Favorite Traditions & Events At Top Business Schools

There’s just something about sharing a meal together. Amid the soft light and jazz, classmates drop their guard over rigatoni, chianti, and tiramisu. The room is filled with tales of travel mishaps and workplace bollix, subtle compliments and inside jokes – wry smiles and hearty laughs as students cradle their glasses and savor the moment.

At Northwestern University’s Kellogg School, Haley Hammond describes the students’ Small Group Dinners as less a single event and more a cultural staple. Known as SGDs, these dinners are often hosted by clubs each quarter, bringing together members and non-members alike. For Hammond, a ’26 Kellogg MBA, such events fostered genuine connections outside the “structured settings” of the program. That said, many of the best dinners happened over informal gatherings in students’ homes, Hammond adds.

AN INTIMATE AUDIENCE WITH TOP LEADERS

“One of my favorites was hosted by a friend who realized she had met so many incredible women at Kellogg and thought, ‘We should all know each other.’ She was absolutely right — and that dinner sparked friendships that have lasted well beyond that evening. SGDs embody what makes Kellogg special. The culture here is deeply collaborative, but collaboration isn’t built in classrooms alone. Breaking bread together creates a kind of connection that is rooted in curiosity, generosity, and community. That spirit has been one of the most rewarding parts of my Kellogg experience.”

Some dinners weren’t restricted to student-to-student affairs. Take Dartmouth College’s Tuck School, which holds Weekly Executive Dinners. Here, a small group of students sit down with a senior business leader, often a school alum, according to Peatros Haile, a 2026 Poets&Quants MBA To Watch. For Haile, the real value of these dinners isn’t just access but candor.

“Around the dinner table, conversations move beyond prepared remarks to candid reflections on career inflection points, failures, tradeoffs, and even personal vulnerability – insights you would rarely find in a Forbes profile or Wall Street Journal feature. Executives speak not as distant leaders, but as members of the same community who once sat in our seats.”

Like Hammond, Haile found these dinners represented the very best of the MBA program. “The tradition embodies Tuck’s culture of intimacy and engagement, where leadership is not observed from afar, but experienced up close.”

CHILLING OVER CRAWFISH

In some cases, these dinners take a page out of local lore. That is certainly the case with the annual Crawfish Boil sponsored by Georgia Tech’s Scheller College. Think of crawfish as a ‘poor man’s lobster’ – just more sweet and less salty. Here, crustaceans are boiled in a giant pot alongside corn, smoked sausage, red potatoes, and onions – not to mention cayenne pepper, paprika, and garlic. Traditionally, the tables are lined with newspaper to absorb the citrusy juice, with the delicacy served with Cajun mayo or cocktail sauce.

Growing up in Argentina, Jose Antonio Visintini Podio had never tasted crawfish until he joined the Scheller MBA program in 2024. Starting out as a “curious culinary discovery,” the event has turn into Visintini Podio’s favorite memory due to how it brings so many communities together at Scheller.

“On that day, students, faculty, and alumni return with their families to gather around great food and genuine connection. It captures the spirit of Georgia Tech. We work intensely in the classroom, but we also celebrate culture and community with warmth. Seeing an alum from a decade ago sharing a meal with a first-year student perfectly reflects our ‘small but mighty’ identity.”

For many MBA graduates, dinners are among the traditions where they say, ‘That was the moment.’ These events may be where they found that kindred spirit who enriched their life or when they proved to themselves that they truly belonged in business school. Back then, these moments were considered special – but MBAs rarely know how unforgettable until they’ve past. Looking back now, they realize their experience wouldn’t have been the same without them.

This spring, P&Q asked this year’s Best & Brightest MBAs and MBAs To Watch to share their favorite business school tradition or event – and what made it so valuable. From Olympic-style competitions to football tailgates, here are the business school rituals that graduates loved most.

“My favorite MBA tradition at ASU was our Bi-Annual Trip to the Rodeo. Far out in the distant desert, with little cell phone service, we truly bonded with our classmates and became lifelong friends. There was no room to stress over projects, exams, or assignments, and the friendships that blossomed while watching bull riding or cutting a rug on the honkytonk dance floor will last a lifetime. These trips to the rodeo echoed our school’s mantra, that business is personal, and to be a great leader means you have to also be a great friend at times too.”
Zach Harris, Arizona State (W. P. Carey)

 

“Rocket Pitch was my favorite MBA event at Babson. In just three minutes and three slides, you have to present an entire business idea in front of a room full of entrepreneurs, professors, students, and investors. After the pitch, the audience can ask questions and share feedback, but the presenter is not allowed to respond. So, the idea has to stand entirely on its own. I had the chance to present, and it became one of my most memorable experiences at Babson. Breaking down a venture to its essence and conveying it with clarity in such a highly entrepreneurial room was both challenging and exhilarating, and it perfectly reflected Babson’s culture. Bold ideas, action over perfection, and the ability to communicate like an entrepreneurial leader.”
Drin Govori, Babson College (Olin)

“My favorite MBA event is the MBA Spring Formal, a tradition held near the end of the academic year that brings the entire program together for an evening of dinner, speeches, and dancing. After a year filled with demanding classes, projects, and recruiting, the formal provides a chance for everyone to pause and celebrate what we have accomplished together. It’s a night where classmates and partners gather together and celebrate the year. What makes the event especially meaningful is the sense of connection it focuses on. Throughout the evening there are moments of reflection, gratitude, and laughter as classmates share memories from the year together. By the time Spring Formal arrives, the people in the program feel less like classmates and more like close friends, and the event becomes a celebration of those relationships.

