Category: Education, Community Organizations and Nonprofits

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Why is Tuck Business Bridge Too Good to Miss?

By Qiya (Kaye) Mao, Davidson College ’21 (Economics, Political Science)

Why is Tuck Business Bridge too good to miss?

Do you have a vague interest in business, but feel underprepared to take on a whole internship yet? If that’s the case, you’d benefit a lot from the Tuck Business Bridge Program. At a liberal arts college like Davidson, you most likely have been taught to think critically and creatively, and have extensively practiced these principles in various settings. What could be better than getting to apply the insights you’ve gained at Davidson in a business-oriented, professionally driven context? At Tuck Business Bridge, you’ll meet and team up with like-minded peers to embark on a thrilling journey that will help you develop a comprehensive understanding of what business is all about, as well as acquire a shiny set of practical skills that will significantly strengthen your candidacy in the job market.

How does it work?

Since we’re still living in a pandemic-affected reality, the winter session of Tuck Business Bridge I participated in was, once again, all virtual. While completing the program online inevitably meant certain elements from in-person interactions couldn’t be fully replicated, you’d be wrong to think the virtual version of the program is less content-packed and valuable than the on-site one. You should be ready to tackle new challenges in all directions on a daily basis, whether that requires smart time management in your six-people study groups, resilient patience in the face of complicated accounting and finance concepts, or informed confidence in optional mock interviews with MBA students at Tuck School of Business. There will be long days and odd hours of studying, collaborating, and striving for improvements even in the slightest details. You will be so tired of Zoom and Canvas afterwards, but you will finish the program feeling supported and accomplished.

What are the selling points?

The benefits of participating in the Tuck Business Bridge Program are highly tangible:

– You’ll know how to locate, look into, extract meaningful data from financial statements of publicly traded companies, and use tools embedded in Excel to build a discounted cash flow (DCF) model that’ll allow you to form an evidence-backed opinion about the per share value of a company.

– You’ll practice leadership in ways you find comfortable and uneasy as you navigate evolving team dynamics in multiple settings, whether that’s within your program study group or within randomly formed Zoom breakout groups, regardless of the significance of tasks expected to be completed.

– You’ll receive ample feedback from your professors, your Bridge Associates (i.e. TAs in the program), as well as your peers in almost anything you do during the program, so much so that it’d be difficult not to form the habit of being more intentional in self-reflections on your decisions and actions.

– Any of the above-listed points can make you more marketable to a future employer. Better yet, having Tuck Business Bridge on your resume in and of itself makes you stand out from the crowd, not to mention you’ll get to join a vibrant Bridge alumni network upon graduating from the program.

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Working Together… Apart

By Emma Blake ’20

In the past several months, I’ve done a lot in my Impact Fellow Role at MAHEC. I’ve helped give presentations to doctors about novel treatment options. I’ve written and prepared an article for publication in a major journal. I’ve familiarized myself with the complexities of maternal healthcare and treatments for substance use disorders. And I’ve done most of these things from home.

Working from home has come with a unique set of benefits and disadvantages. On the positive side, I’ve had more control over when to do my work, and I’ve been able to avoid many of the small frustrations of office life like a morning commute or someone microwaving fish in the break room. On the negative side though, working from home often leaves me feeling disconnected from the work I’m doing, my coworkers, and the community that my work is supposed to support. Zoom meetings are fine for updating the research team on the latest developments, but they can’t replace the small daily interactions between team members that build up our sense of communal support and camaraderie.


What I think I’m missing most is a feeling of community and shared purpose. At Davidson, most of my work was grounded in the community and the feeling that other students and professors had my back. Working from home has led to me only knowing my coworkers as coworkers, not as people with unique stories, interests, and personalities. Even though we’re all working towards the same goal, we’re doing so separately and individually. It’s been a jarring feeling and a challenging adjustment.


The major exception to this feeling is when I go into the maternal healthcare clinic on Thursdays. On those days, I get to interact with patients and talk to my coworkers face-to-face. It’s such a different feeling from a digital meeting. When I work with the patients, I’m reminded that my work is really helping people and making a difference in my newly adopted community of Asheville. I became interested in healthcare generally and the Davidson Impact Fellowship at MAHEC specifically because I wanted to help people and create positive change in my community. Working from home has left me feeling disconnected from that purpose, but my time in the clinic constantly reminds me that my work has value and is serving to benefit people in need. I can’t wait until I can go back to the office, engage with my coworkers in a supportive community, and feel that shared sense of purpose every day.

