The countdown is on! In just a few weeks, we'll be welcoming the IESE MBA Class of 2028 to campus. To help you make the most of your MBA journey from day one, MBA 2026 President Sanjna Gupta and Vice President Diego Rosales share the advice they wish they'd received before starting at IESE.
First of all – Congratulations!!! You earned your seat at IESE, one of the best business schools worldwide – and whatever it took to get here, it was worth it. Take a second before anything else and let that sink in.
Celebrate this moment. The journey of a lifetime starts very soon.
We sat exactly where you’re sitting now, two Septembers ago, not knowing what adventure we had signed up for and how much we would personally and professionally change in this short time. Now, as we hand things off, we wanted to share a few things we wish someone had told us on day one.
You Are Building a Family, Not Just a Network.
At first it will feel like you’re just meeting classmates. You’re not. You’re meeting the people who will sit with you through study sessions before exams, interview preps, celebrations, rejections, personal changes and the 2am realization that you’ve spent double your initial budget.
With this in mind, whenever time allows for it, try to say yes to the dinners, the trips, the section traditions, the club events that sound slightly intimidating, the international modules – whilst finding a balance and listening to your own health and needs. Learn people’s names beyond your own section as they will end up mattering just as much as the ones sitting next to you in class.
Your teams and sections become your family.
The people who will change your life here are not just the ones you already know. Now it’s about completely leaving your comfort zone in all ways imaginable, learn about peers’ cultures, trips, work experiences, struggles, learnings and so much more. This is the best gift the MBA has to give.
Have a Plan, But Let It Change.
If you know exactly what you want your next career move to be, hold onto that focus. If you don’t – or if it changes three times before graduation, which it will for many of you – that’s completely fine too.
Make use of everything around you: the CDC, your classmates, second-years, alumni, professors and every conversation that seems unrelated to your path until suddenly it isn’t. Attend the company presentations you’re unsure you fit into. Ask the awkward questions.
This is a place full of doors you don’t know exist yet.
The Lows Are Part of the Deal.
Nobody prepares you enough for this: Alongside the trips and the celebrations, there will be personal challenges, heated discussions, late nights, interviews that don’t go your way, and moments that make you question the whole thing. That’s normal, and it does not mean you’re doing it wrong.
Be kind to yourselves in those moments. Ask for help before you think you need it. Everyone in this program is carrying something, even the classmates who look like they have it all together. Lean on your team, your section, your friends – that is genuinely what they are there for and you voicing you feel the need to have a conversation will inspire others to do the same.
Quality In, Quality Out.
You’ll hear this constantly, and it’s true every time: what you put into this experience is exactly what you’ll get out of it. Show up prepared. Raise your hand even when you’re not sure you should. Volunteer for the ambitious project. Help the classmate who’s struggling. Share what you know, and always, always, always stay curious about what you don’t.
There will be plenty of career opportunities that you will need to discover and put effort into. Stay discplined, be patient, rest when you need to and make the most of this life-changing experience. This is a marathon, not a sprint – you will learn this soon enough!
This Community Doesn’t End in May 2028.
Here’s one of the biggest realizations we’ve had: the biggest regret among alumni is never a missed job – it’s letting the closeness of this class quietly fade. An alumnus a decade out told us: “I assumed the bond didn’t need tending. Then one day, the closest I’d been to the people who knew me best was a LinkedIn update.”
You will travel the world with your classmates…
from Japan to Germany and more!
We are now on the mission to build the structure to keep this going- regional networks, a living alumni directory, real channels for staying connected across time zones – precisely so that doesn’t have to be your story. But nothing is better to keep this community strong than building it as such from the very foundations. Do so with the very intention of keeping it alive for decades because it’s so worth it.
So, incoming Class of 2028.
Two years from now, financially you might be a little poorer – ask any second-year about Prof. Badia’s favorite accounting question. But you will be richer in everything else that actually counts.
Remember, growth and resilience are what the hard moments here teach you. You’ll come out of this a better leader, a better professional, and a better person – but only if you let the struggle count for something.
Welcome to this incredibly unique adventure, Class of 2028. You’ve earned your spot here, and we can’t wait to see everything you build – inside the classroom, and in the community you’re about to become part of.
Warm regards,
Sanjna Gupta & Diego Rosales
Class President and Vice President, MBA Class of 2026
