Tuck Pathfinders The Tuck Pathfinders program helps first-year Dartmouth undergraduate students think creatively and confidently about their future.

The first year at Dartmouth is a time of exploration.

Tuck Pathfinders will expose you to a broad range of career options and help you chart a path consistent with your strengths and interests. With an emphasis on “big picture” thinking and planning, you can expect to:

  • Assess personal strengths
  • Articulate life goals
  • Develop the professional skills necessary to secure internships and succeed in a professional workplace
  • Build life skills, such as personal finance and effective communication
  • Have deep conversations with successful Dartmouth and Tuck alumni who share their career paths, insights, and advice

Pathfinders will also introduce you to the many resources available at the Dartmouth Center for Professional Development (CPD), from career coaching to free headshots.


PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Module 1: PROFESSIONAL SKILLS
The focus of this module is about selling yourself based on your unique strengths in order to secure internships and thrive in the workplace.

Module 2: LIFE SKILLS
The focus of this module is to better understand personal finance and how to communicate clearly.

Module 3: BIG PICTURE
The focus of this module is to assess personal strengths and articulate life goals.


View Program Schedule


Questions: tuck.undergraduate.education@tuck.dartmouth.edu

PROGRAM DATES

Feb 9 | 1:00–3:00 p.m.
Feb 16
| 1:00–6:45 p.m.
Feb 23
| 1:00–5:45 p.m.
Mar 1
| 1:00–6:15 p.m.

The February 9 session will take place on Zoom. All other sessions will take place in-person at the Tuck School of Business.


Applications are now closed.


Faculty

Elisabeth Curtis

Dartmouth College: Senior Lecturer of Economics

Aram Donigian T’08

Tuck School of Business: Clinical Professor of Business Administration

Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Aram Donigian served in the U.S. Army for 21 years as an infantry and public-affairs officer, deploying three times to Afghanistan. Donigian cofounded the West Point Negotiation Project and is the coauthor of several articles on negotiation within the military context. Donigian currently teaches the Negotiations course at Tuck and works closely with the Tuck Business Bridge Program.

Joseph Gerakos D’90

Tuck School of Business: Bakala Professor of Business Administration

Joseph Gerakos studies markets for financial services and is currently conducting research on competition in the audit market and the performance of the asset management industry. He teaches Managerial Accounting.

Eugene Korsunskiy

Thayer School of Engineering: Associate Professor of Engineering

Eugene Korsunskiy is an Associate Professor of Engineering at Dartmouth College, where he teaches courses on human-centered design. Prior to arriving at Dartmouth, he taught at Stanford University's d.school, where he helped to develop the "Designing Your Life" curriculum. Eugene is Co-Director of the Design Initiative at Dartmouth (DIAD), and the Executive Director of the Future of Design in Higher Education (FDHE), a global community of educators dedicated to creating and sharing best practices in design pedagogy. Eugene was the 2020 recipient of the Woodhouse Excellence in Teaching Award at Dartmouth, and the 2018 recipient of Dartmouth's Apgar Award for Innovation in Teaching. He has also received a Fast Company Innovation by Design Award, and has been a speaker at several TEDx events and the Aspen Ideas Festival. Eugene has an MFA in Design from Stanford University and a BA in Art & Art History from Williams College.

Lindsey Leininger

Tuck School of Business: Clinical Professor of Business Administration; Faculty Director, Center for Health Care

Dr. Lindsey Leininger specializes in data-driven health policy, with a focus on the health care safety net and community health. She has a longstanding interest in publicly funded health insurance programs, with related research spanning quality measurement, risk segmentation, and program evaluation. Her community health work focuses on health education and promotion initiatives. Highlights include leading an award-winning crisis communication campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic; designing and delivering a nationally recognized curriculum for public benefits navigators; and leading the data and research efforts for a home-visiting program for high-risk pregnant women in Wisconsin. At Tuck she teaches courses on data-driven decision-making in the health sector. She also serves as Faculty Director for the Center for Health Care. Prior to Tuck, Lindsey spent a decade designing and leading research and technical assistance projects for Medicaid agencies, both as an academic and as a think-tank researcher. She holds a PhD in health policy from the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy.

Marjorie Rose

Dartmouth College: Senior Lecturer of Economics

Charlie Wheelan D’88

Tuck School of Business: Clinical Professor of Business Administration; Faculty Director, Center for Business, Government & Society

Faculty Director, Tuck Pathfinders

Charlie Wheelan D’88 is the faculty director for Tuck’s Center for Business, Government & Society. Prior to joining the Tuck faculty, he was a senior lecturer and policy fellow at Dartmouth’s Rockefeller Center for Public Policy. He teaches courses related to business and public policy. The winner of the 2020 Dean of the Faculty Teaching Award, he was also selected by the Dartmouth classes of 2011 and 2020 to be their Class Day speaker and has been recognized in the Aegis as one of Dartmouth’s ten best professors by six other graduating classes.

