Lars Erik Schönander

Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth

“Former policy wonk trying to strengthen America’s industrial capabilities.”

Hometown: Larchmont, NY

Fun Fact About Yourself: I am a triplet! I have two sisters. One of them is doing her MBA right now as well. She is in her first year at NYU Stern. My other sister does PR for companies such as Valentino and Bottega Veneta.

Undergraduate School and Major: George Washington University, International Affairs and Economics.

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Foundation for American Innovation, Research Fellow

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. They are so responsive and generous with their time. For example, when I first got into Tuck, I discovered there was an alum of the Senate office that I worked for who is a T’25. I sent him a cold email, and he immediately responded, and we had a great conversation about what life is like at Tuck. Tuckies were so generous with their time. I sent cold emails to a few of them to learn about various aspects of Tuck, and they were all willing to get on the phone to talk.

Another thing is sheer contentment. When I was applying to schools, I had several friends in MBA programs. I called many of them to ask about their experience doing an MBA. Out of all the programs, my friend who went to Tuck (shout out to Aemy Patel T’25!) was the most cheerful about her MBA experience. Once I got into a few schools and one of the options was Tuck, I knew which program to pick.

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 broad curriculum. When I was looking at schools, I wanted a program that would give me a broad, rigorous understanding of how firms operate.

What excites you the most about coming to live in Hanover? What is the one activity you can’t wait to do? The outdoors and the quiet. I love living in cities, but when I was deciding to go to business school, one factor was the opportunity to live somewhere I would never live otherwise. It has been awesome to be able to hike on the weekends and really be around nature. Once winter begins, I plan to spend as much time as reasonably possible skiing. Having this access to the outdoors is a really unique part of Tuck.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at Dartmouth Tuck? The Ski and Snowboard Club! I grew up skiing since I was a kid. I haven’t been able to go skiing as much as I would have wanted because of living in D.C. Now being in Hanover, I can go skiing at all the resorts I went to as a kid. Shout out to Okemo!

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Before Tuck, I worked (and actually still work part-time!) at a tech policy think-tank in D.C. During my time there, one of my biggest accomplishments was writing an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal that got retweeted by members of Congress. The real cherry on top was that, less than a year later, I testified to Congress on the issue. The policy area I was working on was foreign investment in property next to American military bases.

What do you hope to do after graduation (at this point)? I am interested in working in tech, whether that be at a tech company proper or at a consulting firm. I worked in tech policy while I was in D.C., and while I loved doing it, I realized that to pursue the goal I care about (helping America reindustrialize), I would learn more doing that at a firm than in the government.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into Dartmouth Tuck’s MBA program? Be authentic. It’s trite, but don’t try to game the application system by writing an application that doesn’t reflect who you really are. As someone who comes from an unconventional background, really lean into the unique parts of your background versus shying away from them. I would also recommend reaching out to people at the school before applying. You should get a sense of the school’s culture and whether you’ll vibe with it before you apply, as Tuck really tries to craft a cohesive class.

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