Thayer School of Engineering—and raced back to Sachem Village to begin preparing dinner for our prospective students. It’s impossible for me to choose what my favorite part of ASW is, but small group dinners (FYI: these continue) are high up there. When current students grill flank steaks outside and bake gooey chocolate brownies for you, break out Settlers of Catan—Tuck students are obsessed with this game—Swiffer their floors, and utilize creative ice breakers to learn about who you are, it feels good. It feels like a community. It makes you want to be here.
Everyone says the following about Tuck: “These will be the best two years of your life.” And, “Yes, everyone is this friendly.” These statements are true. They have also produced a moderate degree of sadness within me. I love it here so much that I have started counting down the months until it’s all over. I recognize that this is unhealthy and not in the least bit productive, but I do it all the same. For me, ASW—the informative panels, conversations while hiking, inclusiveness, the band party, the international lunch (fried PB&J, a variety of dumplings from Russia, shepherd’s pie, mango lassi, MEAT, etc.) wide-eyed and exhilarated T’17s and TP’17s, and the hundreds of salted oat chocolate chip cookies from the Box—made me realize how quickly time has passed. I have relished in every moment, and I will try to live in the present until next year’s ASW, when I will surely cry of nostalgia and jealousy of the incoming class of 2018.
(Photo above: The international lunch at Tuck during ASW. Photo by Laura DeCapua.)