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What You Should Know About The Dartmouth Tuck Business Bridge Program

By the Tuck Business Bridge Team

With the shift to virtual, remote learning in March, Tuck Business Bridge got to work making plans to deliver its summer programs virtually. The goal was simple – deliver the same high-touch, rigorous, and comprehensive program, but in an online environment. The team sought to not only replicate the residential program remotely, but to make the program even stronger by leveraging some of the benefits of virtual connection, such as special guests and increased alumni networking. On Zoom, students attended live classes, interacted with faculty, met with MBA mentors, worked with peers in study groups, completed business simulations, valued a company, participated in 1-1 resume reviews, mock interviewed, attended career workshops, and so much more. The summer was a success, with 97% of participants saying they would recommend the program to a friend.

What did Davidson students who participated this past summer think? We spoke with Chelsea Savage ‘21, Alex Gomez ‘21, and Alexandra Romero ’20 about the program – why they chose it, what they learned, and the value it provided.

Why Bridge?

Alex Gomez: As a Political Science major who’s interested in pursuing business, I wanted to learn basic knowledge and skills in order to ease this transition and gain an edge in the recruiting process. I was able to take introductory courses in Finance, Marketing, and Spreadsheet Modeling, all of which aren’t offered at Davidson.

What did the program provide?

Chelsea Savage: I came into the program with little career direction and a weak understanding of business, and I left with a focused career path and skills I will be able to display in interviews and use in the workplace.

Alex Gomez: There were also some amazing resources for networking, with lots of opportunities to hone your interviewing skills and explore different types of business careers. Additionally, I really enjoyed working with my study group throughout the program – it was nice to make friends despite the virtual circumstances, and the experience of collaborating as part of a team will serve me well in the future.

Alexandra Romero: This experience has equipped me with quantitative analytical skills in preparation for my career. Outside of the program’s curriculum, I have been able to tap into a helpful network that I am extremely grateful for.

What was your favorite class?

Alex Gomez: My favorite class was Marketing. I didn’t know much about it before, and it was really interesting and has changed my perspective on certain things like job interviews, the media, and business in general. The MarkStrat simulation was my favorite part of the program.

What company did you choose for the capstone project?


Chelsea Savage: Gap

Alex Gomez: GrubHub

Alexandra Romero: Chipotle

How was the virtual delivery?

Chelsea Savage: I am extremely thankful for the Tuck Bridge team and the work they put in to make the online program just as accessible and supportive as it would have been on Dartmouth’s campus. Even though it was virtual, the invaluable connections I was able to make with peers, career professionals, and recruiters gave me the boost I needed to solidify my professional skills.

Alex Gomez: I thought the virtual format went as well as it could. While Zoom fatigue was inevitable, I still learned a ton and was able to bond with my study group.

What is your biggest take away?

Alex Gomez: The ability to work in a team is arguably the most important skill in business (and is crucial for life in general).

Alexandra Romero: This program gave me the ability to speak confidently about business topics that I otherwise would have not been able to speak on as an Environmental Studies major.

Would you recommend the program?

Chelsea Savage: If you are interested in business at all, I would highly recommend applying!

Alex Gomez: I would definitely recommend Bridge to anyone who is interested in a business career.

Want to learn more about the Tuck Business Bridge program? Visit the website, attend one of our virtual events, or reach out to recruiting manager, Sarah Chapin at sarah.b.chapin@tuck.dartmouth.edu

Read their testimonials below:

Chelsea Savage ’21 | Sociology

I really enjoyed my virtual experience with Tuck. I came into the program with little career direction and a weak understanding of business, and I left with a focused career path and skills I will be able to display in interviews and use in the workplace. Even though it was virtual, the invaluable connections I was able to make with peers, career professionals, and recruiters gave me the boost I needed to solidify my professional skills. I am extremely thankful for the Tuck Bridge team and the work they put in to make the online program just as accessible and supportive as it would have been on Dartmouth’s campus. If you are interested in business at all, I would highly recommend applying!

