Tafui (Taf) Leggard

Stanford Graduate School of Business

“An old soul hoping to help others pursue their passions while finding her own.”

Hometown: Cary, North Carolina

Fun Fact About Yourself: Every day, I try to either work on a jigsaw puzzle or complete a Sudoku or logic puzzle

Undergraduate School and Major: North Carolina State University; Major: Industrial Engineering  

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: McKinsey and Company; Job Title: Senior Business Analyst, Global Social Responsibility   

What has been the best part of living in the Bay Area and Silicon Valley so far? The best part of living in the Bay Area has been the weather and walkability of Palo Alto. I love being able to walk the Dish Trail on the weekends or take a walk into downtown Palo Alto to enjoy some Salt and Straw ice cream before picking up some groceries. There is a true calm that settles over the Bay on the weekend, making it such a comfortable place to live. It is a goal of mine to make the most of what the local Palo Alto and Silicon Valley area has to offer in my MBA2 year. One way I plan to do it is by seeing more regional theatre with TheatreWorks Silicon Valley.

Aside from your classmates and location, what was the key part of Stanford GSB’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school, and why was it so important to you? I chose Standard GSB because of the program’s focus on entrepreneurship and the flexibility within the academic curriculum. I applied to the Stanford GSB as a deferred admit in 2022. A big motivator for me in applying was wanting to push myself and have an experience that was wildly different from consulting, since I knew I would be going to McKinsey after graduating. I have always sworn that I would not pursue entrepreneurship. But I wanted to take a step outside my comfort zone and immerse myself in an entrepreneurial environment, as the skill set is important for me to build and gain exposure as entrepreneurship continues to rapidly change the world.

As an engineering major in undergrad, there was very little flexibility in the courses we could take, and many of them had the same structure. The opportunity to choose my classes and their modality—seminar, experiential learning, case-based, or lecture-based—was something that excited me as a lifelong student. I left my time in consulting with more questions than answers about my passions, so the diversity of the academic curriculum gave me the confidence that I would be able to discover my passions at the GSB.

What has been the most important thing that you’ve learned at Stanford GSB so far? Don’t forget the qualitative stuff. I initially thought that my time at the GSB would be focused on learning all of the hard business skills that I didn’t learn in undergrad or during my time in consulting. However, in an increasingly AI-driven world, human-to-human interactions and human judgment are more important than ever. Working on the soft skills doesn’t come as naturally to me and can be a bit uncomfortable, but I have to lean into that discomfort to keep pace with progress in this rapidly-evolving world.

What course, club or activity have you enjoyed the most so far at Stanford GSB? Katherine Casey’s POLECON 231 course, Strategy Beyond Markets, has been the class I have enjoyed the most so far at Stanford. The course examines the firm’s strategic interactions with nonmarket players, such as politicians and regulators, who shape the “rules of the game” for market activity. What I have enjoyed most about it is the exposure to international cases as Casey’s approach to learning the “rules of the game.” This is especially true for me as a domestic student who has only worked in the United States.

We learned about local political risk based on Tata Motors’ experience in India and national political risk through Repsol in Argentina. We completed case studies on Chinese foreign direct investment in Zambian copper and ethanol policy in Brazil. In the midst of many American-centric classes, it has been a humbling experience to learn from my international classmates on their countries’ strategies—a small taste of the experience many international students have when every case is based in a country’s context that is not their own.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My biggest accomplishment in my career so far was the strategic communications work I supported during my rotation with the Global Social Responsibility team at McKinsey. During my last nine months at the Firm, my team embarked on a story series to highlight our pro bono work through McKinsey’s Action 9 commitment helping advance Black communities globally. I was humbled to be trusted to help tell the story of amazing nonprofits, including Opportunity@Work, the Boys and Girls Club of Metro Atlanta, The Amos Bursary, MOVER, and the partnership McKinsey provided in helping them accelerate their impact. More than that, I was proud to share these real-life stories with my colleagues and professional network about the important work being done to grow opportunities among Black communities globally.

Describe your biggest accomplishment as an MBA student so far? I was recently selected as an Arbuckle Fellow, which will be an amazing opportunity to develop my skills in effective coaching and peer mentorship. In my first quarter at the GSB, Leadership Labs, a required class focused on leadership simulations, helped me open up to possibilities for growth over the next two years. Much of that growth can be credited to my amazing Arbuckle Fellow, Pablo Castro, and squad. Shoutout to Squad 61! I am humbled to be selected as a Fellow and can’t wait to see my own growth in the program, and the growth my own squad and future coaches will experience.

What has been your best memory as an MBA so far? My best memory is the moment it hit me that I was actually getting my MBA. During the fall quarter, Bethany McLean, the investigative reporter who broke the story on the Enron scandal and the Great Financial Crisis of 2008, spoke to my accounting class. As someone with very little exposure to accounting, hearing her story was fascinating to me. But beyond that, the conversation sparked more questions for me and an intellectual curiosity I have really been yearning for, along with some truths about business that will stick with me for the rest of my career. One of the biggest: always be honest with yourself about what you do and do not understand.

What advice would you give to a prospective applicant looking to join the Stanford GSB Class of 2028? Don’t overlook the personal growth that makes the MBA worthwhile. I applied to the GSB as a deferred admit, focusing primarily on the professional and academic aspects of the MBA experience. Since then, a lot has happened. Now that I have matriculated at the GSB, I realize the professional and academic experiences will stay with me for a long time, but the most meaningful and unexpected takeaway for me has been my personal growth. I like to say, “The GSB is not what I wanted, but what I needed.” When else are you going to pause your life and ask yourself tough questions in a place that welcomes all the messiness of the human experience? I don’t think there is another MBA environment other than the GSB that provides a soft landing for that personal growth.

DON’T MISS: MEET THE STANFORD GSB MBA CLASS OF 2027

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