The Tuck Pipeline Program, created by Tracie M. Shelby Tu '07, was inaugurated this past weekend with its first conference. Students, representing different disciplines and backgrounds, attended the all-day program on Saturday, which was created to target women and minorities who may have an interest in the financial world.
The program featured Dartmouth alumni, representing various Wall Street firms, who gave presentations introducing students to various aspects of business. The presentations included "Wall Street 101" and "Consulting 101," among other career focuses such as networking.
The conference was attended by 126 Dartmouth students ranging from freshmen to Thayer School engineering students. Sophomores and juniors who are currently concerned with corporate recruiting made up a large part of the crowd.
"I personally attended the Conference because I intend to go into the business world after college and I felt that the conference would be a tool that would help me attain my goal," Britni Stinson '09 said.
Shelby created the program after discussing the lack of women and minorities she saw entering the business world with Janet Raiffa, a senior adviser at Goldman Sachs. At the same time, Shelby had noticed that there was no definite link between Tuck and Dartmouth College that students could take advantage of to gain more insight.
"Many women and minorities do not enter finance careers, not because they are afraid, but because they either are not aware or understand that they are needed," Shelby said.
Shelby hoped to inform students and denounce many myths circulating college campuses that give students incorrect information.
One myth she greatly disagrees with is the belief that economics, accounting and business administration degrees are the only path to Wall Street.
"Unfortunately, if your parents are well-educated that is the only way you'll know more about business," Shelby said.
Many students agreed that the conference opened their eyes to a wide array of new opportunities.
"The conference was really interesting because I did not have a lot of background information on business careers, but the whole program showed me that there are a lot of opportunities and avenues that exist in the field," Anna Bofa '09 said.
The featured speaker of the event was Laura Liswood, co-founder of the Council of Women World Leaders.
Her speech, entitled "Challenges of Out-of-Power Groups," addressed the need for more diverse groups of people to enter a financial world that is currently heavily populated by white, upper-class men.
"Laura Liswood was absolutely my favorite part of the program. She was an inspiring speaker because she could offer so much experience and insight," Bofa said.
Shelby was able to secure financial backing for the program from Goldman Sachs with the help of Raiffa, who supported the program from the beginning. Raiffa also heads Goldman Sachs' campus recruiting efforts.
The effort to gain attendees and spread the word about the program was carried out by the African-American Society, Dartmouth Black Business Association and Dartmouth's Women In Business.
"The point of the conference was to expose people to a different industry and create a deeper depth for choosing a career," Maryanna Quigless '07 said.
Quigless, as president of Dartmouth Black Business Association, worked with members of the supporting organizations to create fliers, put up posters and blitz students throughout campus.
"Tuck organized it from the operational point and Dartmouth undergrads led the promotion," Quigless said.
Tuck Pipeline is currently planning on hosting a workshop during the Spring term with the continued help of Sally Jaeger, Assistant Dean of Tuck's MBA Program Office, and Paul Danos, Dean of Tuck School of Business.
"This is a road map, a beginning step to fill in the gap that Dartmouth students [face]," Shelby said.