Alex Gomez ’21 | Political Science

I really enjoyed my experience at Tuck Bridge. As a Political Science major who’s interested in pursuing business, I wanted to learn basic knowledge and skills in order to ease this transition and gain an edge in the recruiting process. I was able to take introductory courses in Finance, Marketing, and Spreadsheet Modeling, all of which aren’t offered at Davidson. I found the fast-paced and rigorous nature of the program to be quite rewarding, and was surprised at how much content was covered over three weeks. There were also some amazing resources for networking, with lots of opportunities to hone your interviewing skills and explore different types of business careers. Additionally, I really enjoyed working with my study group throughout the program – it was nice to make friends despite the virtual circumstances, and the experience of collaborating as part of a team will serve me well in the future. We did a company valuation of Grubhub for our final project, and it was really cool to combine what we learned in class with real-life research and analysis of the mobile food delivery industry. Overall, I would definitely recommend Bridge to anyone who is interested in a business career.

Alexandra Romero ‘20 | Environmental Studies

My role in my team was to research and analyze Chipotle’s digital strategy and describe how it contributed to our Chipotle valuation. This program gave me the ability to speak confidently about business topics that I otherwise would have not been able to speak on as an Environmental Studies major. This experience has equipped me with quantitative analytical skills in preparation for my career. Outside of the program’s curriculum, I have been able to tap into a helpful network that I am extremely grateful for.

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Passion is Contagious.

By Chris Chao ’22

Passion is contagious. 

A collection of photographs, sporadic pieces of information, and a map with 123 points for each tree—that’s how I started as a Sustainability Scholar. My partner organization was TreesCharlotte, an environmental-preservation organization that is dedicated to preserving Charlotte’s tree canopy. My main project revolved around the Mecklenburg County Treasure Tree program. The Treasure Tree program started in the late ‘80s to identify the largest and most significant examples of each tree species in the county. The original program ended in 2000. With the massive development in the Charlotte area, a new committee was formed in 2017 with the goal of restarting the program.

My job was to track down trees, photograph them, interview the property owners to get the trees’ stories and then put all that information on a new website. About 55% of them are still standing today. Once I organized our information, my supervisor suggested I visit some sites to get photographs and interview the homeowners.

That’s when everything changed.

After I interviewed the first property owners about their trees, I realized I was working on something really special. Their stories inspired me. I became personally invested in telling the stories of these trees—trees which homeowners played on when they were children and trees that signified people’s parents, some of whom had passed. Through the passion in people’s recollection, I realized the importance of preserving these stories. 

My time with TreesCharlotte is almost over and soon the Treasure Tree website will be live. Moving forward, I’ll become a volunteer member of the Mecklenburg County Treasure Trees board. I hope to start a similar program in the Town of Davidson for my environmental studies capstone. I’ve experienced how contagious passion can be and I’d love to share that with the Davidson community.

Thank you to TreesCharlotte’s Jen Rothacker and Treasure Tree Committee member Brett Dupree for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this project. I only played a small part in the updated Treasure Tree program, but I loved it. 

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Survivor-themed Networking, Resume Reviews, & Employer Visits for the Davidson College Swim Team

Survivor-themed networking, resume reviews, & employer visits, are just to name a few of the career opportunities, the Davidson College Swim Team took part in over winter break as part of the Career Advantage program. Emily Bassett (‘20) and Frances Resweber (‘20) tell us more about their experience in Fort Lauderdale.

Over winter break on the Swimming and Diving team’s annual training trip, we had the opportunity to participate in a variety of activities organized by Davidson’s Career Center that were geared toward some of our long-term career goals.

In the past, our training trip has always been heavily swim- or dive-driven: two practices a day for up to ten days in a row. With the exception of some beach down-time in between practices each day, we fell into the usual rhythm of eat, sleep, swim/dive. As seniors this year, however, we realized that our training trips would look a little different as we used our extra time to search for jobs, complete applications, or make some finishing touches on our resumés.

Thankfully, Josh King from the Career Center joined us in Florida this year to help us navigate this process. Josh organized several events to help not just the seniors, but everyone on the team begin to brainstorm and make steps toward our future career goals.

