What KWEST taught me about leadership

By Kunal Vats ’27 Two-Year MBA

“I’m leading a KWEST trip to Belize!” I told a friend. I honestly didn’t know much about the country and it only got on my radar when I saw it as a destination on the KWEST list — and that unfamiliarity is exactly what pulled me in.

KWEST, which stands for Kellogg Worldwide Exploration Student Trips, is a popular immersive week-long trip for Full-Time MBA students. It is a tradition for second-year students to lead incoming classmates on cultural excursions before classes begin. I signed up to lead ‘UnBELIZEable KWEST’ along with fellow Two-Year MBA classmates Anushka Tyagi ’27, Parth Goda ’27, Roni Rosenfeld ’27 and Andrew Lim ’27 as a way to give back to Kellogg. I never expected to come home with more than I gave: lifelong friends among my co-leaders and my KWESTees.

Leadership doesn’t mean having every answer 

Leadership in the classroom is one thing. Practicing it on the ground with a group of strangers — in a foreign country — is a different ballgame. As leaders, we expected full visibility into our logistics. Then came our day at Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM), a sacred Maya cave in San Ignacio. We’d been told to expect a bus to commute to the cave. Instead, we found a line of five vans, each with its own tour guide and safety agreements to sign. We hadn’t planned for that, but we split our group of 26 into sub-groups on the spot.

This experience on the second day itself set the tone for the rest of the trip: Leadership isn’t having all the answers in advance; it’s the ability and the willingness to find answers when the plan changes. 

Belize was a five-star KWEST for adventure, even if some parts of the experience pushed us outside our comfort zone. I was the designated finance lead, but I also became the trip’s unofficial first-aid person, handing out motion-sickness medicine, burn relief, sunscreens and bug sprays. As with any group trip, some KWESTees arrived with different expectations about accommodations, meals and travel logistics and raised questions along the way. As leaders, we answered every question transparently. I learned not to take dissatisfaction personally: feedback is a leader’s greatest gift, and the job is to take it in and respond with a level head.

Someone has to go first 

Our cave-tubing day included a cliff jump into a caved river. We had life jackets and lifeguards, but the fear doesn’t hit until you’re standing at the edge. Then one of my KWESTees asked if she should go first, and I said yes instantly. Her fearlessness cleared the way, and soon everyone was leaping into the cold water. 

At Hol Chan Marine Reserve, one KWESTee who had chosen Belize KWEST to overcome her fear of swimming hesitated to leave the boat for snorkeling. A guide and one of our co-leaders stayed with her while the rest of us snorkeled. As the group was about to return, she decided to swim. My co-leader, a little nervous in the water herself, showed her how to snorkel and assured her of the safety. She went in, and later described the moment as liberating. Sometimes all someone needs is a gentle push and the reassurance that everything will be okay. 

Even getting into the ATM cave meant swimming, in helmets and life jackets, with only flashlights to light the way. My co-leader’s life jacket was too loose, and in the cold and dark water, she began to panic. Immediately, two KWESTees swam over and helped her across. To me, that is one of the defining characteristics of the Kellogg community: People showing up for each other before they’re even close friends. 

Conversations no classroom could hold 

Two conversations will stay with me for a long time. The first was with an international KWESTee who told me about her path to Kellogg: years of hard work and some luck with visas. It echoed my own journey from India, where I struggled with standardized tests and had to overcome a waitlist decision. 

The second happened in Caye Caulker, a sliver of an island off the coast that lives by the motto “Go Slow.” With sandy roads and a relaxing pace, it’s so tight-knit that you run into the same locals several times a day. There, I led a small group dinner with four KWESTees from very different backgrounds. We didn’t talk about Kellogg at all. Instead, we dug into a variety of topics, including geopolitics, economics, Asia, healthcare and the like. Far from Evanston, people spoke candidly in a way I can’t imagine happening in a classroom. 

What I’m carrying forward 

Now in my second year, I look back on what Belize taught me. A Kellogg Leader finds answers to unforeseen situations with their team. The best ideas often come from the people you’re leading. A true leader doesn’t need a formal title. Sometimes it’s a KWESTee at a cliff’s edge or two classmates in a dark cave, who show everyone the way. 

I’d encourage anyone who can to take on leading a KWEST trip. You give a lot, but you get back even more. As for me? I’m already planning my Thanksgiving trip with my UnBELIZEable KWESTee besties! 

Read next: Why we chose Kellogg: Exploration, opportunity and community