Favorite Traditions & Events At Top Business Schools

“My favorite MBA tradition at UC Davis GSM has been the Diwali Celebration and what makes it special is how the school transforms it into a true community event, not just a cultural moment for Indian students. The night is full of details that feel personal and joyful: henna, traditional activities, incredible Indian food, and a dance floor that stays alive well into the night. The dance performances moved me most where classmates from completely different backgrounds jumped on stage and celebrated alongside us, making the night feel far more meaningful than I expected. Honestly, I have never celebrated Diwali with as much zeal and happiness as I have here at GSM, not even back in India where I grew up with the festival and that says everything about this community. It reflects what I love most about GSM: a school that does not just acknowledge diversity, but actively celebrates it, making people feel genuinely seen, welcomed, and proud of where they come from.”
Shubhi Gupta, UC Davis

“Every year, the Outdoor Adventure Club hosts a Camping Trip in Yosemite National Park. Even as an avid camper, organizing and attending a trip with more than 40 MBA students was new territory for me. We spent the weekend hiking, swimming, cooking massive camp meals, and sharing stories around the fire. One of my favorite parts was seeing classmates try camping for the first time and discovering that they loved it!”
Serena Agrawal, UCLA (Anderson)

“My favorite MBA tradition at Rady is the Dean’s Circle Dinner. The event brings together top MBA students, faculty leadership, and distinguished alumni in an intimate setting designed for genuine conversation rather than transactional networking.

What made the experience meaningful was not just the opportunity to meet accomplished professionals, but the shared intellectual lineage. Speaking with alumni who personally interacted with pioneers like Harry Markowitz and William Sharpe reminded me that Rady is deeply connected to the foundations of modern portfolio theory. As someone passionate about capital markets, that connection felt both humbling and inspiring.

The evening reflected something core about Rady’s culture: accessibility. Faculty, administrators, and alumni are approachable, invested, and genuinely committed to students’ growth. It reinforced that success here is not siloed, it is communal. The school fosters a network that extends beyond graduation, built on mentorship, shared ambition, and mutual support.”
Luis Cortes Dequidt, UC San Diego (Rady)

“One of my favorite experiences was traveling to Thailand for our PRIME Global Strategy course with Professor Baizhu Chen. My team partnered with the Bangchak Corporation to develop strategic recommendations related to renewable energy opportunities in Southeast Asia. Presenting our recommendations to the client and sharing dinner afterward made the experience feel incredibly real. During our travels through Singapore and Bangkok, we also connected with Marshall alumni who were eager to mentor and support current students. The experience demonstrated how global and connected the Marshall community truly is.”
Melissa Soong, USC (Marshall)

“My favorite tradition at Owen is the weekly Closing Bell. Each Thursday, student clubs host events that bring the entire community together over food, activities, and conversation. What stands out is how it connects people across different backgrounds and interests, creating a space where relationships are built naturally. It reflects Owen’s strong sense of community and inclusiveness, where collaboration extends beyond the classroom.”
Bukunola Ogundele, Vanderbilt University (Owen)

“Darden Cup is my favorite Darden tradition. All five sections compete in ten primarily athletic events throughout the year, and the winning section is crowned at the conclusion of the tenth event. I was asked to captain Section E’s bowling team during both of my years here, and we finished 1st in 2025 and 2nd in 2026! As I write this, we have one event remaining, and Section E is a strong favorite to win the Cup!”
Mike Gaynor, University of Virginia (Darden)

“It was Cold Call, our Thursday happy hour at Darden. At many schools, there is a structural distance between faculty and students. At Darden, it is the opposite. I have often spent my Thursday afternoons continuing a complex class discussion with a professor over a drink, picking up a conversation that started in the classroom days earlier. It is the weekly ritual that makes our integration of rigor and humanity visible. It proves that we can push each other to be world-class professionals while still remaining a close-knit, supportive community.
Carlos Pardal, University of Virginia (Darden)

“My favorite MBA tradition was our Welcome Dinner at Coombe Abbey, a stunning 12th-century estate just outside Warwick. It was only a few days into the program — everyone dressed to impress, a little overwhelmed and overstimulated, but buzzing with excitement. I think back to one of my first conversations over a glass of champagne with someone I now consider one of my best friends. We were marveling at this beautiful historic abbey, discussing how surreal it felt to be there and this scary but exciting year that was ahead of us. Since that night, we’ve spent countless hours studying, chatting, going out to dinners, and traveling together; it’s incredible to think that one of my most meaningful friendships from the MBA began in that single moment. This all reflects how intentionally Warwick fosters community. The program team clearly puts real effort into bringing people together early and creating a sense of belonging, and that dinner set the tone by reminding us that we weren’t doing the MBA alone, but alongside a cohort we could and should lean on from day one.”
Megan Dirgins, Warwick Business School

“An important part of life at Foster is Challenge 4 Charity (C4C). C4C is an annual philanthropic effort to volunteer time and raise money for local charities that has been running for over 40 years. C4C brings our community together, builds and strengthens relationships, and allows students to use their talents for a great cause.