The first of these events was a Survivor-themed networking event for the entire team. Just like the reality TV show, we went through several competitive rounds of learning how to ask and respond to questions that we might encounter in a real networking event or an interview. After each round, we voted for the best networker on the island, culminating in a final round with a jury that consisted of former contestants. This was such a valuable event for our team because we had the opportunity to learn and practice networking skills that will prove to be valuable for the rest of our lives as we move beyond Davidson in a familiar setting with our teammates.

Some of the questions forced us to think critically about how our lifestyle and skills we’ve acquired as collegiate athletes will benefit us as employees. Throughout most of our time at Davidson, we’ve simply gone through the motions without much forethought on how this type of lifestyle will be advantageous to us after our undergraduate experience. We’ve realized that practicing morning and afternoon, amounting to about twenty hours per week, has turned us into advanced time managers. During practice or competition, we’ve learned how to be resilient and how to move on from a practice or race that doesn’t go our way. Finally, being an athlete at Davidson has taught us the value in communicating with our coaches, teammates, and professors that will translate well to our positions as co-workers.

In addition to the networking event, we had the opportunity to meet with Josh individually to review our resumés. Josh also scheduled three visits catered toward our team’s most popular career interests: a local non-profit (KID), Miami University’s School of Law, and Miami University’s School of Medicine.

About twenty members of the team took advantage of the opportunity to learn more about Kids in Distress (KID) and volunteer their time at the non-profit. KID is committed to providing support to abused children, providing counseling to parents in an attempt to preserve families, offering childcare and after-school care to children on a daily basis, and even has a foster care system on site. The swimmers and divers, along with head coach John Young, who volunteered at the non-profit were able to either work directly with children enrolled in their preschool or help to organize their warehouse which was full of toy donations for the holidays. Getting an inside look at the facility and the work that goes into running a successful non-profit, including the variety of ways you can take a career in the non-profit sector, was an eye-opening experience.

Other informative events that Josh organized included a trip to Miami University’s School of Law and their School of Medicine. Josh traveled with the team members to both an info session and tour of the respective campuses. During the visits, we got an inside look into what the school’s admissions offices are looking for by personally hearing from admissions officials. Gaining this face time with high up graduate school officials was invaluable, and the information they had to share will undoubtedly prove useful when the time comes to fill out applications to professional schools post-Davidson. Finally, receiving tours from current medical and law school students gave each of us the valuable perspective of current students and an understanding what going through these programs will really mean. Learning from students going through the med/law school process was one of the most meaningful parts of the trip to everyone who attended one of these graduate school visits.

The Swimming and Diving Team is very grateful to the Career Center and the unique opportunities they provided for us on this trip. We hope that our teammates will get to continue this experience for years to come!

Emily Bassett (‘20) and Frances Resweber (‘20)

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Annie Brockett ’17 – From Teach for America to Alliance Bernstein

As I reflect upon my senior year at Davidson, I can feel the stress of my post-grad job search.  At the time, I was balancing a full course load with my final season of Division I Lacrosse. If I was sure of anything, it was that I was unsure about my future career. My peers seemed to be following well-worn paths:  law, finance, business, medicine, consulting, and the like. It would have made perfect sense for me to jump on this bandwagon. Both of my parents are lawyers, and both of my brothers were working at large banks on Wall Street. Law school seemed a distant possibility, and finance had potential.  

I remained open to several opportunities while narrowing my location preference to NYC. In my attempts to leverage the limited NYC finance network, Teach for America (TFA) became increasingly attractive. It was an opportunity for me to lean into the discomfort of the educational nuances I might have overlooked as a child, and to acquire a differentiated skillset that would set me apart in my future professional endeavors. TFA was the most challenging and most rewarding thing I have ever done.

After fulfilling my 2 year commitment to TFA, I decided to pivot to finance. The challenges I confronted while teaching in Brooklyn served me well in my transition to Sales and Trading at Alliance Bernstein. While teaching and finance may seem worlds apart, my interview preparation came easy given the plethora of anecdotes I could tailor to my process. I could speak to real-world experiences that put my strengths on display in a way that came off as polished yet authentic. While I didn’t have a finance background, I did have an eager spirit and unparalleled work ethic. I started at Alliance Bernstein in June as a Sales and Trading Associate on the High-Touch Institutional Equity Trading Desk. Each day I find myself in an uncomfortable, unfamiliar situation that forces my development and tests the steep upward trajectory I promised.

