Build your community

Connecting with classmates

The best. The brightest. Your classmates are here for the same reason you are — they’ve worked hard for it. And you’ll continue working hard, together. You will lift each other up, lean on each other, and challenge each other to become better. The bonds you form will last a lifetime, and these relationships often get their start outside the classroom. In addition to the clubs and organizations, the Stanford MBA Program offers many unique opportunities to connect with your new community.

TALK

Every week, two students get 30 minutes each to share their story with the entire GSB community. Personal and powerful, these stories reveal what drives them, what shapes them, and what makes them who they are today. TALK helps bring the GSB community even closer together. Through each student’s unique outlook, common themes and experiences are often uncovered. What story will you tell?

TALK is a place where all ego is left at the door, and we listen to a classmate's life story. All of a sudden, you realize someone you've never spoken to grew up with the same values as you, or had the same family dynamic. With each TALK, our class' understanding of each other grows deeper.
Tamar Nisbett TALK Coach MBA ‘20

GSB Pods

These small, student-led groups are a place for students from various backgrounds, identities, and perspectives to come together and engage intellectually and emotionally with their peers through meaningful conversations about what matters to them. Led by second-year MBA students, this community-building discussion series encourages students to bring their whole self to the GSB.

I’ve been amazed by my classmates’ humility and thoughtfulness and impressed by how naturally they’ve come together to create a space in which being vulnerable is encouraged. The degree of authenticity and openness I’ve experienced has exceeded all my expectations.
Tucker Kocher MBA ‘19

Coffee chats

Anyone up for a cup of coffee? This student-run program brings two random classmates together to talk over whatever is on their minds — coursework, life goals, career plans — and offers an opportunity for participants to expand their personal and professional network.

People go out of their way to help each other out. Need someone who can advise you on marketing strategy for a boutique grocery chain? Ping, Blast, or Slack, and I guarantee someone will be happy to chat over a cup of coffee or knows someone they can introduce you to.

Jennifer Villa MBA ‘19