Nirav Patel | Kellogg Evening & Weekend MBA

Student perspective — Part-Time MBA Program — Kellogg School of Management

Nirav Patel — Associate Brand Manager, Kraft Foods I realized the sheer power of the Kellogg alumni network very early in my Evening & Weekend MBA Program studies.

I was working at one of the world’s leading advertising agencies, and although I enjoyed my work at the agency, I wanted to redirect my career toward brand management in a marketing organization.

With a year still left before earning my degree, I set my sights on working at Kraft and reached out to some Kellogg alumni who worked there to learn more about the company and to explain why I was interested. Two of them wrote unsolicited recommendations to HR on my behalf — as did a fellow Kellogg student, who also works there.

This is the power of the global Kellogg network: instant access to people of influence who will go out of their way to share information and offer guidance. I plan to give back in the same way. When prospective students ask me about the culture at Kellogg, I say, “Replace the word culture with family, and you have it.”