Meet Dartmouth Tuck’s MBA Class Of 2019

Orlando Gómez 

Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth 

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: Mexican-American from the South Side of Chicago who seeks to grow each day.

Hometown: Chicago, IL

Fun Fact About Yourself: I once met with Flava Flav at his now defunct fried chicken restaurant to pitch co-opening a new location.

Undergraduate School and Major: Robert Morris University Illinois, Business Management

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:

Peace Corps, Perú – Community Economic Development Specialist

Credit Suisse – Private Wealth Relationship Associate

Charles Schwab – Registered Representative

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I taught a finance workshop to a local mothers’ club in Peru that went over how to recognize a good investment from a bad one. It also covered how, if faced with a saturated market, or an unfeasible break-even point, they should re-evaluate investing their limited capital. The advice seemed relatively straight-forward to me, but once I was done with the workshop the women showed me that there was value in sharing it anyways. One-by-one, each woman stood up and thanked me for taking the time to teach them these basic business concepts because no one had ever thought them capable of becoming business owners. This newfound knowledge was a tremendous gift for them and their families. That was an incredibly rewarding experience.

Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants?  When studying for the GMAT, it is important to focus on the areas in which you need to improve. That might sound obvious, but it is easy to gravitate towards your strengths. This is especially true when the going gets tough because seeing a green checkmark feels a whole lot better than seeing a red X. Don’t do yourself that disservice. The GMAT is designed to be difficult, but each time that you get a question right that you had answered wrong previously, it’s a step in the right direction, a step towards conquering the exam.

What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you?  At Tuck, the people make the program. From your classmates to staff and faculty to the alumni, Tuckies are just plain nice. They’re always there for one another. This was a qualitative component that I put just as much weight on as any quantitative metric. I attended Tuck’s Diversity Conference as a prospective student and saw first-hand the closeness of the relationships formed in Hanover. Current students offered to review my admissions essays and were always available to hop on a call to answer my questions. I have also, without fail, received a response to every “cold email” I have sent to Tuck alumni. The network is real and I truly believe that Tuckies look to pay it forward.

What would success look like to you after your first year of business school?  For me, success would be knowing each one of my classmates, their Tuck Partner, their Tiny Tuckies, and even their pets, while also being well-positioned to excel during my summer internship.