Have a Ball with the Joie de Vivre Club

Chocolate tastings and Vienna waltzes aren’t usually suggestive of business school, but by sponsoring such events, the new Joie de Vivre Club (JDV) is giving MIT Sloan students the chance to have fun and understand business from a non-traditional angle.

JDV started informally last year when Max Jahn MBA ’11 asked a few classmates to join him to hear acclaimed conductor Gustavo Dudamel, music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, perform at Kresge Auditorium.

“It was a great evening and we thought it was a nice way to get away from everyday student life,” Max remembered. “It was a few days later that I thought it might be fun to form a club like this…where we invite in speakers who aren’t just business people. Wouldn’t it be interesting to have a conductor here who could give a different angle on what it’s like to manage people? Or a mountaineer who shares what managing in adversity means to him?”

The same group of friends then held an informal chocolate tasting/communal cooking event and heard a viola performance by a virtuoso classmate. By summertime Max was sold on the idea of a Joie de Vivre club and he emailed a few of his MBA ’11 friends and asked them to serve as board members. Ben Leistner was put in charge of finances; Sarah Park, “a burning spark of energy,” had some great ideas and knew photographers and other artists; Rya Conrad-Bradshaw contributed her stellar managerial skills, passion for art history, and a cooking background; Rene Reinsberg had the computer skills to get a homepage created; and Jeff Zira, “an idea generator on two feet,” knew chocolate and good cuisine, according to Max.

The group approached Jenifer Marshall, assistant director, MBA Student Affairs in the fall, and with that, the club was born. Members pay dues to join, although the club hosts some events that are open to non-members across the School. Jenifer said there’s real value in having a club – the only one out of the 62 clubs—that pinpoints the arts. “There’s a benefit to taking a break from the challenges of business school to focus on something entirely different that appeals to all the senses,” she said.

Get the full scoop on the Joie de Vivre Club in the News@MIT Sloan.