Celebrating Valentine’s Day with Zaynab and Connor

A couple in the Two-Year MBA Program shares how they support each other through business school and how Kellogg is brimming with opportunities for both students and partners.
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Kellogg
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Zaynab Malik Bellows ’23 and Connor Bellows ’23 in Chicago
Zaynab and Connor are full-time students in the Two-Year MBA Program.

Did you know that nearly 40 percent of our students are married or have a partner accompanying them as they embark on their MBA journey? In honor of Valentine’s Day, we’re spotlighting a few of these couples as they go through the MBA journey together.

In this post, meet two full-time students who tied the knot just a month before both starting their MBA degrees at Kellogg. 

Meet Zaynab Malik Bellows ’23 and Connor Bellows ’23, Two-Year MBA students

Hi! We are second-year students in the Two-Year MBA Program at Kellogg. We met in college at Georgetown University and were close friends throughout. We started dating after college when we moved into apartments across the street from one another, and we got married in Washington, DC a month before starting at Kellogg.   

At Kellogg, we’re in different sections, we’ve explored our own personal interests, and we’ve pursued leadership opportunities in different organizations. Zaynab is the co-president of the Women’s Business Association and Connor is the VP of careers for the Kellogg Student Association. But despite these different paths, we still have a shared group of friends, and we enjoy taking classes together. Most importantly, we share our networks, enriching one another’s Kellogg experiences. At the end of the day, it is so valuable to have a partner who understands what you’re going through and who can empathize with you and help you make the most of your Kellogg experience.   

Before we started dating, business school was a dream we each had for ourselves, and we soon shared that dream as a couple. Throughout the application process, we supported one another, studying for the GMAT together and reading each other’s essays. We built our target list together and decided early on that we would only go to the same school. We quickly fell in love with Kellogg’s collaborative culture, global focus and emphasis on leadership development, and we were beyond thrilled with we were both accepted in December 2020! 

In the hot seat: 

What’s your favorite date night in Evanston/Chicago?  

Rose Mary (an incredible restaurant in Fulton Market), followed by a Second City Show!  

What's your favorite place on campus? 

The Lakefill. We like to go on long walks when the weather is nice. 

If there was a song that describes your relationship, what would it be?  

“Accidentally In Love” by the Counting Crows  

What’s a quality you admire in each other?  

We both can stop everything in our busy lives and spend quality time together. We make time to have dinner together every night and carve out shared TV/reading time together at the end of a long day.   

What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned as a couple going through an MBA program together?  

You and your partner are the most important team you'll ever work on! Supporting one another and knowing when to give more to your partner and when to let your partner give more to you are critical to being the best and happiest team you can be!  

 

Read other MBA couple stories and how they're making the most out of the MBA experience: