Club Spotlight: The Kellogg Healthcare Club

Your MBA journey at Kellogg stretches beyond the classroom.  Our students are leaders who create communities based on shared social and cultural values and interests as well as industries and geography.

The Kellogg Healthcare Club is one of the largest professional clubs and has rapidly grown as Kellogg continues to expand its healthcare curriculum and activities. It's comprised of 46 directors, 12 vice presidents and has more than 200 active members with interests ranging from biopharma and provider innovation to health tech and healthcare finance — and more.

Learn more about their mission to continue strengthening the club’s presence and engagement across the Kellogg community. 

What are some key initiatives this year? 

The Healthcare Club has launched several key initiatives to expand students' network and strengthen community connections:  

Creating a community pod program: Aimed at connecting like-minded healthcare students with peers interested in similar industry segments. 150 students were organized into small groups based on industry sector interest (e.g. pharma, payer, health tech.) to enjoy dinners and network with each other throughout the quarters. We also planned events to encourage bonding across pods.

Exploring new healthcare industry verticals: After an overwhelming amount of interest from first-year and prospective students, we launched a new initiative to expand our reach in the digital health and healthcare startup space. For example, the club recently hosted a Healthcare Startup recruiting panel and launched a collaboration with the Women's Business Association to discuss key issues and trends in women's health.  

Growing our podcast: The club now has a student-led team dedicated to Healthscape, a podcast that has published 20 episodes to date and with more to come.  Topics have ranged from value-based care (VBC) models to health equity, women's health, biotech innovations and pharma trends. 

What are some ways club members can engage with the school’s community?

With growing student interest in connecting with professors outside the classroom, the club hosted a series of small-group lunches connecting students with professors to discuss healthcare trends, classes and careers.

The club has also emphasized collaborating with other industry clubs for networking opportunities, recruiting support, speaker events, social activities and other on-campus efforts and initiatives. The cross-club collaborations have helped highlight the importance of evaluating the intersection of healthcare and other industries while bringing other students into the fold.

The club has collaborated with several on-campus clubs including the Women's Business Association, Social Impact Club, Kellogg Marketing Club, Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Club and Tech Club to create thoughtful programming, foster meaningful conversations and help drive impact within the healthcare industry.   

What advice would you give to first-year students who are seeking to develop as business leaders within the healthcare industry as they start their MBA journey at Kellogg? 

Whether you come from a healthcare background or are looking to pivot into the industry, there are truly ample opportunities for anyone at Kellogg to dive into our healthcare community and make an impact!

The Healthcare Club and HCAK’s Healthcare 101 bootcamps, lunch and learn series with our corporate partners, and other speaker series are a great place to start. But don’t be afraid to reach out to second-year students, alumni, professors or peers to learn more.

The Kellogg Healthcare Community is especially supportive, giving, and always open to connecting to discuss experiences and opportunities, whether through coffee chats, networking events, or more. So, take advantage of the strong and growing Healthcare community we have here as you embark on your MBA journey – it’s been amazing to see how first and second-year students continue to support each other and grow!  

What’s next for the Healthcare Club?  

We're excited to continue its growth in the coming years. We love collaborating with alumni, companies, industry leaders and prospective students, so please reach out to discuss!   

Some thoughts from club members on how the Healthcare Club has supported their MBA journey at Kellogg:   

Pam Divack ’24 Two-Year MBA Program

“Being the co-president of the Healthcare Club has been a highlight of my Kellogg experience, and it's been truly an honor to lead a group of such smart, motivated, caring healthcare Kellogg Leaders. 

“Whether it's sitting down and connecting with first-year students to provide recruiting support and support them in achieving their career goals to seeing healthcare events’ buzz permeating in the Hub, I've been so thankful and appreciative of this growing community. I've been so fortunate to engage with Kellogg alumni and healthcare executives – who have provided invaluable career guidance and insight into key industry trends.  

“Being co-president has allowed me to gain skills in managing a large organization, managing others, setting and executing goals and prioritizing initiatives. I'm incredibly thankful for this opportunity and appreciate our awesome club!” 

Jon Haugen ’24 Two-Year MBA Program 

“One of my main personal ambitions for being co-president of the Healthcare Club was to execute on a broad difficult strategic goal that would directly benefit Healthcare Club members. After much deliberation, Pam and I arrived at the goal of community-building, and it's been a joy to watch our efforts with community-building succeed and exceed our expectations.

“This focus on community-building stemmed from Pam and I believing that the relationships we build at Kellogg within the healthcare community will be one of the main assets we take away from Kellogg after graduation, and that community-building efforts directly support and amplify the strengths of those relationships.

“With an executive team of 60 students and a full-time club membership of over 200, the Healthcare Club has never been as large or as engaged in recent memory. Anecdotally, you can feel an undeniable energy in the healthcare community, and I take great pride in how excited students are to attend events not just for the content but also to see their other peer students.”

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