Prior to coming to Dartmouth, Wheelan taught at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago, where he also earned his Ph.D. Wheelan’s most recent book is Write for Your Life: A Guide to Clear and Purposeful Writing and Presentations, which was published in 2022. Wheelan is the author of the “naked books”: Naked Money, Naked Statistics, and Naked Economics. In 2023, Naked Economics was named by Princeton finance professor Burton Malkiel in the Wall Street Journal as the best business book of all time. Wheelan is also the author of The Centrist Manifesto and the founder and chair of Unite America, a movement of Democrats, Republicans, and independents working to foster a more representative and functional government.


Alumni Guests

Clay Adams D’93, T’99

President and CEO, Mascoma Bank

Clay Adams became President and CEO of Mascoma Bank in January 2017. Prior to joining the Bank’s senior leadership team, Mr. Adams served on the Mascoma Bank Board of Directors as an external board member. Under his leadership, Mascoma Bank expanded into new markets, experienced significant growth, and became one of the first banks in the United States to become a certified B Corporation.

Before joining Mascoma Bank, Mr. Adams led Simon Pearce, a family-owned manufacturer and retailer of hand-crafted glass and pottery, where he had been CEO. Prior to that he was COO and CEO of Resource Systems Group (RSG), a firm specializing data modeling.

Mr. Adams graduated from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in Government. He also was awarded an MBA from the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College.

Clay also serves on a number of different community and corporate boards.

Ish McLaughlin D’88

Vice Chairman, Enterprise Relationship Management, Franklin Resources, Inc.

Aloysius (Ish) McLaughlin is vice chairman of Enterprise Relationship Management for Franklin Templeton. In this role, Mr. McLaughlin is responsible for building strong relationships with senior decision makers at global financial institutions. To bring the best of Franklin Templeton's resources to key client relationships, he works closely with internal stakeholders, including the firm's Executive Committee, Investment Management and Distribution. Mr. McLaughlin is a member of Franklin Templeton's Executive Committee, a small group of the company's top leaders responsible for shaping the firm's overall strategy.

With over 30 years of experience in financial services, Mr. McLaughlin has been a manager and leader of people and processes for much of his career. Prior to joining Franklin Templeton in 2024, he was Head of Sales and Relationship Management for North America within Global Markets for Citigroup. In this role, he was responsible for an annual $7 billion revenue client franchise across fixed income, equities, currencies, commodities and Investor Services, and was also responsible for the broader coordination of personnel and clients with his counterparts in Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Mr. McLaughlin is a board member and advisor to a number of early-stage companies. Additionally, he has been a long-time board member of two nonprofit organizations, namely the United Negro College Fund (providing scholarships and advocacy for the country's largest historically black colleges and universities) and Student Sponsor Partners (an organization which harnesses the power of education and mentorship for New York City youth).

Mr. McLaughlin earned a BA in History from Dartmouth College and his MBA in Finance from New York University's Stern School.

Shonda Rhimes D’91

Chief Executive Officer, Shondaland

Shonda Rhimes is an award-winning television creator, producer, author and CEO of the global media company, Shondaland.

In 2016, Rhimes formed The Rhimes Foundation whose mission is to support arts, education, and activism. Ms. Rhimes serves on the boards of several non-profit organizations – including the American Film Institute, the Debbie Allen Dance Academy, Dartmouth College, Lincoln Center, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Kennedy Center. In addition, Rhimes is on special committees for the USC Film Council and the Obama Foundation.

As CEO of Shondaland, Ms. Rhimes has ensured the company champions voices from historically underrepresented communities both in front of and behind the camera. The company has launched the Producers Inclusion Initiative, a training program for Indie Producers, Unit Production Managers, Supervisors, and 1st Assistant Directors as Line Producers within the studio system as well as the Ladder Program which provides opportunities for onset sexperience and training in production and technical roles across multiple departments, including Production, Locations, Assistant Directors, SFX, Costume, Hair/Makeup Camera, Electric, Art Department Stunts, Sound, Finance, and more.

For her philanthropic work she has been recognized by such national organizations as the Human Rights Council, GLAAD and Planned Parenthood. She has been appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her service to US / UK relations and has been inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.