My best advice for Davidson students is to highlight your eagerness to learn. Davidson has gifted us with a unique liberal arts experience that sets us up for success in any opportunity we pursue. Be confident in what made you successful at Davidson but humble yourself to constructive criticism. Find ways to make yourself informed, marketable, and indispensable.

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Nature is Calling

This blog was written by Jon White ’19, 2019-2020 Davidson Impact Fellow for Catawba Lands Conservancy.

The outdoors have been a part of my life since childhood. Beginning with summer camps around Durham, at the age of 5 I was introduced to the Piedmont’s creeks and streams and the magical creatures that might live there. At 8 I learned to build a fire, and at 11 I went on my first backpacking trip. When I was stuck at home my senior year of high school without a driver’s license, I would ride my bike to the Duke Forest and search for crayfish and salamanders. This past summer I worked at a camp at the base of the Grand Tetons in Wyoming, and I concluded that the snow capped mountains were impressive and all, but the dank, swampy forest of the Carolina Piedmont is where I belong.

Yet my awakening to the wide array of social problems within the political turmoil of the past four years drew my attention away from environmental issues as I had previously conceived them. I switched my major from environmental studies to anthropology, and found myself with a dozen resumes submitted to legal jobs by the time the fellowship at Catawba Lands Conservancy crossed my path.

Living in a house, paying bills, and friendships with people outside my age demographic have all popped my Davidson bubble in expected ways, but my professional turn toward environmentalism–now in the “real world”, the world of creeks and trees but also a cubicle and fundraising goals–has required the crude reconciling of my romantic high school self and the socially-conscious, intellectual edge I gained at Davidson. From the reforestation of untended family farms to urban stream restoration and greenway construction, land conservation is a cause that cuts across many demographics and different issues in unexpected ways. As program coordinator, it’s my job to take people onto the land we’ve conserved and trails we’ve built. Though the content of the programs is always loosely educational, my primary goal is to foster a feeling of connection between people and places. In doing so, I aim not to dictate people’s relationship to the outdoors–I don’t think I could if I tried–and along the way I may uncover a greater understanding of how others appreciate and enjoy nature and outdoor spaces in diverse ways.

In fact, my cyclical return to environmental causes has further complicated the way I think of the interrelation of social issues, and their urgency. This isn’t even to mention how an individual land conservancy organization ought to find its niche within this grand social ecosystem (that’s something I hope to learn more about-and write more about-later). For now, I will keep my swampy woods and listen as both the cardinals and the winter program calendar calls.

Davidson Impact Fellow Jon White
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Career Treks: A new tool for your job search

Last week, myself and 11 other students participated in a Career Trek to Charlotte to learn about non-profit work and opportunities in ministry. Career Treks are a new initiative by the Center for Career Development in collaboration with other departments and groups on campus. These treks provide opportunities throughout the year for groups of students to visit a company or companies, learn more about those specific organizations, engage with industry professionals and gain first-hand knowledge of the environment and culture.

Music Director explains church history to students
Music Director, Anne Hunter Eidson, introduces Davidson students to Caldwell’s history of community building and social justice.

Last week’s Career Trek was hosted at Caldwell Presbyterian, a church and community known for its breadth of ministries focused on advocacy and community transformation. During our visit, we heard from members of Caldwell’s staff, as well as representatives from three non-profit organizations and initiatives.

The Third Place is a community coffee shop and common ground space run by QC Family Tree and hosted in Caldwell Presbyterian. The Third Place works not only to create economic opportunities for members of the community, but also to be a place where folks can come together to build the bonds that form deeper communities.

Hagar International is an organization committed to supporting the recovery of women and children who have been victims of trafficking and slavery in Vietnam, Cambodia and Afghanistan. Their motto is “whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, to restore a broken life.”

End Slavery in Charlotte works to raise awareness about modern day slavery, and to support local anti-slavery organizations in Charlotte by filling gaps in the services available.

