collage of Boothies with their families

Balancing an MBA with Family and Work Responsibilities: Father’s Day Edition

Doting dads across our programs at Chicago Booth discuss what it’s like balancing an MBA with family responsibilities. Read on to hear their perspectives.

In this blog, Chicago Booth students who are also parents provide their honest perspective of what it’s like to balance an MBA with family, work, and other responsibilities. Read on as they provide more context around (1) uncovering their work-life balance; (2) finding community at Booth; and (3) advice for other fathers also considering an MBA.

About our Boothies

Peter Chapin headshot

Peter Chapin is a rising second year Full-Time MBA student at Chicago Booth. Before Booth, Peter served in the US Army as a Military Intelligence officer. A significant reason why Peter decided to pursue his MBA at Booth was because of the flexible curriculum. Having the flexibility to choose his schedule has been great for Peter to maximize his time with family, studying, and pursuing other opportunities at Booth, such as attending conferences, seminars, and participating in club activities.

Fun facts about Peter: In his free time, Peter enjoys playing rugby and being part of the Booth Rugby Club, as well as discovering new hobbies, such as his newfound enjoyment of road cycling. 

Aaron Bennett headshot

Aaron Bennett is an Executive MBA student at Chicago Booth. Aaron is a husband and father with four children he proudly and unbiasedly states are the smartest, beautiful-ist, funniest, and most athletic children the world has to offer. Ever since Aaron was a kid, he wanted to change the world in a big way. In his younger years, he thought the way he’d do that was through science, so Aaron pursued a graduate degree in physics and landed a job as a scientist. After a few years struggling to get traction for new ideas, he started studying organizational behavior and became fascinated with learning how to help businesses perform better by unlocking human potential. Pursuing an MBA felt like a natural path for Aaron to take along his journey. He ultimately chose Booth for its rigorous learning environment, world renowned professors, amazing classmates, and stellar reputation.

Fun Facts about Aaron: Aaron is an avid basketball fan obsessed with the Lakers and a dedicated player of early morning pick-up basketball. He is also a voracious reader who loves sci-fi/fantasy and leadership/management books. Also, when Aaron was 19, he took a break from school for two years and spent those years as a full-time missionary for his church.

Nam Nguyen headshot

Nam Nguyen is a rising second year Full-Time MBA student at Chicago Booth. Nam grew up in Vietnam and went to undergrad in the Middle East. After college, he returned to Southeast Asia to work as a consultant at BCG. Wanting to go into tech, Nam later joined Zalopay, a local fintech platform in Vietnam. While there, he eventually became Head of Product, leading a team of 60 product managers and designers. After three and a half years there, Nam wanted to fill some gaps in his business knowledge and gain broader international experience. Chicago Booth’s flexible curriculum and exceptional finance faculty made Booth the ideal place for Nam to build his business acumen and he’s been extremely happy with the academic experience at Booth so far.

Fun Facts about Nam: Nam enjoys exploring Chicago with his kids — he took his daughter ice skating for the first time at Maggie Daley Park and they had a blast! Outside of that, Nam enjoys going for a run and has joined a few sessions with the RunBikeSwim club during the Spring quarter. 

Insights on Undergoing an MBA as a Parent

What has been your experience balancing family time and your other responsibilities while pursuing your MBA?

Peter with his two children


Peter: Challenging but doable. During the fall recruiting season, I found it initially challenging to balance recruiting, academics, and family time. Time management and prioritizing family time in the evenings and on weekends were crucial in ensuring I could spend quality time with my family. Additionally, I am extremely blessed and fortunate to have a wife who stepped up when I was focused on studying for midterms and finals or when I had a late night on-campus recruiting event.
Holiday themed family photo of Aaron with his wife and kids

Aaron: It’s been one of the hardest and most rewarding experiences of my life. Going in, I expected it to be challenging, but I didn’t anticipate how often major life events would collide together: deadlines at work, finals at school, and big family moments always seem to land in the exact same week (there’s never a boring day at the Bennett house). While that’s presented its challenges (including lots of late nights), I’ve also been pleasantly surprised at the immediate, real-time impact of MBA experience. In so many cases, concepts from class show up immediately at work, or a conversation with a classmate unlocks a solution I’ve been chasing for months.

family photo of Nam with his wife and two kids outdoors

Nam: I’m fortunate to have a very supportive partner. My wife, Quynh, took a step back in her career so we could move to the US as a family. Balancing family, classes, recruiting, and social life is definitely a challenge, and it has been a continuous exercise in prioritization. Compared to my peers, I have fewer nights out, but I try to make the most of interactions in class and school activities. I join new groups of friends for each class and reserve time to catch up over lunch. Here and there, you can also still find me at karaoke nights and Battle of the Bands events!

What advice would you give to fathers who are considering pursuing their MBA?

Peter downtown Chicago with his wife and two children

Peter: My advice to fathers is to take advantage of your weekends with your family to explore the Chicagoland area and experience all that the city has to offer, such as museums, the beach, or the zoo.

Holiday themed family photo of Aaron with his wife and kids

Aaron: First, take care of yourself. As a father, you're often focused on supporting your loved ones. While you should always maintain that focus, it’s also important to remember that the MBA program is intense and you’ll need some outlet to ensure your needs are being met. For me, that means regularly playing basketball, reading, and meeting with my therapist. Second, wherever you are, be there. Don’t try to multitask your way through school, work, and family.

Nam in selfie with his daughter

Nam: I would say we fathers are ahead of the curve. While our peers are building new social circles, we already have three or four “best friends” waiting for us at home. So take it easy on yourself if you're not going out as much, and focus on deepening relationships with other parents and classmates. Quality matters more than quantity. On the practical side, choose your housing location based on your kid’s school if they are school-aged, and sign up for All Kids insurance early if your children are eligible. 

First-hand Perspective on Parents of Little Ones Student Group Experience

Parents of Little Ones (POLO) is a student group at Booth open to full-time and part-time MBA students. POLO aims to provide a space where students and partners feel supported throughout the MBA experience by being a great source of family fun!  

How has the Parents of Little Ones (POLO) student group provided you with a sense of community while at Booth?

group photo taken in Harper Center Winter Garden of Boothies with their families

Peter: From the start, POLO was an invaluable resource to tap into, whether it was asking them about schools, pediatricians, or finding a family-friendly neighborhood to move into. I always found the POLO co-chairs extremely helpful and welcoming. Some of my family's favorite events include the POLO Random Walk, Halloween at the Harper Center, and Easter.

Nam and his family in Nashville

Nam: POLO has been a very supportive network since I started school. I still remember Joe McDonald and Tim Leddy, the 2Y POLO co-chairs, organizing the POLO Chicago trek for parents who arrived early. We visited parks, museums, and had our kids play together at Harper over Easter. POLO has been incredibly helpful with recommendations as we settled into life in Chicago. As a POLO co-chair now, I look forward to bringing that same spirit and support to future Booth families.

We hope after hearing more from the student perspective, you have a better understanding of the feasibility of pursuing your MBA as a parent and resources Booth has in place to help you along the way. As you continue to learn more about Chicago Booth, we encourage you to sign up to receive more information from us regarding application tips, upcoming virtual and in-person events, latest news from the Booth community, and more.

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