Celebrating Pride Month with Booth Pride Group Co-Chair, Pablo Sanchez

Pablo was born in Puebla, Mexico, and grew up in Libertyville, Illinois. He earned his undergraduate degree from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. He spent the first ten years of his career as a performing artist with various ballet companies across the United States. He currently serves as the Board Relations Manager at the Joffrey Ballet and is in the Evening MBA Program at Chicago Booth. Pablo recently became a co-chair of Booth Pride Group and is excited to continue enriching the MBA experience of students at Booth.

What are the mission and goals of the Booth Pride Group?

Booth Pride is the LGBTQ+ student group on campus open to Evening and Weekend students at Booth. The mission is to foster growth in the LGBTQ+ Chicago Booth community by providing learning and career development opportunities. All members and leaders of the organization commit to providing a safe space for all LGBTQ+ Booth students, faculty, and staff, with a focus on those participating in the Evening and Weekend programs at Booth. Booth Pride hopes to engage those who not only identify as LGBTQ+, but those who identify as allies.

What would you like prospective students to know about the Booth Pride Group?

Booth Pride is a landing pad for any part-time student seeking to connect with an inclusive and accessible student group. People of all backgrounds are welcome in Booth Pride!

Why did you decide to join the Booth Pride Group?

I attended the Student Group Fair during my first quarter at Booth and was pleasantly surprised to encounter such a diverse array of student collectives. Shawn Patton, the Booth Pride co-chair at the time, has a wonderful way of connecting with people and our interactions helped me feel a sense of belonging for me to call myself a Boothie. I realized that Booth Pride was the perfect group to join at the onset of my MBA journey and would lead to uncovering passageways into other groups further down the line. Being surrounded by people who accept others as they accept themselves is at the core of being a part of Booth Pride.

What kind of events does the Booth Pride Group host? Furthermore, what event has been your favorite to attend?

Booth Pride builds bridges through networking events among groups within the Evening and Weekend MBA Program, such as the Student Advisory Council; with groups in the Full-Time MBA Program, including our counterpart team OUTreach; and with Pride alliances at other business schools, such as our friends at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Events range from casual social hours to cultural and educational excursions across Chicago’s institutions, as well as wider-reaching events, such as the ROMBA conference, an annual destination for some of Booth Pride’s members.

An upcoming event I’m looking forward to organizing for members is a tour to view The First Homosexuals: The Birth of a New Identity, 1869-1939 exhibition at Wrightwood 659 later this summer. I am also eager to introduce the Joffrey Ballet to the Booth community, via performances, in-studio experiences, and specially crafted activations.

What makes Chicago a great place to be during Pride Month?

Aside from Chicago being a paradise in the summer, it is the most colorful place to be during Pride Month. With plentiful offerings all summer-long, Pride is witnessed in every neighborhood, at every festival, and in each and every smile.