The leadership journey that isn’t only seen but felt
Business isn’t just about transactions. At its heart, it’s about building relationships and fostering empathy — it is driven by values. Zar Afsari ’25 Two-Year MBA Program saw this firsthand in the way Kellogg approaches education and community.
For Afsari, it was important for her to find a B-school where she would feel welcomed and supported, and where ambition and humility coexist. She wanted a business school that would not only help transform her career but also shape her character.
Here, she shares how the school’s blend of high impact and high empathy along with its genuine sense of community, have helped her grow into a more caring leader.
Can you tell us a little bit about your professional background, and what motivated you to get an MBA at this point in your career?
Before Kellogg, I led corporate development at a leading neobank in the Middle East and North Africa region, where I focused on structuring and closing financing deals. Earlier in my career, I built and exited my own company — a journey that sparked my long-term dream to launch a fintech company that tackles the real structural gaps I’ve seen in the market.
But I realized that experience alone wasn’t enough to build what I envisioned. I wanted to stretch — not just in skill but in mindset, as a leader. I needed the space to reflect, to unlearn and to sharpen my instincts in rooms full of people who thought differently than I did.
What made Kellogg your ultimate choice?
It came down to values. As I connected with students from the schools I’d been admitted to, I consistently found something different in Kellogg students: a rare blend of high impact and high empathy. They were thoughtful, grounded and incredibly generous in how they paid it forward. This sense of community wasn’t performative — it was lived. It reflected the kind of leader I aspire to become. But what moved me most was something that happened even before I submitted my application.
Amidst the movement we had started in Iran — Women, Life, Freedom — people from Kellogg cared enough to reach out. That really stayed with me. It told me that Kellogg isn’t just a place where people talk about their values; we live them. At that moment, I knew this was where I wanted to grow — not just as a business leader but also as a human being.
You’re also a first-generation MBA student. Do you have any tips for fellow first-generation students who are navigating business school?
Being first-gen means walking into rooms without a script. But that’s exactly where your strength lives. You learn to listen deeply, adapt quickly and lead with empathy. My biggest advice: Don’t wait to feel ready. Ask the question. Apply for the role. Join the room. You belong in every room you walk into, even if no one in your family has ever been there before.
And find your people. Kellogg is full of them. Classmates, professors, mentors — so many have shown up for me in ways I’ll never forget. You don’t have to do this alone. And honestly, you shouldn’t.
What resources have you found most helpful as you build a community at Kellogg?
The most powerful resource has been the people. Not just through clubs or leadership roles, but in how this entire community feels. There’s something rare here: People are intentional, supportive and ambitious without an ego. Everyone is building something meaningful, and doing it while lifting others as they climb.
For me, that has shown up in the small group dinners I hosted, late-night walks home after class and classmates stepping up — not because they had to, but because they truly cared.
I have also found community in so many places like the FinTech Club, Kellogg Founders Club and even the Tennis Club. Each one introduced me to people I may have never met otherwise. Kellogg isn’t just where I have made lifelong friends — it’s where I’ve become someone braver, more grounded and more myself. That kind of community doesn’t happen by accident. It’s built, moment by moment.
Congrats on completing your internship at Intuit where you served as a fintech and generative AI product manager. How did you leverage the Career Management Center during the recruitment process?
Thank you! I was recruiting off-campus and navigating the U.S. job market for the first time, so I relied heavily on CMC workshops, interview prep groups, peer review sessions and mock interviews. These CMC tools became my anchor, giving me direction when things felt uncertain.
The career workshops touched on everything from building your personal pitch and networking with confidence to preparing for behavioral and technical interviews. The peer reviews were powerful and insightful, providing me with real-world perspectives from classmates who had been through the same process or were just one step ahead.
These tools helped me approach each step of the interview process with clarity and confidence and land a role that combined everything I care about: fintech, generative AI and product.
Reflecting on your almost two years at Kellogg, is there a faculty member or a classroom “aha” moment that you will carry forward into your career?
Negotiations with Professor Victoria Medvec shifted how I think about influence and leadership. One of my biggest takeaways from that class was: “Never, ever make the negotiation about you — it’s about them.” This has changed everything. I started seeing negotiation not as a moment of asking but as a moment of service. Understand the other side. Know what they need. Lead with your differentiators and tie them directly to what matters to them.
Since that class, I’ve approached every opportunity from job interviews to feedback sessions with more clarity, confidence and compassion.
Experiential learning is infused throughout the school’s curriculum. What has been a standout hands-on opportunity for you that you feel has made you a better business leader?
Real Estate Entrepreneurship was one of the most powerful experiences I’ve had at Kellogg. Alongside my team, I developed a full investment pitch for an eco-luxury resort in North Lake Tahoe based on a real-world opportunity.
What made it unforgettable was the final session, where our professor brought in real investors to hear our pitch. Presenting it to potential investors pushed me to think like a founder, not a student. I had to bring strategy, storytelling and conviction.
What would you say to someone considering Kellogg as one of their choices for business school?
If you want to do extraordinary things without becoming someone you’re not, then this is your place. Kellogg is where ambition and humility walk side by side. Where your peers celebrate your wins like their own. Where no one needs to prove they’re smart, but everyone pushes each other to grow.
And more than that, Kellogg sees you. The way they reached out to me during the application process told me this place leads with heart and that mattered.
If you’re looking for a business school that builds not just your résumé but your character, come to Kellogg. It won’t just shape your career; it will reshape how you lead, how you grow and how you see yourself. It has done so for me.
In the hot seat with Zar Afsari
Favorite on-campus study spot: Lakefill. It’s where the Global Hub meets the lake, and the Chicago skyline rises in the distance. It’s not just a study spot — it’s a reset, a reminder and a vision board.
Your go-to activity to decompress: Painting abstract. It’s where I process the unspoken, turn emotion into color and find clarity in the chaos. It grounds me in who I am.
You’re a regular at: Trattoria Demi a cozy, family-run Italian spot that feels like a warm hug after a long day.
What do you enjoy most about Evanston? The way peace lives in its streets, and how you bump into classmates and exchange a wave that somehow says: “We’re in this together.” It feels like a village of future changemakers.
And Chicago? A wall in West Loop, just across from my favorite café, is always being painted — new colors, new voices, new stories. It’s a living canvas that reminds me how alive this city is. And then there’s the Riverwalk — graceful, bold, constantly in motion. Together, they capture Chicago’s soul: expressive and alive.
In a few words, describe your Kellogg experience: Becoming. Boldness. Belonging.