The applicant shares an honest perspective that her BA in International studies was not the ideal pre-requisite for a career in Investment banking. However, her answer during the interview on happiness set the scale in her favor.

By completely accepting the challenge of building the foundational skills and recognizing the skill gap, the applicant could move laterally from the Legal to the M&A group as an analyst and later as an Associate.

When she felt comfortable with her role after the initial struggle, she knew that the time had come to be challenged again. Additionally, the pro-bono consulting she offered to small businesses in fund-raising and compliance gave her the realization that interacting with business owners and working on multiple functions from Strategy, Finance and Technology were more fulfilling than the one-dimensional focus on Finance.

The concluding paragraph is a summary of how she will leverage the Tuck MBA’s General Management focus and how the uniquely close-knit community will help her grow as a leader.