MBA Entrepreneurship and Supply Chain Trek to Beautiful Northern Michigan

Sophie Kirtley, MBA ’25

One of my favorite experiences so far in the MBA program was the recent trek to Traverse City, Michigan over fall break this year. The MBA Entrepreneurship Association and the Broad Graduate Supply Chain Management Association teamed up to sponsor the trek, which included tours of local small businesses in the Traverse City area.

The first day, we drove up and arrived at Willow Winery. The scenery was beautiful, with amazing views of the water and vineyards. We were treated to tasting various delicious wines, while learning about the entire wine making process from the winery’s owner. We also got to learn about the bottling process and label our own bottles of wine.

After the winery, we had dinner at Hawkins Farm Cellars and then checked into the Bayshore Resort. The hotel was right on the beach, which was beautiful!

On day 2, we had the opportunity to tour ATLAS Space Operations and learn about the satellite communication industry. This was a fascinating tour since a lot of us did not have prior knowledge about the space industry. After that, we toured the start-up incubator that ATLAS originated from, called 20Fathoms. 20Fathoms is an incubator for start-ups in the Traverse City area, with a focus on building the Traverse City area start-up ecosystem. It was very interesting to learn about the various tech start-ups in the area and how 20Fathoms has helped them to grow.

With our free afternoon on day 2, we grabbed lunch at Art’s near Sleeping Bear Dunes, then split up into 2 groups; one went to climb the dunes and another went to the nearby Empire Bluff Trail for a hike. It was a perfect fall day and the views were amazing!

That evening, we attended an alumni event at Low Bar in downtown Traverse City. Low Bar is a speakeasy with creative cocktails that were delicious. I had the opportunity to speak to an older couple who were Michigan State alumni; it was a delight to learn about their experiences at MSU and beyond!

On the final day, we started out at Leelanau Cheese company. We loved learning about the cheesemaking process while watching it happen in real time! The best part was sampling the cheese; Leelanau specializes in raclette cheese. It was delicious. After sampling it, we went to the cheese cave where the cheese is aged. Finally, we got to purchase cheese for ourselves and hit the road to visit Cherry Republic. At Cherry Republic, we got to learn about the manufacturing process of their many cherry products, tour the warehouse, and learn about their supply chain operations.

Our final stop of the trip was Moomer’s Ice Cream on our way out of town! It was a great way to wrap up a fun weekend. All in all, the Traverse City trek was a great time and I would highly recommend attending any treks in the future!