By Karishma Roopchand T'17
Summer internships are in full-swing for Tuckies, and so is planning for Tuck’s annual Women in Business Conference (WIBC) which will run from October 14th to 16th, 2016. WIBC is one of many initiatives at Tuck that aim to enable and support women by providing them with strong networks and skill-building opportunities. The conference brings together current students, prospective students and alumni for a weekend of workshops and discussion.
As one of four WIBC Co-chairs, all of whom are rising second-years, a lot of my time that’s not consumed by my summer internship is spent on planning and logistics for the fall conference. Like most events at Tuck, WIBC is entirely student-run, meaning that students are responsible for every detail of the conference, from deciding on the speaker line-up to budgeting to managing the day-of logistics. The ability to run conferences is only one of the many leadership opportunities that Tuck provides. Leadership development is central to the Tuck experience, allowing students the chance to run businesses, take on consulting projects and to work on entrepreneurial ventures, all of which are complemented by formal leadership courses that are baked into the core curriculum.
My decision to become a WIBC Co-chair was highly influenced by my own experience at the conference as a prospective student two years ago. The conference was my first exposure to the Tuck campus, and provided a weekend-long immersion into the tight-knit community that I believe distinguishes Tuck from its counterparts. The weekend also afforded me an early opportunity to meet some of my future classmates, many of whom I count today as close friends. From the moment I arrived, I was welcomed by current students and alumni who gushed about their time at Tuck, and who were eager to connect me with other Tuckies with similar interests and passions. I was stopped by countless students throughout the course of the weekend who, not recognizing my face, wanted to introduce themselves. I left campus feeling empowered by the panels and discussion that the conference sparked, and also with a strong sense that Tuck was a place where I would feel uniquely supported by a community of highly accomplished people who are all invested in one another’s success.
My fellow Co-chairs and I have been hard at work to make this year’s event equal parts inspiring and intimate. We are excited for the theme of this year’s conference, “Dare to Disrupt,” which is meant to promote the idea of challenging the status quo, particularly with respect to the current statistics around women in management positions. Additionally, we have planned a much-anticipated line-up of speakers and panelists, including a keynote speech by Elyse Allan T’84, President and CEO of GE Canada. Attendees will also have the opportunity to attend a mock class and hear from current students and alumni about life at Tuck and beyond.
I credit WIBC as a critical experience, which strongly motivated my decision to attend Tuck. My three Co-chairs and I first met at WIBC, and we are excited for this year’s prospective applicants to have the same opportunity to forge lasting bonds. To learn more about this year’s Women in Business Conference and to apply to attend, visit our website.
Karishma is a second year at the Tuck School of Business. She grew up in Connecticut and graduated from Brandeis University with a major in Economics. Prior to Tuck, Karishma spent four years in the finance industry before transitioning to education, working for a boutique education consulting firm in Boston. At Tuck, she is a Women in Business Co-chair, a Net Impact Co-chair and a Tuck Admissions Associate. She is spending her summer in a strategy consulting role at Parthenon-EY.