Father Knows B-School: Father’s Day Reflections From Northwestern Kellogg

Business school is tough. At an elite institution like the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, the schedule of classes, extracurricular activities, networking events, and more can be a grind for even the smartest and most hard-working students.

Business school with kids? Multiply the whirlwind by a factor of 10.

For Father’s Day, which is June 16 this year, we asked three students in three separate programs at Kellogg about their experience being dads in an elite B-school. The word we heard from them most often was “support.” Crucial to handling the “mental load,” says Matt Lojkovic, a Class of 2025 student in Kellogg’s Evening & Weekend MBA program, is support from a partner. Between family, work, class and additional commitments, the father of three girls (with another girl on the way) says “each week is a full plate of commitments that are scheduled out to the hour.”

Support from classmates is also essential, says William Adams, a Class of 2025 student in Kellogg’s full-time MBA program. “Juggling childcare, bedtime, social life, and homework requires flexibility,” says the father of two, “but I’m lucky to have team members who accommodate my schedule for group projects and classmates who go out of their way to make me, Danielle, and our kids feel included.”

MOVING ACROSS THE PLANET WITH AN 8-MONTH-OLD: THE SUZUKI FAMILY STORY 

Goro Suzuki’s daughter Kaho was born just a few weeks before the application deadline for Northwestern’s MMM program — a double-degree program whose graduates receive an MBA from Kellogg and an MS in Design Innovation from the Segal Design Institute at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. Kaho was 8 months old when Suzuki and his wife, Izumi, moved from their home in Yokohama, Japan to Evanston, Illinois in summer 2022 so Goro, an engineer looking to transition to business, could start the program.

New country, new school, new life — the Suzuki family did it all.

It was, Goro says, “hectic.”

“I wanted to transition my career from engineering to business, and fortunately, my employer decided to sponsor my MBA,” he tells Poets&Quants. He had always been interested in pursuing an MBA outside Japan; while Izumi was partly excited about living abroad, “she was also very nervous about moving to the U.S. with our newborn, Kaho, due to several concerns: safety, language and cultural barriers, the healthcare system, and the long distance from family members in Japan on whom we often relied.”

After much discussion (and a little begging by Goro), they agreed they would probably regret not taking the opportunity.

“We had many discussions about which school to choose to mitigate some of our concerns,” Goro says. “We chose Kellogg partly because Evanston is relatively safe, and the school has a great community of parents — shoutout to #kelloggkids. I believe we made the right decision because now that we are moving back to Japan post-Kellogg, Izumi is telling me she wishes she could stay longer in the U.S.”

Goro, whose daughter is now 2, graduated in spring.

“My daughter humbles me daily by showing that all the management skills, frameworks, and other smart things I think I am learning at Kellogg don’t necessarily make me any better at being a dad,” Goro says. “She does a great job of reminding me that there are many things that I cannot control or plan. In the MMM program, we learn the importance of empathy and a human-centered approach, and my daughter always tests me on that — usually by making it very loud and clear when I am not doing great at it.”

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GORO SUZUKI, Full-Time MMM Class of ’24

Hometown: Yokohama, Japan
About my kid: a daughter, 2 years old (turning 3 in August), born a few weeks before Kellogg’s application deadline, was 8 months when we moved to the US to start my MMM program
Pre-Kellogg work: Hitachi — a manufacturing/electric conglomerate in Japan, similar to GE/Siemens. Worked in nuclear power plant industry and railway industry
Undergrad: Sophia University (Tokyo), electrical engineering

What is your partner’s name and what do they do? Did she support you while you were in the MMM program?

My wife, Izumi, worked as a municipal city worker in Hitachinaka City, Japan, before we came to the United States for the Kellogg MMM program. She has been an incredible source of mental support during my hectic MBA journey. Izumi also plays a huge part in taking care of our daughter, Kaho, for which I am immensely grateful. Also, during my MBA, I discovered that she is an excellent vacation planner. She organized family vacations to eight national parks in the U.S., making road trips and hikes our favorite family activity (Arches, Zion, and Yellowstone were our top favorites!).

