Ever since I was admitted to the Stanford Graduate School of Business, one question has stuck with me: what do all of us GSB students have in common?
When you grab your favorite coffee at Coupa and sit outside watching the flow of students, professors, and guests, one thing quickly stands out: the Knight Management Center brings together a global sample of high-achievers.
We come from everywhere, from all social classes, colors, languages, ages, religions, beliefs, industries, and purposes.
Here, heirs of great fortunes learn from first-generation students; public policymakers learn from entrepreneurs; those passionate about AI engineering learn from those passionate about interpersonal relationships.
Take the MBA Class of 2026, for example. The 424 students represent 72 countries and speak 67 languages. 12% percent are the first in their families to graduate from a four-year college or university. They come from countless industries. And of course, all have excelled academically throughout their lives, scoring impressively on the tests required for admission.
But what truly unites us beyond strong academic records? What could I, a Brazilian executive in the oil and gas industry, a mother in my forties, possibly have in common with a young man in his twenties from the Philippines who dreams of transforming the healthcare industry? Why are we sitting in the same classroom?
It took me a while to figure it out. It’s not something you can see at first glance. You have to talk to people, have deep conversations, and, above all, hear their stories.
It’s not money. Many arrive here without it and leave with loans, hoping to repay them through the jobs they land after graduation. It’s not IQ. There are certainly brilliant minds, but most of us are simply disciplined and hardworking. It’s not purely academic achievement. Life shows us that grades don’t determine success. And it’s not just financial ambition. There’s a genuine sense of purpose, and many dedicate themselves to nonprofit and social-impact projects.
What we share is agency.
At some point, each of us decided to take ownership of our lives. We aspire to be the protagonist of our own story. Everyone at Stanford is exercising the will to act, to shape, to build.
To me, the GSB student is the true antithesis of Tommy Wilhelm, the protagonist of Seize the Day, the American classic by Saul Bellow that won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1976. Wilhelm is incapable of managing his own life. Life manages him. He doesn’t act. He only reacts. The misfortunes that befall him don’t happen by chance. They happen because he never acts to prevent them.
We all carry a little of Wilhelm in us. The difference is whether we surrender to life's challenges or grow stronger through them. The Stanford community didn’t give up when life made it hard to get here, and it won’t give up as long as there’s a chance to create what we believe in.
That doesn’t mean everyone will achieve the conventional definition of success. Having agency is only the beginning of the journey. But I’m sure of one thing: everyone has tried and will keep trying.
This weekend, as the GSB celebrates its centennial, I want to congratulate and thank everyone who has helped build its legacy.