Over the course of an hour, we learned about the history and work of each organization. The representatives also spoke about the non-profit industry and offered their advice to us as students seeking to go into the non-profit industry. We asked questions about what to look for in job postings, how to choose between graduate schools and entry level job opportunities, and what they did to get to where they are today. Dr. Ray Casey, CEO of Hagar USA, told us that his work is guided by the questions “Who am I?” and “How can I give of that?” He said, of five degrees (one BA, three Masters and one PhD) the one he uses the most day-to-day is his Master of Arts in Non-Profit Management. Lisa, from Ending Slavery in Charlotte, spoke process and challenges of starting a non-profit. Leaving the Career Trek we had more answers, new industry contacts and a group of peers we knew shared our professional interests.

The Center for Career Development will be running Career Treks throughout the year, across a variety of industries. The next Trek will be to Red Ventures on October 21.  Students should register in Handshake by October 18.

Pro-tip for Trek participants: be ready to leverage the opportunity to be in-person with industry professionals. Ask focused questions and make sure to hold onto their contact information to follow up after the event.

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Sea Turtle Rescue at the South Carolina Aquarium

Original posted contributed by Aren Carpenter ’18, recipient of the Jolley Foundation Internship Grant for summer 2017.

This summer I had the amazing opportunity to volunteer at the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston thanks to a Jolley Foundation grant. I spent about half of my time working in the Sea Turtle Rescue Hospital that treats stranded, injured, and ill sea turtles from the entire east coast. It was an incredibly productive summer for the hospital this year; we treated more than 30 sea turtles and were able to release several just in the time that I was there. There are few experiences more rewarding. The staff and volunteers have such passion for these animals and it was a real pleasure being able to work with them to make a real difference for these turtles. I was involved with the daily care (feeding, cleaning, medical procedures, etc.) of the sea turtles and I was the primary caregiver for 12 terrapins, an estuarine turtle that I was using for research.

Terrapins are near threatened in several South Carolina populations and my research allowed me to study their interactions with crab traps, a leading cause of their aren-carpenterdeclines in the area. I conducted a series of tests on these terrapins and I am planning to submit my findings for publication later this year! Hopefully, my research can help mitigate terrapin deaths in the future. My previous exposure with terrapins also allowed me to start a biweekly terrapin educational program at the aquarium geared for younger children and teenagers. I was told by several of my supervisors that many guests commented that they loved the chance to have hands-on experiences with terrapins, so I believe it was a successful endeavor! As one of my professors used to comment, ‘you never know when one experience, however brief, could inspire a kid to be the next biologist or vet or scientist’. I’d like to think that I was allowing the thousands of kids I talked with to have such an experience.

In all, my summer was everything I hoped it would be. I can’t say enough how thankful I am to the Jolley Foundation for allowing me to expand my horizons, if you will, by exploring new career paths and making a difference in the lives of turtles and aquarium goers alike this summer.

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Working at a Non-Profit in Beijing: Americans Promoting Study Aboard

Tai Tran's photo

Original post written by Tai Tran ’18, participant in the Davidson in East Asia Internship Program.

My experience at Americans Promoting Study Abroad has confirmed quite a few things I have read about working with non-profit organizations. First of all I would like to point out that this is an organization I have had quite a big insight and familiarity with before asking for an internship position for. APSA began with partnerships with quite a few other non-profit organizations. The idea was to have these other organizations who were more well established help APSA get on its feet and walk alone. However, that was never really achieved. Thus, we have the situation I am in now. An organization that is about eight years old yet does not have the stable base that it should have at this point. In our team of three, with two staff members from the One World Now organization, this summer we have a group of 21 students and a curriculum that we build as we go. There is far too much work to be done and there is only one full time staff member here in Beijing, our Executive Director. Being overworked and understaffed, that was my impression of a non-profit organization.

But many people would never believe the results we are able to churn out. To get so much done, with only a few staff members, within a limited amount of time, and resources, in my opinion we are all amazing here at APSA. And I am sure this is true for many other non-profits. The amount of fun and self discovery I have been able to enjoy during my internship has only left me with a positive impression. My research skills came in handy when it came to formulating short summaries of sites with hundreds of years of history and significance. My experience at Davidson College has taught me to wear many hats at one time in order to help us stick to a schedule or program. Although I have yet to actually find myself applying what I have learned in classes, other than my Chinese language classes, I have taken at Davidson College, my experience with extra-curricular clubs and networking has given me a better grasp of the real world and what it means to get work done at Americans Promoting Study Abroad.

Read more posts from the Davidson in East Asia Internship Program.