By Anna L. T’15
Anna is originally from China and came to the U.S. to pursue graduate study. She worked in various health care organizations, including nonprofit, health care facilities and managed care for ten years in Los Angeles. Her husband, two daughters (7-year-old and 5-year-old), and she drove across country to start a fresh life in the woods.
I admit there were many times I asked myself: Why am I here? When I studied accounting and capital market over midnight, I asked myself this question. When I spent hours struggling with Excel models and PowerPoint slides while my ex-consultant or ex-banker classmates could just lay back and have fun, I asked myself this question. When my Facebook was flooded with pictures of weekend kids’ activities from my California friends while I could not even have dinner with my kids every evening, I asked myself this question.
With no doubt, I faced many more challenges as an older student with children, coming from a non-traditional background without any prior finance training. Before Tuck, I was a medical social worker in Los Angeles. It took tremendous determination to break away from my settled life in sunny Southern California, say farewell to all my friends with similar-aged kids, and start my family’s adventures in the woods of the Upper Valley.
However, when I sit in the beautiful campus, learning from the most prestigious professors and my most intelligent peers coming from all kinds of backgrounds and all different walks of life, I feel nothing but privileged and honored. When I get to have a 1:1 talk or small group dinner with outstanding industry leaders, I feel nothing but privileged and honored. Every time a professor, a staff member, an alumnus or alumna, or a fellow student generously offer time to provide support and share insights about careers, the world out there, or simply life, I feel nothing but privileged and honored.
Last spring, I went to Geneva, Switzerland for our First-Year-Project groundwork and then spent another week in Madrid, Spain for a short exchange program. This summer, I interned at one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in Boston by the beautiful Charles River. In the upcoming winter break, I will be traveling to Japan with five other fellow classmates for one of the Tuck Global Consultancy projects. Three years ago, I never could have had imagined any of these things happening in my life. I enjoyed my previous profession, I had a comfortable life, but I was ambitious about what I wanted to achieve. I dream big, and Tuck is really what is bridging me to become the leader I aspire to become. Tuck has opened up so many unbelievable opportunities for me.
Growth always comes with pain and struggles. It is true to my experience. I remember a T’14 with a family encouraged me: Often times, those of us with family and children get more out of this experience. You learn to manage your time, you learn to juggle, and you learn to prioritize—all the time! Another classmate from a non-traditional background once shared with me: Think about the learning curve—we are really the ones who learn most and benefit most from these two years!
Looking back at the past year, my only regret is that I did not get to spend as much time with my daughters as I wanted. But, they continue to grow healthily and happily, they learned to skate and ski, and they are the proudest Tiny Tuckies telling everyone their mom is a Tuckie. And I know one day, they will realize being a woman or having children should never be in the way of the life they want to pursue and have, no matter how challenging it could be. Of course, none of these could've been possible without my husband's support. Thank you, Ryan!