By Dominic Yau T'16
Dominic grew up in Hong Kong and London. After graduating from the University of Warwick in 2008 with a bachelor’s in mathematics, he worked as an insurance underwriter for Markel International. Dominic enjoys playing rugby, tripod hockey, and reading outside of the classroom.
When looking at business schools, one important criteria for me was finding a place where I would not be an anonymous member of the community. Instead, I wanted to make a difference and contribute to improve whatever community I would be a part of. Tuck provided me this opportunity. Since we have smaller and more close-knit courses, everyone is valued and no one is unrecognized. At Tuck, I'm not just a number. Having just completed the fall semester, I've experienced this firsthand and have already recognized how it is a huge benefit.
Developing a deeper connection with your classmates
On a daily basis, I get the opportunity to meet and interact with a good number of my classmates in and out of the classroom. No one fades into the background. On any given day, I may be in the same class, have lunch, play on a sports team, or attend a recruiting event with any one of my classmates. By having multiple touch points every day, I have gotten to know a very large portion of the T’16 class and have a deep connection with many of them. This really helps strengthen the fabric of Tuck. I would be surprised if, by graduation, I did not know every single member of my class very well. This is why I know that even after graduation, we will continue to be a tight-knit class and form a strong part of Tuck’s alumni community.
Access to faculty
I was fortunate enough to take an elective in place of a core course this fall. Because of their small size, elective courses enable you to be an even more integral part of the class. Initially, I found it difficult to prepare for my elective course, so I reached out to the professor. He not only knew who I was, he gladly welcomed the opportunity to speak with me about the class. We set up a time to meet together to talk through how the course worked and what I needed to do in order to succeed. It was amazing that I had that level of support and the fact that I wasn't just a number really helped.
Shaping the future of the school
Being one person in a class of 280 also means your voice is valued. Throughout the year, we have the opportunity to speak up and help shape the future of Tuck. I attended a coffee chat with the associate dean of Tuck because I wanted to not only improve my own experience, but also the experience for future classes. Having been a student in the associate dean’s course, he knew exactly who I was and was very willing to listen to my ideas. By being not just a number, I had the opportunity to positively impact the school moving forward.
(Photo above by Laura DeCapua)