How This Babson Graduate Balanced Business, Family, and the Part-Time MBA Program

For Brendan McGill MBA’25, Babson College always was part of the plan.

His family is filled with proud Babson alumni: His father, aunt, uncle, and grandfather among them. They encouraged him to pursue the Part-Time MBA program at their alma mater after his graduation from Holy Cross with a bachelor’s degree in political science and government.

Amid his family’s glowing recommendations, what stood out to McGill was Babson’s focus on entrepreneurial leadership. As a sales consultant for DePuy Synthes, this was especially valuable to him.

“What I do and what I hope to continue to do is very much entrepreneurship driven,” McGill said. “I come up with ideas on where we’re going to put our resources, what is our strategy, what budget are we going to use. You try to maximize what you can do from a business perspective with what you have from a resource perspective.”

Courses That Fill Skills Gaps

Direct application of courses to his work was also a driver. McGill found the non-major-specific courses, such as “Negotiations and Decisions,” highly applicable to choices and situations he was regularly facing. “I’m using some of the skills I got from the negotiations course on a daily basis,” McGill said.

Having a liberal arts background meant McGill lacked formal business education (outside of one freshman-year accounting class). The Babson MBA program provided necessary formal training. Critically, he gained an appreciation for the financial aspect of business.

“I better understand my company’s finance positions and why they want certain things from us in the field,” McGill said. “I’m now understanding the ’why.’ ”

Learning Across Industries

Babson also opened up his eyes to how things work in different sectors.

Prior to starting his MBA, McGill had felt somewhat siloed. He had followed a specialized career path in medical devices/pharmaceuticals, and while he liked his line of work and intended to continue, he knew he could learn more from professionals in other industries. The Babson program allowed him to meet classmates from completely different backgrounds, including tech, commercial, and family business owners.

He recalls how interacting with bright classmates who had different perspectives on problem-solving challenged him and greatly enhanced his learning experience.

“I’m using some of the skills I got from the negotiations course on a daily basis.”
Brendan McGill MBA’25

“My classmates were really bright, the way they looked at problem-solving showed me different ways to do it,” McGill said, “but it also challenged me to keep up.”

Likewise, Babson faculty also brought industry insights to the classroom with impressive resumes and connections. In particular, McGill cited courses with Professor Anirudh Dhebar, who covered topics in marketing, tech, and AI.

“I could tell the experience, the education, the knowledge,” he said of all the faculty. “They were very clearly the smartest person in the room by far.”

Staying Flexible for Family, Work, and Study

McGill’s experiences in Babson’s graduate business program reinforced what his family had told him: Babson offers a high-quality business degree. But he was happy to learn that Babson’s degree also is flexible and supportive.

When it came time for him to apply, McGill needed a program that could fit his life circumstances. He was working full time while growing his family—he and his wife were expecting their first child. The hybrid approach Babson offered proved ideal. He took a mix of online, in-person, and hybrid classes.

McGill’s first daughter was born during his first year, and his second daughter was born just a month after he graduated in May 2025.

His advice to prospective Babson students?

“If you are looking to challenge yourself, create a great network, and take courses that are interesting and that you’ll get a lot from,” he said, “I think you’re going to enjoy Babson.”