KWEST Scandinavia – The Perspective of a KWEST Leader

One advantage of being an MBA student is having the time to travel. At Kellogg, you kick off your MBA career with a week of travel on a KWEST trip. KWEST trips are for incoming students and are led by returning students who enjoyed their own KWEST week so much that they want to contribute to the next class’ experience.

I am one of those people.

My own KWEST Panama trip exceeded all expectations. Not only did I go zip-lining and white water rafting for the first time, I also came back with a group of friends that I am still close with to this day. Because of this, there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to lead a KWEST trip in 2012.

There is a lot of work that goes into leading a KWEST trip. KWEST Scandinavia planning started in November of 2011 – almost 8 months before we actually left for Finland. Our leader group spent countless hours finalizing the itinerary, analyzing transportation options and looking up hotels, activities and restaurants for 25 people!

However, in the end, all the hard work was 100% worth it. I got to travel with four of my closest friends (the other trip leaders), and we each got to know 20 incoming students. As a group, we explored three beautiful European cities – Helsinki, Tallinn and Stockholm. We impressed the Tallinn locals with our 80’s costumes, journeyed on three boats and enjoyed a day on an archipelago island off Stockholm. But besides the experience of traveling to these incredible places, the best part of being a KWEST leader is the ability to build friendships with the incoming class.

For many Kellogg students, their KWEST group contributes to their most memorable times at school; I am one of the lucky ones to have been able to be a part of two incredible KWEST groups.