Foster C4C’s flagship event is its Gala Auction, which is entirely student-run. I’ve volunteered as a butler during both auctions, and both times have been absolute highlights of my MBA experience. It goes like this: the first item auctioned off is student “butlers,” (rocking tuxedo t-shirts, who a table can employ to serve them for the evening, which mostly boils down to refilling drinks and fetching desserts). The first time I volunteered, I was a butler for the Class of 2000 alumni celebrating their 25th reunion. Over the course of the evening, I got to know the alumni I served and formed genuine connections with them. To my great delight, I ended up serving the same group of alumni this year.”
Benjamin Vester, University of Washington (Foster)

“My favorite MBA event is undoubtedly the Foster TGs, short for Thank God it’s Friday. It started as a way to bring together Foster’s MBA community – full-time, evening, and loved ones – to celebrate the end of the week and catch up. Now, it is undoubtedly one of the key community-building events. They take place about once a month on campus or around Seattle, and they give us all a chance to meet each other, catch up, and just spend time together in a warm, familiar environment. However, my favorite part of the TGs is the themes. Our TGs represent our diverse student population and foster cultural exchange by celebrating Diwali, Black History Month, Lunar New Year, and more. Celebrating with my peers has constantly been a highlight of my MBA experience. It’s an amazing opportunity to engage in each other’s culture and share bits of my own!”
A’Lexus A. Murphy, University of Washington (Foster)

“Follies brings to light the depth of talent within my classmates (singing, dancing, acting, writing); both years I was astounded by the immense ability of my classmates and their diversity of skills. It represents the funny and dramatic moments of the MBA, and it unveils the density of activities people are getting up to on campus. Follies reflects the dynamic and heterogeneous nature of Wharton.”
Abigael Bamgboye, Wharton School

“Storytellers. It’s a Wharton tradition where students take the stage and share deeply personal stories in front of their classmates – stories about identity, failure, loss, resilience, and growth. No slides. No polish. Just raw, honest storytelling. What makes it special is the vulnerability. These are future CEOs and investors standing up and talking about the hardest moments of their lives. It reflects something I love about Wharton: beneath the analytical rigor, there is a community that genuinely values authenticity and human connection.”
Harshwardhan Singh, Wharton School

“Dance Studio is an enormous annual showcase in which many dozens of Wharton students show off dances that they’ve been practicing together for months. All different dance styles and levels of expertise are on full display (from tango to K-Pop, with participants ranging from professionals to those who have never done anything like this before). It’s a full house; the whole student body comes out to cheer them on.

Wharton is a big school. That can be daunting (especially in those early pre-term weeks), but it can also be an incredibly warm and vibrant community full of brilliant and breathtakingly talented people. Nowhere is this more evident to me than at events like Dance Studio. It’s joyous. It’s feel-good. It’s a party, and everyone is taking part (from the stage or from the audience*)!

Full disclosure: I personally prefer to participate from the audience; I will happily take an impromptu public speaking engagement over a dancefloor any day of the week! But I truly love to celebrate my community, and Dance Studio is one of the absolute best examples of the whole school coming together to do just that.
Lily Sugrue, Wharton School

“The tradition that makes Yale SOM truly special is Voices, a student-run organization that invites members of the community to share their personal stories (their history, pivotal moments, and hardest lessons) for thirty minutes, followed by questions from the audience. What’s said at Voices stays at Voices, but the impact of those stories carries long after the room empties. I was fortunate to give the very first Voices of this academic year, sharing a five-chapter narrative called “Performing Through Life.” In the year that has followed, I have had conversations with classmates I might never have connected with otherwise. They were people who heard something in my story that mirrored their own or who simply needed someone to listen. To see them. That is what Voices does. It doesn’t just build community; it reveals it.”
J.B. Horsley, Yale School of Management

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