When you select an MBA program, you are not just choosing your learning environment, but are also committing to becoming part of a community. Each Thursday, we offer a window into life “beyond the MBA classroom” at a top business school.
Before the two-week Complete Immersion in Management (CIM) orientation program, incoming students at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University gather for the four-day Kellogg Worldwide Experiences and Service Trips (KWEST) experience, during which they engage in volunteerism and tourist activities alongside the veritable strangers that will soon become their friends. KWEST experiences occur throughout the United States and internationally; the 2010 trips were to such locations as the Cayman Islands, Greece, Egypt, South Africa and Turkey. Some students even participate in a mystery trip: they do not learn their destination until they check in at the airport! During KWEST, students are not expected to discuss their work experience or academic/professional plans. Instead, students get to know each other on a more personal and intellectual level, returning to campus well acquainted and even bonded.
For in-depth descriptions of social and community activities at Kellogg and 14 other top MBA programs, check out the mbaMission Insider’s Guides.
