Tuck Bridge Stories: Darlene Campos
Darlene Campos is a 2012 graduate of Wheaton College where she double majored in Anthropology and Psychology. Darlene attended the inaugural December Bridge Program in 2014. This is her story:
I had a bit of an unconventional road to Tuck Bridge, but it was a path that ultimately helped dramatically accelerate my career.
When I applied to Bridge I was working as a media director at a rapidly growing startup. I was almost two years out of school and working at a job that I loved, but there was something missing. Like many of my peers with social science backgrounds, I had the wit and skill set to perform well at my job, but I was missing the practical business skills that would help take my career to the next level.
On the job training is in invaluable and a great way to slowly begin building a strong business acumen. That being said, in a startup environment you often need to be the expert in a variety of different areas. This was especially apparent to me when interacting with owners and investors. Even though I had the eye and instinct to make appropriate recommendations regarding our company’s digital strategy, I also needed to learn how to put numbers around our decisions and our successes. I knew I needed to sharpen my analytical skills in order to continue to succeed in this environment and in preparation for my next role.
I had first heard about Tuck Bridge from a Tuck Alum while discussing my interest in pursuing and MBA down the road. I was initially attracted to the coursework and strong community at Tuck. It sounded like it would help give my career the strong business edge that I needed down the road.
Tuck Bridge exceeded my expectations, and has been perhaps the most rewarding career decision I’ve made thus far. The structure of the program had a great blend of classroom and experiential learning, led by passionate and energetic professors who were genuinely invested in our success. The community at Bridge really can’t be beat. It was inspiring to be surrounded by such sharp, self-motivated, and talented peers, many of whom I am lucky to call friends today.
Shortly after Bridge I transitioned into a new role in management consulting–a transition that would traditionally have a steep learning curve for someone coming from a more creative field. The skills developed during Bridge allowed me to succeed in this new industry. I came into my new role with the hard analytical skills essential to my role, and soft skills that have allowed me to form strong professional relationships with both peers and clients.
Whether in marketing, digital media, or management consulting, Bridge gave me the skills and confidence to succeed in any business environment.
