Why Tuck?

Tuck was actually my top choice and the only school that I applied to. When I made the decision to go to business school, I was really careful about finding a school that would be the right fit for me.  Aside from a strong MBA program, I wanted first and foremost a school with a small, close-knit community.  I served in the Army for five years, so I really value this aspect in organizations I have been a part of. Because of Tuck’s setting in the Upper Valley region, there isn’t the commuter aspect that is found at other schools situated in the heart of a big city.  This translates into really getting to know your fellow Tuckies and their partners extremely well. The second thing that I looked for in business school was a program that would prepare me well for my future career, and that would provide me with a strong network that I could draw on, both at school and for many years afterward.  In that regard, Tuck is in a league of its own. Not only does the well-rounded general management curriculum give you the tools and knowledge that you need to be successful in today’s business, but I have found the alumni network to be extremely responsive and passionate. Talking with friends in other business programs, I can assure you that this is extremely rare.

Translating military skills to business

One of the skills I learned in the military was how to work well in teams—that is, how to relate to people from different backgrounds, understand that everyone has different strengths to offer, and most importantly how to utilize their strengths for the benefit of the organization. In my first-year study group, I was definitely not the smartest guy in the room, but I was able to organize everyone’s thoughts and develop a work plan that kept everyone on track, which I know was very beneficial at times. The leadership and project management experience that I gained in the military has proven to be extremely useful.

Finding an internship

I found my summer job through an on-campus interview.  My goal for the summer was to work in a very entrepreneurial environment in finance.  I landed my job at a small boutique investment bank in Burlington, Vt. I literally sat across from the founder of the firm and had the opportunity to immerse myself in every aspect of the deals that we worked on.  I gained experience that I could not have imagined was possible at this stage of my career. The skills Tuck gave me that allowed me to get the job and be successful are the hard skills I came here for: accounting, capital markets, and corporate finance.

Community

The class size is small enough that you know of just about everyone. I’m married and have a daughter, and we have found a very tight community of people with families at Tuck. I live in Sachem Village and my wife and daughter love it there. There’s no shortage of kids running around. It’s definitely lived up to our expectations and has been very similar to our experience in the military.  In the military, everyone was more or less doing the same thing, and so there was a really good support network and strong camaraderie because you share these common experiences.