By Leslie McLauchlan T'15
Two years ago, I attended the 2012 Tuck Diversity Conference (DivCo) to see what Tuck was all about and whether I should apply. I left that weekend knowing that I’d love to spend two years at Tuck and I owe that to the T’13s and T’14s who worked endlessly to pull off such an influential event. Like most events at Tuck, DivCo is a student-run affair.
Year after year, hundreds of student volunteers—with the unwavering support of Tuck’s faculty and staff—volunteer their time and open their homes and dorm rooms to prospective students. As soon as I arrived on campus last year, I knew I wanted to get involved with DivCo. Last year, I helped the social co-chair plan the international party and this year I helped the admissions office advertise the event to prospective students as the external marketing co-chair. Being part of DivCo is a way for me to give back to the Tuck community and foster the dialogue around our community’s commitment to diversity and how we can continue to create an environment that values and attracts a wide range of ethnicities, backgrounds, life experiences, viewpoints, ideas, races, and genders.
On a practical level, participating in events like DivCo allows my classmates and me to gain real time leadership experience. Planning this conference involves managing your peers, prioritizing commitments and deadlines, and occasionally trying something outside your comfort zone. For me, this was being the external face of the conference by managing the Facebook page and website. Normally I’m a social media “lurker,” but being a DivCo co-chair forced me to be more active on social media to get the word out about this great event. DivCo made a huge impression on me and I sincerely hope that this year’s event has that effect on someone else.
Over the last five months, the eight DivCo chairs have been working hard to get our community and campus ready for our guests. Preparations for the conference kicked off last spring when the eight co-chairs got together for a photo shoot. Over the course of two afternoons, we posed around campus to capture images that I used to design our marketing materials with the help of Tuck’s design team. Over the summer, I also worked closely with the admissions office and the MBA Program Office to make sure the website and application were ready to launch by mid-August. Concurrently, the sponsorship co-chair worked with Tuck’s associate director of development to raise money for the event. In order for us to host prospective applicants, alumni, and guest speakers for the weekend, we depend on the generosity of our sponsors.
DivCo extends an invitation to Tuck alumni. Our alumni co-chair is working hard to ensure their return to campus is smooth and worthwhile. She is organizing both alumni-only events as well as opportunities for prospective students and alumni to share a meal together and engage in roundtable discussions.
Lastly, now that we are back on campus, our logistics co-chair is keeping us all accountable and ensuring that our campus facilities and Hanover’s local restaurants are ready for our guests. He’s been busy organizing the weekend’s small group dinners and lunches. These dinners and lunches are an integral part of the Tuck experience where groups of six to eight students, alumni, or staff dine together in an informal setting.
We’ve done a lot to date, but there is still much more work on the horizon. Over the next five weeks, our social, finance, internal marketing, and registration co-chairs will close out the planning phase by organizing two incredible parties, ensuring we stay on budget, generating excitement and participation from current students, and lastly, welcoming this year’s participants on November 6. We can’t wait!