Meet Dartmouth Tuck’s MBA Class of 2018

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Muyambi Muyambi

Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: I am a Ugandan born, internationally educated civil engineer and bicycle enthusiast.

Hometown: Rukungiri, Uganda

Fun Fact About Yourself: I have biked across both the USA and Uganda

Undergraduate School and Major: Bucknell University, Dual Degree, BS/BA in Civil Engineering and Economics

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:

Estimator, Clark Construction

Document Control Manager, Clark Construction/Capital Rail Constructors

Field Engineer/Assistant Chief Surveyor, Clark Construction

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My first job after college was estimating a $1.2 billion 11-mile metro project in the Washington, DC area. Our team won the project. Being part of the process and winning the project was a big accomplishment. I had the opportunity to draft contracts for subcontractors and later worked in the field building one of the metro stations. This gave me a well-rounded view of acquiring, preparing and running a project of great magnitude.

Outside work, one of my biggest accomplishments is founding a social enterprise, Bicycles Against Poverty, which finances bicycles for smallholder farmers in rural Uganda. The organization has thus far financed over 2,000 bicycles. These bicycles are in most cases the most valuable assets our clients own. They use the bicycles to ferry their produce to better paying markets many miles away. This helps increase their incomes—a very important step in fighting poverty.

Looking back on your experience, what advice would you give to future business school applicants? I suggest beginning as early as possible on all aspects of business school. While this can be relative, the moment you know you are interested in business, begin talking to people you know who have an MBA. Doing this will also help you find people to write your recommendations.

To help you on the GMAT, take your first practice test really early. If you mimic the test conditions closely, you will get a fairly accurate score which will inform any preparation decisions you need to make.

When it comes to essays, having time to work through multiple drafts is vital to creating an informative essay that captures your story. If you are lucky to have helpful friends, use them to help you hone your message.

In regards to excelling in the admissions interviews, use what you’ve learned from talking to those around you who are more experienced than yourself. Talking to alumni in your circle will also give you a different perspective that you won’t find on any school website.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA? The top reason for choosing Tuck was the class size. I wanted a place with a family-like feel and by visiting the school and talking to alumni, it was clear Tuck was the place to be. Even non-Tuck MBAs marvel at how close Tuckies are. Also, very early on and through the interview process, I realized how extremely helpful Tuckies can be. Tuck’s location was appealing to me too. As an avid cyclist, Hanover, NH, offers great places to go cycling after a tough class day.

Tell us about your dream job or dream employer at this point in your life? My dream job would be in investment banking. Through conversations with people that are currently in investment banking and by participating in pre-MBA investment banking camps, I am finding that it offers the rigorous qualitative and quantitative challenges that I’m looking for a in a fulfilling career. I also value growing companies and structuring deals to make sure they continue to serve society. Investment banking offers me that opportunity.

What would you like your business school peers to say about you after you graduate from this program? I hope I can simply live up to my name. Muyambi means helper (in my mother tongue, Runyankole). Given the fact that being helpful to others is engrained in the Tuck fabric, all I have to do is follow my Tuck instincts. In part this is to follow in the footsteps of current and past Tuckies who go far and beyond for others when they don’t have to.

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