End of Week Update from Dean Slaughter
October 9, 2020
Dear Students,
T’22s, warm congratulations on completing Fall A! I hope that you enjoyed the cider surprise from the T’21s this afternoon – and that you enjoy some well-deserved rest and good cheer in your break next week.
T’21s, as your thoughts turn from break to resuming classes next week, let me offer a question to reflect on: how are you crafting your second year to be personal, connected, and transformative – and how might Tuck partner with your aspirations here?
This question came to me last week, when I was moderating Valerie Jarett’s inspiring community talk. Many of her suggestions for how to engage with our discordant world resonated with Tuck’s mission and values. Choose to be part of creating the solutions, not part of complaining about the problems. Step up beyond our world’s frustration, fear, and fatigue. Believe in yourself as an agent for change. And create opportunities to practice how to lead – for example, to practice how to have difficult conversations from which understanding, empathy, and progress can emerge.
Thinking about your Tuck experience, being personal means recognizing your own individual gaps in capabilities that you aspire to fill and develop. Being connected means engaging with faculty, classmates, alumni, companies – all to grapple with and make sense of the ideas and challenges that most resonate with you. It is these personal and connected intentions that will help you make your second year at Tuck a truly transformative experience. They can guide you as you think about important choices you need to make. What classes will you take? Should you set up an independent study? What co-curricular activities will you pursue? Whom in the Tuck community do you want to get to know better?
Second year tends to whiz by. And, for almost all of you, this will be the last year of your life dedicated to full-time education. Each fall, I wish for every second-year student to fully embrace the opportunities of Tuck to build on their accomplishments of first year and summer internships and make second year as additive as possible. Each spring, when I catch up with second-years as graduation beckons, I am always impressed with how many have indeed crafted that sort of a transformational year. And yet, each spring, I also hear from some second years a bit of regret: regret that they drifted along, that they did not chart and follow a purposeful path.
Valerie Jarrett urged you to be purposeful in planning your careers and your lives. In that same spirit, last August in Tuck Launch another inspiring leader, Sally Jaeger, asked you to reflect on what you want your legacy at Tuck to be. What skills do you want to enhance this year? What challenges do you want to overcome? What aspirations do you want to fulfill? In answering these questions, we faculty and staff are keen to partner with you to help you take full advantage of all that the Tuck experience has to offer.
A restful and safe weekend to all.
Dartmouth has formed a high-level task force to plan for and manage possible disruptions related to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, monitor federal and state recommendations, implement guidance, and communicate with our community.