Tuck (TAABA) Ski Retreat Recap: A Weekend of Fun, Friendship and Fellowship

On February 15th over ten cohorts of graduate students and alumni descended upon Smuggler’s Notch Ski Resort in Northern Vermont for The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth’s annual TAABA Ski Weekend. For 2013, 140 participants enjoyed a weekend of relaxation, reconnecting, making new friends and of course some quality time on the slopes.

The weekend opened with a meet and greet networking hour as Tuck welcomed guests to resort. Guests sipped on signature cocktails while Columbia and NYU Stern negotiated who would host the first after party of the weekend. Columbia ended up hosting the after party, but not to be outdone; NYU kept the party going with the after-after party.

The next morning skiers and non-skiers woke up to a few snowflakes and a mountain ready for action. Many attendees were first-timers so lessons were arranged, as well as a few low speed runs down the bunny hill before taking on the mountain. Others opted for a more leisurely Saturday, warming up in the expansive hot tub across from our condos, resting up for the main event—a Grammy themed party featuring DJ Jimmy Valdes.

After a day of activity all of us gathered for a final dinner at the resort lodge. The spread was superb and was topped off with the best peach and apple cobbler you’ll find in the northeast. Over dinner, our outgoing chairs Joyce Cadesca and N. Troy Stewart, both T’13s, were recognized for their leadership of TAABA as well as coordinating a spectacular ski trip for graduate students across the country. Students and alumni gathered for school photos and then it was time for the big party.

DJ Jimmy was on the 1’s and 2’s all night and even threw down some Dirty South classics—the Grammy party was definitely a highlight of the weekend and raised the bar for 2014. And of course no party could end without an encore… NYU held it down for the late night festivities for the second night in a row. We want to thank all of the schools represented over the TAABA ski weekend and want to leave you with a few quotes from satisfied attendees:

“What I find to be the best thing about this weekend is that Consortium folks get to come together again in a non-stressful environment and essentially network. It’s ideal for rekindling friendships made at previous events where one may have met someone else.  Even though this wasn’t an official “recruiting” event or anything of that sort, I’m still enjoying the benefits of the connections that I made in that people are connecting me recruiters/companies that they have contact with. This is something that I think people miss when applying to business school. Sure we all go to different schools but trust me when I say that you will intern with people from every school and they will also become a part of your network.” – Richard Battle-Baxter, The Johnson School of Business at Cornell University, Class of 2013

“The highlight of TAABA’s annual ski weekend was the opportunity to reconnect with new and old friends The Consortium. From banking to entrepreneurship, the diversity of talent in the room sparked a light in me to keep on working towards my goals. There was a wide array of talents when it came time to ski and I didn’t fret over the fact that it was my first time out on the slopes because of the supportive nature of everyone around me. I couldn’t have found a better group of people to be surrounded by as I made a fool of myself coming down the mountain! I truly hope to continue to cultivate and maintain some of these great friendships. I am very grateful that our Tuck family takes the time and energy to plan an event for all of us to take a break from the insane MBA schedule!” – Natalie Wossene, The Johnson School of Business at Cornell University, Class of 2014

The Tuck African Ancestry Business Association is looking forward to hosting everyone again next year in early 2014 and thank you again for attending this year!