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Jim Brandenburg, a well-known Minnesota photographer, challenged himself to take only one picture a day for three months. Whenever I paged through his compilation, Chased by the Light, I always wondered what it was like to spend time just waiting for that perfect moment. And yet here at school, I’m starting to understand what it feels like to wait. And I’m beginning to get the value of that one moment when things make sense: a connection with a company; a study space that works just right; or an if-statement successfully embedded into an Excel model.

But most of the moments that have beckoned my attention are about the Tuck culture.

As an admitted student, I had a gut feeling that it was right for me, but didn’t know what “it” really was. Week four and I’m starting to understand. It’s a culture of my new friends throwing me a surprise 30th birthday party after knowing me for less than a week. It’s a culture that challenges and supports me well beyond my expectation: a tutor; study sessions; and office hours; plus classmates who continually offer their help. It’s the second years who throw a scavenger hunt for the first-year class. It’s the alumni who are so connected to the culture that they call you back filled with envy that “you’re at Tuck”. It’s the student who stopped to drive me to school one day just because he knew I was a Tuckie.

This is the magic of my school: that in the loud chaos of homework, job seeking and socialising, there is space waiting for us to connect through our differences and learn beyond ourselves. We are all searching for something different – a new job, a new perspective, a new opportunity – and yet together, we’re waiting.

Most days feel like a scatter plot of moments, sometimes frantic and fleeting and sometimes slow and insightful. At the end of the day, I write off some of what I missed, I capitalise time well spent for future rewards and I keep adding to the ever-growing investment of my future. But because I’m at Tuck, there is an incredible community which creates a sense of calm in the turmoil.

This is not a process for the impatient. Like the photographer, I’m captivated in an incredible state of both pursuit and waiting.

Next week: Peter Sherman of IESE

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