By Charlie Humphreys T’17
Charlie started at the Tuck School of Business in the fall of 2015. Prior to Tuck, he worked in project management for Brasfield & Gorrie, the largest privately held construction management firm in the Southeastern U.S. Working out of Atlanta, Charlie helped lead and execute commercial construction projects spanning the mixed-use, office, and mission-critical spaces. Charlie attended undergrad at Auburn University, where he majored in Building Science and minored in Finance.
Post-Tuck, Charlie is considering a shift to the development side of commercial Real Estate while also exploring opportunities in other industries. Long term, his goal is to run an entrepreneurial venture in his native South Carolina.
Let’s start at the beginning—what is Fall A, anyway? Tuck’s first semester is split into two periods for first years, Fall A and Fall B, which act as independent terms. But Fall A is only four weeks long, specifically designed to lay the foundation for our time at Tuck. The result is one busy and fast-paced month! Fall A is our first taste of being students at Tuck, our chance to finally begin the “real” part of our b-school journey that has been over a year in the making for most of us—from taking the GMAT and applying, to moving to the Upper Valley, doing pre-term programs, and completing Orientation week.
Given the lead-up, it’s safe to say we were all pretty excited to get started, and Fall A certainly did not disappoint. It was overwhelming in all the right ways—more challenging than I expected but wildly more rewarding (and fun) than I thought it would be, too.
Academically, Fall A is the first dive into the core general management curriculum that’s central to the Tuck education. The courses and their descriptions can be found here, but I think it’s important to note how complementary they all are, with both quant and “soft” subjects and a combination of teaching methods including case studies, team projects, guest lectures and action-based learning. Our study groups, which are a unique aspect of Tuck’s academic experience, are critical to successfully navigating the academic rigor.
A favorite Fall A course of mine was Analysis for General Management with Professor Paul Argenti, which brought several guest speakers to class including Gen. John Amos, former Marine Corps. Commandant and Joint Chiefs of Staff member and John LeBoutillier T’92, CEO of Unilever Canada. Other courses I took include Leading Individuals and Teams with Professor Adam Kleinbaum; Managerial Economics with Professor Joe Hall; and Statistics for Managers with Associate Dean Praveen Kopalle.
Fall A also marks the start to recruiting season. Thankfully, there is a buffer between the first several weeks of classes and when recruiters arrive to campus. But after recruiting began, the floodgates were opened. The biggest challenge (for those like me, not sure of their career track) is simply deciding which interesting industries and firms you’ll pick to learn more about given all the options. I’ve been blown away by the sheer number of companies on campus to recruit—beyond just the traditional MBA employers like consulting firms, banks, and firms with general management programs. Tech, marketing, social enterprise, and beyond have all been here recruiting Tuckies as well. I attended a wide variety of company briefings including MBB, Goodyear Innovation, Under Armour, and more. For all the volume, the process is extremely well organized, with a robust infrastructure put into place by the Career Development Office.
Lastly, Fall A is the official kickoff to the social and extracurricular calendar here at Tuck. There’s a reason why Tuckies are substantially and consistently the most supportive alumni base among top b-schools, and I believe a large part of that equation goes back to the Tuck experience—which is nothing if not a lot of fun. Social activities included Field Day, Tuck Tails each Thursday (themed happy hours at various spots around campus), many different cultural events, and a Fall Formal.
If you enjoy an active lifestyle, Tuck and the Upper Valley offer a plethora of options. But make no mistake, hockey is king. It’s an institution here at Tuck, with the majority of students and partners playing. Never been on the ice before? No problem! Neither had most of the first years, including me. During Fall A there was a well organized sale of all the gear needed, along with an open training/tryout session where second years taught us all the basics. If you’re an amateur Gretzky (and there are some here), two Tuck travel teams play competitively in the region and against other top b-schools. But for most of us, “tripod” is the right fit—an intramural league within Tuck featuring nine men’s teams and four women’s. There is no better way to clear your mind after a day of schoolwork than a hard-fought win that evening on the ice!
Another great extracurricular resource at Tuck is the Visiting Executive program, which brings industry leaders to campus for students to interact with them in small, intimate settings. An advantage to our location is that visitors usually stay for a full day and evening, rather than dropping by for a few hours, so it gives more opportunities for students to spend time with visitors while they’re here. During Fall A, I participated in about a half dozen visiting exec events, including breakfasts, lunches, dinners and drop-ins. They were all great, but my favorite was having drinks at the Norwich Inn with Bill McNabb, CEO of Vanguard Group, where the discussion focused on ethical practices and their direct links to business success.
This was only a taste of Fall A, but I hope it gives you a sense of what it was like to go through as a first year. What this post can’t convey is that it was ultimately the people—my fellow classmates who are such an accomplished, diverse, and welcoming group—that made Fall A a great experience. My first month in Hanover confirmed for me that there’s no place like Tuck; I can’t wait for the next two years!