Joanna Mulvey

Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth

“Musical theatre aficionado and amateur endurance athlete with a passion for solving complex operational challenges.”

Hometown: Poughkeepsie, NY

Fun Fact About Yourself: I have rowed on 25 different bodies of water in five different countries!

Undergraduate School and Major: University of Notre Dame, Mechanical Engineering

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Wabtec Corporation, Sourcing Program Leader

What has been your first impression of the Tuck MBA students and alumni you’ve met so far. Tell us your best Tuck story so far. Tuck students and alumni have exceeded my (already very high) expectations! I have found the second-year students, T’24s, to be incredibly generous with their time answering questions about Tuck, recruiting, classes, and even Upper Valley recommendations. There’s also a new offering called Tuck Compass, which includes a Personal Board of Advisors, giving students the chance to apply for an alumni mentor. My mentor has been a valuable resource for recruiting questions and general career/life discussions. The PBA is a great example of how much Tuck alumni want to give back and be involved with Tuck after they leave Hanover.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of Dartmouth Tuck’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? The close relationship between the faculty and students at Tuck was one of the key aspects that attracted me to the program. I was excited to have the chance to focus on learning for two years and really wanted to get to know my professors along the way. Due to Tuck’s close-knit community and the fact that many professors have offices on the first floor of my dorm building, I run into professors all the time! They host lunches and are serious when they say they want to get to know us as people. The core curriculum is challenging, but the academic environment has been supportive and engaging.

What excites you the most about coming to live in Hanover? What is the one activity you can’t wait to do? Like many of my classmates, I was excited to take advantage of the outdoors while in Hanover. So far, it’s been amazing to run, hike, and bike around the Upper Valley! I’m very excited (and a little nervous!) to learn to ski this winter. With several mountains within driving distance, it’s the perfect place to learn and bond with other classmates.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at Dartmouth Tuck? Another unique aspect of Tuck is that the admissions interviews are with second-year students. A couple months after the interview, my interviewer became a helpful resource while I prepared to come to Tuck and was able to connect me with other Tuckies to answer questions. I’m planning to pay this forward by applying to be an interviewer in my second year. As far as courses go, I’ve heard amazing things about a course called Tax and Business Strategy with Professor Leslie Robinson. I never thought I could be excited to learn about taxes, but having great faculty makes a big difference!

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I am very proud of the work I did most recently as the sourcing leader for the NYCT battery locomotive program at Wabtec. With supply chains still recovering from COVID, I worked very closely with suppliers and internal teams to come up with creative and compliant solutions to keep the build as close to schedule as possible. By the time I left the team to come to Tuck, the second unit was well under way! Although there were still challenges ahead, I am proud of my contributions to the success of the program.

What do you hope to do after graduation (at this point)? In 2019, I took the role as main analyst on the supply chain integration team when GE Transportation was acquired. That experience, while both intellectually and emotionally challenging, opened my eyes to the broader strategic vision of the business. With every business case that I built and prepared for our leadership team, my interest in being on a team that assesses problems and advises leaders grew. After developing my strategic and analytical skills at Tuck, I intend to become a management consultant.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? IU Kelley, Michigan Ross, Northwestern Kellogg

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into Dartmouth Tuck’s MBA program? The admissions team means it when they say they want to get to know who you are as a person to create the best incoming class possible. Make sure they see who you really are and that your excitement about Tuck shines through. The Tuck community truly is happy to help, so don’t be shy about reaching out to Tuckies to figure out if this is the place for you!

DON’T MISS: MEET DARTMOUTH TUCK’S MBA CLASS OF 2025