Living and Learning in Hyde Park

Adam Hanselman is a second year MBA at Chicago Booth.  After graduating from BYU, Adam worked in economic consulting with the Analysis Group and then in operations strategy at Capital One.  After graduation, he will move to Houston to work in energy investment banking.   Adam is a member of the Dean’s Student & Alumni Representatives (DStAR),the Investment Banking Group (IBG), and Energy Group , and he and his wife are members of Parents of Little Ones at Booth (POLO).  He is married with two children (future Boothies?!?!).

Adam is also a proud Hyde Park denizen.  While many students live in downtown Chicago, Hyde Park, the home of the Harper Center, is a vibrant community which offers many amenities and a great intellectual environment around the University.  Adam shares why he loves living in Hyde Park, and how he and his family have built their academic and social lives in and around the University of Chicago community.

--Matt Richman

When I decided to return to school for my MBA, the impact on my family was one of my main considerations in choosing which program to attend.  Chicago Booth and Hyde Park are a unique combination of a great MBA program and a family-friendly neighborhood.  Chicago Booth has been a great experience for my entire family and living in Hyde Park is a big reason why.

On the way to school

My family and I live within 3 blocks of tons of other families with one or sometimes both parents in graduate school at Chicago Booth or elsewhere at the University of Chicago.  There are fellow MBA and Law School families that we do babysitting swaps with for date nights on a regular basis (gotta keep the romance going!).  It’s always fun to stop by the University tot-lot, which is only one block away from our apartment, and catch up with whoever is there letting their kids get the wiggles out.  My son goes to pre-school a block from the Harper Center and it’s convenient that I can drop him off at school and then go right to my classes. Our apartment is also a nice size for our family, for a very reasonable price.  My family and I get a great quality of life in a walkable neighborhood. 

Hyde Park soccer league

In addition to the community of families in Hyde Park, I love that I can walk to school in about 10 minutes or I can head over to one of the two (super nice) University gyms, get a workout in, and then go to school.  The gym is free for students and my wife also has a membership (she gets a discounted price).  We like being so close to Lake Michigan, with its beaches and footpaths, and there’s even a beautiful vintage movie theater two blocks away.  Although there is great public bus service within Hyde Park, we can walk to most everything we need and want, and when I need to go downtown it’s only a 15 minute Metra ride from the station between my house and Chicago’s Loop, including our downtown campus at the Gleacher Center.

Hyde Park has helped my family to develop lifelong friendships and to enjoy the 2 year Booth experience more than I could have hoped.  We've taken our kids trick-or-treating in the neighborhood and at the Harper Center, and put them in sports leagues in Hyde Park.  My family is part of the social life at Booth, and we rarely miss a Friday afternoon Liquidity Preference Function (LPF) at Harper.

Booth kids trick-or-treating in Hyde Park

Whether or not you have a family, Hyde Park is a great place to get access to everything that Booth and the city of Chicago have to offer, at a relaxed pace.  Booth students have so many options for which neighborhood to live in, depending on their preferences, and I’m glad that I picked Hyde Park.  Although I’m looking forward to moving to Houston, I’ll really miss the community my family and I built in Hyde Park.

Adam's kids playing in a Hyde Park park