For me, the night perfectly captures what makes the MBA experience special. It reflects a culture where people work incredibly hard but also take the time to celebrate each other and the journey they’ve gone through together. Ending the year dancing and laughing with the people who supported you through the highs and lows of the program is a reminder that the most valuable part of business school isn’t just what you learn, but the community you build along the way.”
Rebekah Koster, Brigham Young University (Marriott)

“The College Formals! University of Cambridge is one of the few collegiate universities in the world, and also one of the oldest, with many longstanding traditions. The formal dinners in the old college dining halls (some of them over 700 years old) are definitely one of the highlights – you get to dress up, wear your university gown, and enjoy nice food and wine while marveling at the amazing architecture of the high-ceiling dining rooms. There are also many traditions that take place during dinner such as Latin grace, a gong to signal the start of dinner, themed nights and games (see “pennying”).”
Steven Pillon, Cambridge Judge

“My favorite Booth tradition was Random Walk, and not just because of my role as co-leader of the committee. I was lucky enough to do the Mystery Trip both years. Exactly one year apart, I stood in O’Hare International Airport with a half-packed suitcase and 16 relative strangers, waiting to find out where we were headed. My first year, we landed in Taiwan. My second year as a trip leader, we discovered we were traveling to Bosnia and Herzegovina!

Each Mystery trip was its own beautiful chaos. The Mystery format attracts a specific type of person: adventurous, spontaneous, comfortable with the unknown, and maybe a little crazy. The individuals who self-select into uncertainty tend to be exactly the kind of people who thrive in the fast-paced business school environment. They’re curious about others and the world, easy-going, and willing to fail. While the people standing next to me in O’Hare may have been strangers then, they’re now some of my closest friends. This is the magic of the Random Walk program: speeding up the process of making new friends and creating that instant sense of community before even stepping foot into business school.”
Chad Shimozaki, University of Chicago (Booth)

“The Rugby MBA World Cup — the largest gathering of MBA rugby in the country, where top business school programs compete against one another in front of friends, fans, and family. I’ve been fortunate enough to help plan and host this event for the past two years, and I’ve loved it each time. I had never played rugby before my MBA, and I’ve gained an incredible amount of respect for this sport and the people who play it. There’s something special about bringing together people who chose business school and also chose to dedicate themselves to an incredibly demanding team sport. Rugby is built on grit and camaraderie, and this event is a tribute to the men and women who embody both. It’s my favorite day of the MBA calendar.”
Joe Mozden, Columbia Business School

“It would be Diwali, which is an event organized annually by the South Asian Business Club.

Diwali — the Hindu festival of lights, celebrating the triumph of light over darkness — comes alive every year in the heart of Johnson School’s Sage Hall. The South Asian Business Club transforms the space into a festive celebration of music, dance, and performance that draws the entire Johnson community together. I’ve performed myself, which says something, given that I’m not South Asian. That’s exactly the point. Diwali at Johnson isn’t just a cultural event for one community — it’s a masterclass in what genuine inclusion looks like. It reflects something I’ve always valued about Johnson: the cultural clubs don’t just serve their own, they open their doors and invite everyone in. The result is a school where different backgrounds don’t just coexist — they celebrate each other.”
Abdul-wahab Alhaji, Cornell University (Johnson)

“My favorite MBA tradition was Sage Social, a weekly gathering every Thursday that brought the entire Johnson community together. Different clubs would sponsor the event and create themes, and there was always great food and energy in the room. It became a space where you could catch up with friends, meet new classmates, and even connect informally with faculty and staff. What made it special was how it reflected the collaborative spirit of the program—no matter how busy the week was, there was always a moment for the community to come together.”
Tyler Bryant, Cornell University (Johnson)

“My favorite thing about Tuck is that it is built upon people bringing their own skills and talents and contributing their time to create an experience for our classmates to enjoy. To me, this is the foundation of our social calendar and the traditions at Tuck. One example of this is Tuck Gives.

This is a gala and auction where people offer their skills for the Tuck community to bid on to raise funds that support students interested in working at startups, nonprofits, or companies that cannot pay for an MBA summer internship. Students contribute whatever they have to raise money. Last year, we could bid on dog-walking services, dumpling and pie-making classes, dinners from our more talented chef-classmates, a firearms safety course my husband offered, and even playing golf and tennis with professors. To me, this perfectly represents what Tuck is. It’s people who give their skills and their time to create an experience for their classmates, not just for a night in April, but to support opportunities that impact students’ summers.”
Kayla Hergott Heiny, Dartmouth (Tuck)

“Once each term, Fuqua showcases an SNL-style sketch comedy production, FuquaVision. What feels like the entire school fills the largest auditorium on campus to watch classmates’ original videos that lovingly satirize recruiting, academics, and student life. What makes FuquaVision special is its spirit: we laugh with one another, never at one another. In an environment that often rewards polish and perfection, the willingness to parody ourselves reflects something deeper about Fuqua’s culture. It signals psychological safety, a shared understanding that authenticity matters more than image. I value that we cultivate a community where vulnerability and humor coexist with ambition. FuquaVision reminds us that leadership does not require taking ourselves too seriously, even when the work itself is serious.”
Dan Crair, Duke University (Fuqua)

“My favorite MBA tradition was Section Olympics during orientation, when each section competes in a series of games for bragging rights. It’s an incredible way to build camaraderie from day one and quickly creates a strong sense of pride and belonging through friendly competition. My favorite part is the final Lip Sync Battle, where classmates showcase performances that highlight their creativity, humor, and sometimes hidden talents. Competing and cheering on my classmates during my first year (even though Section 4 was robbed!) were some of my favorite Team Fuqua memories, and watching the new first-years experience that same excitement this year was even more rewarding.”
April Gibbs, Duke University (Fuqua)

Next Page: Traditions at INSEAD, London Business School, and Michigan Ross

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