Do you often talk with other parents in the program, and what do you discuss? Is it helpful to know other fathers/mothers who are in the same circumstances?

All the time. Many of my close friends at Kellogg are also parents. I really appreciate having them because we share similar priorities and preferences regarding how we spend our time. Unlike typical MBA students, we hang out at parks in the mornings and have early dinners that end by 8 p.m. We discuss various topics, such as how we want to raise our kids and new places to take them, especially during the winter in Chicago (Sky Zone and Kohl’s museum have been awesome!).

I’ve also had many eye-opening moments speaking with other parents and have adopted some of their practices. For example, Izumi and I really like how parents here seem to be more lenient and relaxed with their kids compared to parents in Japan. They also treat kids more like mature individuals, asking them about their feelings and opinions. With other international parents, we often have endless discussions about the pros and cons of raising kids in the U.S. versus our home countries.

Finally, other parents have been a source of motivation during my time at Kellogg. Seeing fellow parent entrepreneurs and leaders gives me no room to make having a child an excuse and helps me push harder.

As a B-school student, what would you like most for Father’s Day?

Anything that takes my daughter’s attention away from the mouse, keyboard, and screen while I am working on my PC — like right now, as I am writing this (TV didn’t work).

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WILLIAM ADAMS, Full-Time Two-Year MBA Class of ’25

Hometown: Salt Lake City, Utah.
About my kids: Daughter (Greta) age 4, son (Henry) age 1.
Pre-Kellogg work: Previously in education (Teach For America and Curriculum Associates).
Undergrad alma mater: BYU. Major: Business Strategy.

What is your partner’s name and what do they do? Did she support you while you were in the MMM program?

Yes, my wife, Danielle, is a CPA and a family office consultant who helps a high-net-worth family track and manage their investments. She is providing for our family while I’m in school full time.

What made you decide to go back to school, and what was the conversation like with your partner?

Graduate school has been a goal of mine since I was in junior high. As I got further into my career, it became clear to me that business school at a top program would put me on the path to achieving my long-term professional dreams. I’m grateful that Danielle was on board and believed in me from the beginning. From encouraging me in my GRE studying late into the night to proofreading my resume and practicing for interviews, she was there every step of the way. I remember brainstorming essay topics while folding laundry together and many long walks around the neighborhood practicing my pitch with her. When the acceptance emails and Zoom call announcements came, we both started shouting with excitement because it was a team accomplishment!

As a student with children, what are the biggest challenges you face day to day?

I still haven’t perfected braiding hair, but my daughter is okay with me doing a ponytail for her. We’ve figured out a good routine to get out the door to school on time. She loves dropping me off at my school before my wife takes her to hers.

Juggling childcare, bedtime, social life, and homework requires flexibility, but I’m lucky to have team members who accommodate my schedule for group projects and classmates who go out of their way to make me, Danielle, and our kids feel included. One time when none of our usual babysitters were available, a friend in my section offered to help. Now my daughter is always asking when she can have the “special mac and cheese” that our friend made that night.

Do you often talk with other parents in the program, and what do you discuss? Is it helpful to know other fathers/mothers who are in the same circumstances?

One of the unique selling points that drew our family to Kellogg is its emphasis on the JV/family experience. My wife feels as much a part of the program as I do.

There’s a club specifically for the children of MBA students, so every Friday night while the rest of the students are at happy hour, the school throws a pizza party for the kids and their parents. Students always get a kick out of seeing little children running around the building on Friday afternoons, and we’ve never felt out of place. It’s been a great venue for meeting other parents and setting up playdates for our kids. Typically, our conversations range from school to family events in the community to the latest episode of Bluey.

As a B-school student, what would you like most for Father’s Day?

Like many MBA students, I’m always happy to get golf gear or running socks. But unlike most of my classmates, I get hand-drawn pictures, stickers, or special “treasures” like pinecones and rocks I can take with me to school. This year Father’s Day falls on the first Sunday after I start my summer internship, so I would love breakfast in bed!

