From Boston to Cape Cod: Jen’s MIT Sloan Travel Story

It was during Admit Weekend II, through conversations with current students, that I first learned of the Sloan Pre-Functions – described as “a non-educational trip to get to know some of your classmates.” No work? Just travel? Meet new people before even attending class? Check, check, check. Later that month, I received an email from MIT advertising the Pre-Functions. Without hesitation, I signed up for the Panama trip within five minutes.

Little did I realize at the time that signing up for this trip would profoundly shape my entire business school experience.

The Journey Begins: Panama and Early Doubts

My initial trip to Panama was undeniably fun. More importantly, it served as the foundation for incredibly deep friendships, bonds that I am certain will endure long after graduation.

While my decision to sign up for the trip was swift, I soon found myself grappling with what one might call “Buyer’s Remorse.” Could I genuinely afford to indulge in travel when I wasn’t earning an income? Prior to embarking on the Sloan program, I had been working on Wall Street and was actively seeking (and continue to seek) a career path that, while perhaps less lucrative, promised to be significantly more rewarding in the field of sustainability. The question loomed: How could I possibly justify spending money on a trip with individuals I had never even met? Furthermore, would there be future, perhaps “better,” travel opportunities that I should be saving for instead?

I decided to voice my slight stress regarding the financial pressures associated with the education itself, compounded by my existing expensive traveling habits, to a second-year friend. His response was something I will never forget: “Just do it. The one thing I regret about business school is not traveling more.”

The Turning Point: “Just Do It”

“No regrets” is a personal motto I strongly adhere to. I knew instinctively that his advice was sound. However, it was only after experiencing a full year filled with diverse travel and adventures alongside my fellow MBA students that I truly grasped the depth of his insight.

It is a rare opportunity to find yourself sharing the exact same vacation schedule with hundreds of amazing individuals – people who are like-minded in their ambition yet entirely unique in their backgrounds and perspectives. This, I discovered, is the inherent beauty of a full-time MBA program. Following the Panama trip, Jen Traveled From Boston To Cape Cod, then on to Istanbul, Cartagena, Breckenridge, Newport, Japan, and Israel. Many of these subsequent journeys were undertaken with people who had initially been part of the Panama group.

Jen Ballen with MIT Sloan MBA classmates on a group trip to Cape Cod, reflecting the strong friendships formed through travel experiences

A particularly unique experience unfolded during the trip to Israel, where I had the privilege of staying with the family of an Israeli classmate. This provided an incredibly intimate and authentic cultural immersion. Earlier, that same classmate had visited and met my own family in Boston over the Thanksgiving holiday, creating another meaningful connection. It became increasingly clear that my deepest and most enduring bonds formed at Sloan have been forged through these shared travel experiences. This past Labor Day weekend underscored this point when our core group returned to Cape Cod for the second time since we had first started the Sloan program, a true full circle moment from our earlier trips together.

Paying It Forward: Leading the Mykonos Trip

Motivated by my own positive experiences, I felt a strong desire to take on a leadership role and organize my own Pre-F(x). My goal was to help others have the same kind of amazing experience and form deep friendships, mirroring the connections I had so valued from the Panama trip. I submitted a proposal for a trip to Mykonos, Greece – a personal favorite destination of mine. My friend and fellow 2017 MBA student, Arthur Sheyn, partnered with me, and we embarked on the process of planning an adventure for 20 Sloanies to Greece.

Planning a significant trip in a foreign country for 20 individuals I had never met was a completely novel experience. I found myself largely guessing what activities and experiences people would enjoy, fully aware that the backgrounds, ages, and interests of the people joining the trip would be incredibly varied. Despite the challenges, the trip proved to be a huge success – a success measured not just by logistics, but by the safety and happiness of the participants, and most importantly, by the new friendships that were formed. The thank you messages we received were overwhelming, but the personal gratification I felt was even greater than I could have ever imagined. Observing the comfort level among the MBAs on the trip grow significantly throughout the week and being an active part of facilitating the creation of these new friendships was an incredibly rewarding experience. The “Mykonos crew” continues to spend time together even though we are back on campus, and I am genuinely happy to have been a part of creating another amazing Pre-F(x) experience.

Thank You, MIT Sloan

While I have consistently valued the importance of travel throughout my life and recognized the significant personal growth that often occurs from visiting or even living in places that feel uncomfortable or foreign, my time thus far at MIT Sloan has truly solidified and profoundly enhanced this understanding. I am immensely grateful to be pursuing my MBA at MIT for a multitude of reasons. However, one of the most immense benefits – a benefit that will never appear on my resume, yet might in fact be the most important to me personally – are the profound friendships and transformative experiences I have been incredibly fortunate to create and share through the numerous opportunities for MBA travel.

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