At my previous job, I started to feel like I was stagnating. I was repeating the exact same tasks, not really learning anything new, and was restricted in terms of my earning power. I wanted to get an MBA to get the skills to jump to the next level and have a larger source of impact. I was also looking to learn and live in another country for what was likely to be my final formal education degree. As an international applicant, I applied to many schools in the U.S. to maximize my chances of getting in without really thinking through why a school was or was not the right fit for me. Once I got my results and had to make a choice, I started thinking about the things I really valued in a place.

For me, Tuck was the right choice because it’s a small school, and I figured I would have greater access to a strong network because of it. I also really appreciated the fact that every single Tuckie I reached out to responded to me; it made me feel like they really valued my time. And finally, Tuck had a great placement record and offered a lot of financing to international students, which was an important factor for me.

Communicating with Presence was probably the most difficult, albeit interesting, course I have taken at Tuck. It is taught by someone who has a lot of professional acting experience. The goal is to help you unlock both your verbal and non-verbal presence to become a more effective communicator. This course required me to dig deep; to be okay showcasing vulnerability and work on something which I had never been good at. When I came to Tuck, everyone emphasized how important the soft skills in business are. After taking this course, I now understand why that is. I am a better communicator and discovered things about myself I had never really considered before.

I participated in an OnSite course that included travel to a client Australia, and it was a fantastic experience. It helped me professionally because it allowed me to continue to work in an area I am interested in: energy. I was also able to build my leadership skills by focusing on both being an individual contributor and trying to make sure I was planning for the overall objective and team, too. I had never worked on a team that was so diverse—our team included someone from Argentina, the U.S., Singapore, China, and India. Learning about so many new cultures, working with a large organization, and using everything I had learned in my first year to make a real impact at a company was probably the most defining experience I have had at Tuck.

I came to Tuck determined to step out of my comfort zone. I wanted to work on both hard and soft skills while making sure I was able to enjoy everything the Tuck community has to offer. Through class, I learned how business gets financed, how operations can be structured, and how organizations behave. Through the Tuck Startup Incubator course, I learned about the challenges of starting-up, the thrill of discovering a problem, and learning how to build a scrappy solution. And finally, through my classmates, I learned how to value more in life than just my job. I feel like I am leaving with a sense of belonging and bonds with classmates that I will be able to carry forward in the future.

After Tuck I’m going into digital consulting at McKinsey. I am graduating with a sense of confidence because I know that I will be able to handle what the world will throw at me. I am graduating with a sense of humility because one of the most important things Tuck has taught me is that I need to work with other people to create change and that I will never stop learning. And finally, I graduate knowing that I have a school and a support network that will always be by my side, and that sense of security is invaluable.