Photo courtesy of Shonda Rhimes and Dartmouth College

Leah Wheelan D'88

Principal, Hanover Street School

Leah Wheelan became Principal of Hanover Street School in the Lebanon School District in 2023. Prior to joining the school, Ms. Wheelan was the principal of Canaan Elementary School for five years and a math teacher for eight years. She has taught in public schools, charter schools, and turnaround schools in the city of Chicago.

Before becoming an educator, Ms. Wheelan was the founder of a business analytics consulting firm and worked in the tech sector for a startup company.

Ms. Wheelan graduated summa cum laude from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in Computer Science and started her career at Bain and Company.

Faculty

Elisabeth Curtis

Dartmouth College: Senior Lecturer of Economics

Aram Donigian T’08

Tuck School of Business: Clinical Professor of Business Administration

Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Aram Donigian served in the U.S. Army for 21 years as an infantry and public-affairs officer, deploying three times to Afghanistan. Donigian cofounded the West Point Negotiation Project and is the coauthor of several articles on negotiation within the military context. Donigian currently teaches the Negotiations course at Tuck and works closely with the Tuck Business Bridge Program.

Joseph Gerakos D’90

Tuck School of Business: Bakala Professor of Business Administration

Joseph Gerakos studies markets for financial services and is currently conducting research on competition in the audit market and the performance of the asset management industry. He teaches Managerial Accounting.

Eugene Korsunskiy

Thayer School of Engineering: Associate Professor of Engineering

Eugene Korsunskiy is an Associate Professor of Engineering at Dartmouth College, where he teaches courses on human-centered design. Prior to arriving at Dartmouth, he taught at Stanford University's d.school, where he helped to develop the "Designing Your Life" curriculum. Eugene is Co-Director of the Design Initiative at Dartmouth (DIAD), and the Executive Director of the Future of Design in Higher Education (FDHE), a global community of educators dedicated to creating and sharing best practices in design pedagogy. Eugene was the 2020 recipient of the Woodhouse Excellence in Teaching Award at Dartmouth, and the 2018 recipient of Dartmouth's Apgar Award for Innovation in Teaching. He has also received a Fast Company Innovation by Design Award, and has been a speaker at several TEDx events and the Aspen Ideas Festival. Eugene has an MFA in Design from Stanford University and a BA in Art & Art History from Williams College.

Lindsey Leininger

Tuck School of Business: Clinical Professor of Business Administration; Faculty Director, Center for Health Care

Dr. Lindsey Leininger specializes in data-driven health policy, with a focus on the health care safety net and community health. She has a longstanding interest in publicly funded health insurance programs, with related research spanning quality measurement, risk segmentation, and program evaluation. Her community health work focuses on health education and promotion initiatives. Highlights include leading an award-winning crisis communication campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic; designing and delivering a nationally recognized curriculum for public benefits navigators; and leading the data and research efforts for a home-visiting program for high-risk pregnant women in Wisconsin. At Tuck she teaches courses on data-driven decision-making in the health sector. She also serves as Faculty Director for the Center for Health Care. Prior to Tuck, Lindsey spent a decade designing and leading research and technical assistance projects for Medicaid agencies, both as an academic and as a think-tank researcher. She holds a PhD in health policy from the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy.

Marjorie Rose

Dartmouth College: Senior Lecturer of Economics

Charlie Wheelan D’88

Tuck School of Business: Clinical Professor of Business Administration; Faculty Director, Center for Business, Government & Society

Faculty Director, Tuck Pathfinders

Charlie Wheelan D’88 is the faculty director for Tuck’s Center for Business, Government & Society. Prior to joining the Tuck faculty, he was a senior lecturer and policy fellow at Dartmouth’s Rockefeller Center for Public Policy. He teaches courses related to business and public policy. The winner of the 2020 Dean of the Faculty Teaching Award, he was also selected by the Dartmouth classes of 2011 and 2020 to be their Class Day speaker and has been recognized in the Aegis as one of Dartmouth’s ten best professors by six other graduating classes.

Prior to coming to Dartmouth, Wheelan taught at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago, where he also earned his Ph.D. Wheelan’s most recent book is Write for Your Life: A Guide to Clear and Purposeful Writing and Presentations, which was published in 2022. Wheelan is the author of the “naked books”: Naked Money, Naked Statistics, and Naked Economics. In 2023, Naked Economics was named by Princeton finance professor Burton Malkiel in the Wall Street Journal as the best business book of all time. Wheelan is also the author of The Centrist Manifesto and the founder and chair of Unite America, a movement of Democrats, Republicans, and independents working to foster a more representative and functional government.