Martina Ravelli

Dartmouth College Tuck School of Business

“Global citizen striving to become a wise leader focused on compassion, community-building, and ethical decision-making.”

Age: 31

Hometown: Trento, Italy

Fun fact about yourself: Up until a year ago, I used to be truly terrified of dogs! Now, my husband and I have a 70-pound German Shepherd puppy, and I could not be more attached to him – living proof to me that change is possible!

Undergraduate School and Degree:

BA in Foreign Languages and Business Administration (cum laude), Catholic University (Milan, Italy)

MA in Controlling, Finance and Accounting, Pforzheim University (Pforzheim, Germany)

Where did you work before enrolling in business school? I was a manager at Deloitte Advisory.

Where did you intern during the summer of 2017? Microsoft (Redmond, WA)

Where will you be working after graduation? Microsoft

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School: Revers Board Fellow; McGowan Fellow; General Management Club Co-chair; 2017 Diversity Conference Co-Chair; 2017 Tuck Admitted Students Weekend, sponsorship committee; Teaching Assistant for various first-year classes

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? As part of Tuck’s Revers Board Fellows Program, I have had the honor to serve as board member for a local not-for-profit organization, which fights to end gender-based violence. This has been an incredible opportunity to broaden my reach, to make an impact on something I feel is important, and to help set a practice of balancing a future corporate career with volunteer work within my community.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? Rather than one specific achievement, I am proud of my ability to successfully work in very different environments over the years, immersing myself in and adapting to different cultures, languages, and habits.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? It’s so hard to pick one as I learned a lot from every single faculty member I interacted with at Tuck! If pressed to choose, I would say Dean Matthew Slaughter. He never passes up an opportunity to combine excellent academic content with lessons on how to think as a wise leader in each situation. I’ve found my interactions with him to always be extremely insightful. He helped push me out of my comfort zone and gave me the confidence and the implicit support I needed to try out new things.

What was your favorite MBA Course Another difficult question. I particularly enjoyed those courses that forced me to reflect upon my leadership style and how I can grow as an individual—classes such as Leadership Out of The Box, The CEO Experience, Power and Influence, and Negotiations.

Why did you choose this business school? Given the opportunity to attend top business schools, I based my decision not on where a specific school would take me career-wise, but rather on how my experience during those two years would be. Tuck provided the type of collaborative community where I knew I could thrive. No less important, Tuck also has an extremely inclusive partner community which meant that my husband could share in my business school experience and take this journey with me.

What is your best piece advice to an applicant hoping to get into your school’s MBA program? Be yourself. Tuck is not interested in a specific “type” of student, but rather in the diversity of everyone’s individual experiences.

What is the biggest myth about your school? Tuckies are sometimes stereotyped as being “too nice” or “too soft.” Although it is true that Tuck is not a cut-throat environment, I have found a healthy level of “collaborative competitiveness.” I believe that we are all pushing each other to do better and do more every day.

What was your biggest regret in business school? Not having spent more time with professors outside of the classroom. I am humbled every day by the quality and wealth of experience of Tuck’s faculty and by their accessibility. As my business school experience draws to a close, I wish I had taken more advantage of the unique opportunity to connect with faculty more often.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? The list is long. My Tuck classmates are truly an exceptional bunch! In general, the classmates I admire most are the ones who challenge themselves, embrace change, do not shy away from difficult conversations, and try to make the world a better place.

Who most influenced your decision to pursue business in college? I always knew that I wanted to work internationally, connect with people from different cultures, and solve complex problems. Business offers that. But as the first person in my extended family to ever attend college, those around me were able to provide limited guidance on the decision to pursue business. As for grad school, I will be forever thankful to my husband, John, for pushing me to pursue an MBA when I did not think I wanted or needed one. I cannot stress enough how transformative Tuck has been for me and for my growth.

“If I hadn’t gone to business school, I would be…an architect.”

If you were a dean for a day, what one thing would you change about the MBA experience? I would get all stakeholders (students, faculty, administration, career services, etc.) aligned on the competing priorities and demands on students’ time, in order to jointly create an environment that is even more conducive to both learning and personal growth.

What are the top two items on your bucket list?

Spend some time in South-East Asia – a part of the world I want to know better.
Learn to horseback ride

In one sentence, how would you like your peers to remember you? As an intellectually honest individual who would offer a perspective that helped expand their worldview.

What is your favorite movie about business? The Pursuit of Happyness – a lesson on the importance of hard work and perseverance, as well as an important reminder to business leaders of the issues and dangers of income inequality.

What would your theme song be? “I Lived” by OneRepublic

Favorite vacation spot: Mezzana, a small village in the Italian Alps where my father was born, and where time seems to have stopped. It is the perfect place to rest one’s soul away from internet and to be immersed in nature.

Hobbies? Hiking in the woods with my family, working out, cooking, baking, and playing board games.

What made Martina such an invaluable addition to the class of 2018?

“Martina is an extremely strong student. She consistently ranks in the top 5% of the class and was selected this summer to be Tuck’s McGowan Fellow; one of the top honors available to second-year students. She has a BA in Foreign Languages and Business Administration (Cum Laude) and an MA in Controlling, Finance and Accounting. Martina will receive her second masters degree from Tuck in June! She speaks five languages, has lived and worked in a number of countries, and she is a curious learner. I have been extremely impressed with her intellect, dedication, and work ethic.

In addition, Martina was one of this year’s Diversity Conference co-chairs. This annual conference is one of Tuck’s largest and most significant events, and Martina did an amazing job helping to organize and manage all of the moving pieces. She is both detail-oriented and strategy-savvy; an extremely valuable combination on any team! She was able to facilitate several complicated sessions, while simultaneously asking important questions about our purpose and vision. She was accountable to both the administrative team and to her fellow co-chairs.

Martina has also been involved in the General Management Club and the Technology Club. She is bright and innovative, highly responsible, and extremely thoughtful and compassionate. She personifies Tuck’s core values of confident humility, empathy, and judgement. It is my pleasure to recommend her.”

Elizabeth J. Winslow, Senior Associate Director, MBA Program

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Business Administration

Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College