From Teamwork to Career Exploration: Tuck Business Bridge Alumni Share Takeaways from the Program

Pictured above: Hunter Howard (far right), with his Capstone Project team members, from left to right: Arjun Premkumar, Kyle Ferguson, Annie O’Keefe, and Clara Noyes.

Nadira Talayee (student at Smith College) and Hunter Howard (student at Hamilton College), recent participants in the Tuck Business Bridge Program, reflect on key takeaways from their time in Hanover, including gaining exposure to new career paths and learning the value of teamwork.

Nadira Talayee

Smith College ’26, Bridge’25

What were your key takeaways from Tuck Bridge?

Coming into Bridge as a data science and economics major from a liberal arts college, I wasn’t new to economic concepts, Excel, or slide decks. However, Bridge expanded that foundation in truly eye-opening ways. It felt almost like a manifesto of how all these pieces converge at the micro level to shape how firms operate. From financial modeling to strategy, and from competitive advantage to customer loyalty, Bridge challenged me to connect the dots between the technical and the strategic. Perhaps most importantly, it pushed me to think more deliberately about my future. While I’ve always been drawn to business and entrepreneurship, I wasn’t sure which career tracks I wanted to pursue. Bridge gave me exposure to what paths in financial services and the broader business sector might look like, and it encouraged me to start mapping out where I want to be five years from now.

What was your biggest takeaway from your Capstone Project? What are some challenges and lessons learned you encountered during your Capstone Project?

My biggest takeaway from the Capstone Project was realizing that a company’s story of success and financial health is more than just its balance sheet or positive margins. Leadership, strategy, and competitive advantage all play a big role in shaping lasting value. Connecting these factors with the financial reports gave me a clearer understanding of how businesses grow and sustain themselves.

Another important lesson came from the team experience. How we worked together influenced both our individual contributions and the overall success of our project. We played to each other’s strengths, worked through different opinions, and managed to stay focused and productive under a tight timeline.

Finally, presenting our work taught me a lot about business communication. I came to see the slide deck as more than just a set of bullet points; it’s a way to tell a story, make ideas clear, and inform people to make a decision.

Hunter Howard

Hamilton College ’27, Bridge’25

What were your key takeaways from Tuck Bridge?

My time at Tuck Bridge was transformative. From my perspective, the program’s dynamics were divided into three parts: the core curriculum, the Capstone Project, and the teamwork and social component. 

One of the most significant takeaways from the core curriculum was learning various frameworks for analyzing business challenges. Each class offered a unique business perspective, equipping me with practical tools to address them effectively. 

For the Capstone Project, I collaborated with my study group to complete a value analysis of WD-40, applying insights from the core curriculum to meet project milestones. My most significant takeaway from this experience was developing stronger teamwork capabilities. We achieved remarkable productive collaboration, tackling both internal and external challenges. For instance, when we discovered an error deep within our Three-Statement Model, we worked together to resolve it, delegating tasks based on our individual strengths. Likewise, when fatigue set in, we discussed solutions that met everyone’s needs, such as working outside or assigning certain research tasks individually. These lessons in collaboration were invaluable, and I could not have gained them elsewhere before entering the professional field.

When I think about the social aspect, Tuck Bridge almost felt like a “business camp”; it was truly fun. I made incredible memories with people who will be friends for a lifetime. By the end of the program, I realized, along with many of my peers, that the relationships we built would be just as valuable, if not more so, than the business knowledge we gained.
 

Tuck Bridge students are organized into study groups during the program. Pictured, from left to right: Alex Walker, Charlie Kessler, Nadira Talayee, Ben Brown, and Siena Smith.