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MATT LOJKOVIC, Part-Time MBA Class of ’25

Hometown: Kenilworth, Illinois
Age of Kids: 7, 5 and 3 — all girls with a fourth girl due in early September
Industry: Technology (I’m working at a networking hardware startup)
Undergrad Alma Mater: University of Wisconsin-Madison; Major: Journalism and History

What is your partner’s name and what do they do? Did she support you while you were in the MMM program?

I do. my wife, Katie Lojkovic, is a leader on Salesforce’s dynamic ESG Financial Controllership team. She isn’t currently in school, but we both work and are dedicated to our family and progressing our careers. I’m doing the Evening & Weekend program at Kellogg. So, I’m balancing school with a career at Meter (a fast-growing tech startup in the networking and software space).

What made you decide to go back to school, and what was the conversation like with your partner?

I’ve been in sales and go-to-market roles throughout my career. I enjoy interfacing with customers and driving direct results for a company. I’ve also experienced as you progress into sales leadership and continue into second-line management roles and above, your day to day becomes less about immediate customer interaction and more about overall organization strategy and design. Getting an MBA from Kellogg has been a goal of mine for a long time to give me more “tools” to pull from in these roles so I can better interface with other departments and align on strategy.

My wife and I discussed going back to school quite a bit over the years. She’s always been my biggest supporter and champion. The conversations ultimately centered around, “This is important and we’ll approach the challenge as a team.” When I was fortunate enough to get into Kellogg the discussion shifted towards “Exactly how will we do this with three kids?” So, a lot of planning, discussion on the ideal schedule and pulling in help where needed. Needless to say, I wouldn’t be able to get through it without her!

As a student with children, what are the biggest challenges you face day to day?

There are two main challenges. First is the tactical day to day. Our kids have a lot going on. From swimming lessons to soccer to multiple birthday parties during the weekend to school activities we need to be present at. Many of these events conflict with my class schedule. We have to game plan each week to understand how we’ll be able support our kids and their schedules while supporting each other so we can deliver on our commitments in and out of work.

The second is the “mental load.” Between family, work, class and additional commitments (I’m on my town’s Board of Trustees while my wife is on the Green Committee at our kid’s school), it can be difficult to carve out time to disconnect and relax. Each week is a full plate of commitments that are scheduled out to the hour. The thing we’ve done that seems to work best is deliberately planning time for the activities that allow us to recharge (working out, spending time with friends, etc.).

Do you often talk with other parents in the program, and what do you discuss? Is it helpful to know other fathers/mothers who are in the same circumstances?

The amount of support from fellow Kellogg-parents has been fantastic. Whether it’s through a formal group like Kellogg Kids that regularly hosts events for students and their families or finding other parents through my cohort and classes, I’ve quickly found I’m not alone in going through the program while having a young family.

I regularly check in with the other parents. It can be a simple sanity check (“How are you holding up and how’s your family doing?”) to sharing tips on how to strategize around certain classes and balance workloads with family commitments.
I’ll also say Kellogg faculty and staff have been especially supportive. I recently had a professor allow me to shift my final exam time around so I could go to my middle daughter’s Pre-K graduation that night (a very fun and cute event to attend!). Everyone wants to see you be successful in the program while being there for your family.

Having this support from both classmates and the overall Kellogg community has been incredibly helpful. It keeps me grounded and focused on what’s most important.

As a B-school student, what would you like most for Father’s Day?

There’s a great coffee shop in Evanston – Backlot – that I’d like to take the kids to where they can grab a donut and play at the park. Following that up in the afternoon with a BBQ with the grandparents would be a perfect day. Basically, having a nice, relaxed day with the family is all I could ask for. Bonus points if I can step away and avoid reading a case study or doing a problem set for class!

DON’T MISS HOW A FATHER & SON ENDED UP AT LBS and MEET NORTHWESTERN KELLOGG’S MBA CLASS OF 2025