Professor Charlie Wheelan, faculty director of Pathfinders with students in the Pathfinders program – courtesy photo
Navigating career choices can feel overwhelming—especially during your first year of college. That’s why Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business has launched an innovative new program designed to transform the way students approach their futures.
Professor Charlie Wheelan, a former Dartmouth undergraduate himself, immediately offered to serve as faculty director of the new Pathfinders program. He and his colleagues had long believed the school needed something like it.
“As soon as the concept was floated, I stepped forward,” says Wheelan, who still recalls the challenges of charting his own career path as a student. “Nobody’s career is linear—it might seem methodical for the first few months, but then life kicks in and things change.”
‘THE CONFIDENCE TO EMBRACE UNCERTAINTY’
Pathfinders is all about inspiring first-year students to rethink what career exploration can look like. Through casual fireside chats, Tuck and Dartmouth alumni share their unique—and often unexpected—journeys. From hurdles and failures to surprising turns, students see firsthand that success rarely follows a straight line.
Featured speakers include alumni from diverse industries, including acclaimed TV producer and screenwriter Shonda Rhimes ’91.
The program covers three core areas: personal exploration using tools like CliftonStrengths, functional skills such as negotiation, and “big picture” topics like finance and the science of happiness—often grounded in real-life experiences shared by alumni.
“We wanted students to develop confidence about their futures while embracing uncertainty,” says Wheelan. That’s the program’s ethos.
Professor Charlie Wheelan teaching. Courtesy photo
‘THE BIG PICTURE TAKEAWAY IS THAT THIS IS WORKING REALLY WELL’
Whether students know exactly what they want to do after graduation or not, Pathfinders encourages them to identify their personal strengths—paying attention to both their own perceptions and what others recognize in them.
The inaugural cohort enrolled 75 Dartmouth first-years, selected on a first-come, first-served basis. Its early success has already sparked plans to expand: first by doubling enrollment in the next round, and eventually by making the program available to all students.
“The big picture takeaway is that this is working really well,” Wheelan says. “Students are realizing they don’t need to stress about sticking to one particular path to reach their goals. It’s liberating.”
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