“Happiness is not something to be achieved or to hold on to, it’s about finding fulfillment and joy in the process of living itself. It’s about enjoying the ups and learning from the downs.”
Between Two Classes is an interview series where we explore the diverse worldviews of our HBS classmates. Our next interviewee for the Class of 2026 is Yamel Alonso. Yamel grew up in Tijuana, Mexico but moved to San Diego at age 14 for high school. While the two cities are only 30-minutes apart, they may as well have been on opposite sides of the world. In moving to San Diego, Yamel left behind friends, routine and the only home she’d ever known to join a 10x larger school filled with students from all walks of life. Rather than retreat towards the familiar, she leaned into being curious. This mindset not only shaped Yamel’s upbringing but also led her to cherish diverse perspectives, pursue unconventional career choices, and seek out the unfamiliar.
What impact has your childhood had on the person you are today?
Alonso: When I moved from Mexico to the US, my bubble burst. The first year was tough: I was crying often, I was angry at my parents, and I felt pretty unhappy at my new school. I missed my life back home, my school, my friends, my favorite restaurants, and the streets I knew so well. But then I started to appreciate what life in the US gives you: safety, a great education, and a greater perspective. The world I had known up to that point and the people I had spent time with were all very similar to me. Moving to the US made me realize that the world was so much larger than I imagined. And that really shaped me to become a curious person in my approach to life. I’m curious about people’s stories, about how culture can be expressed through food, about how far I can push myself personally and professionally. From seeking a new job once I start feeling too comfortable, to having difficult conversations, to running that last mile, I know I want to be pushing my limits. There's always something new to discover on the other end.
You actively seek out more opportunities to burst your bubble as a result of what happened when you moved to San Diego?
Alonso: Yes – it was so enlightening! Coming from a very conservative and traditional society to a much more open world was liberating. It makes you see the world from a wider perspective. You understand people come from different places and have different values and priorities. The opportunities to experiment, learn and grow come when you step out of your comfort zone. I’m curious to see what else is out there, what else can I see and live and experience in this one life that I have.
When I graduated from college in San Diego, I had accepted a job at Bank of America, which I was not too excited about. At the same time, I was invited to start an eCommerce company for specialty produce in Scottsdale. So, without an offer letter or any kind of contract, I said “yes”, and moved to Arizona. My family and friends thought I was crazy, and maybe I was.
The first month was tough. I didn't know anyone, I was working on my own, and had little guidance on the project. But, after a few months, I made amazing friends and was enjoying the challenge of the work. I met very interesting people, did work I would have never expected to -like driving a delivery truck- became friends with chefs, and learned to love the desert!
A few years later, when I was working for Mezcal El Silencio, I moved to Oaxaca for four months to work in our boutique hotel in a rural town called Xaagá. And although Oaxaca is an incredible city with amazing food, art and history, it’s also small and very much focused on tourism. Again, my family and friends were asking me “what are you going to do in Oaxaca for four months?” But I couldn’t say no. Every place is unique, and the more you search for, the more you’ll find. I made incredible friends, especially with people that I wouldn't usually cross paths with. I learned a lot about my country’s history, drank the best mezcal ever, learned wheel-throwing ceramics, and just truly felt a sense of peace I had not experienced before. Change is difficult, but it's worth it. And I experienced that again in coming to HBS. The move to Boston has been a rollercoaster, being far from my parents and feeling disconnected from friends back home, working a lot, meeting amazing humans, and losing my routine and sleep schedule. It's been intense but worth it.
How has your idea of happiness evolved over time?
Alonso: I think one of the main ways it’s changed was from seeing happiness as an end goal to seeing it as a journey, as part of the process. When you tie happiness to a specific goal, like “when I get into HBS, when I graduate and get this job, when I accomplish this, when I go on this trip, then I'll be happy”, each time you reach those goals, the goalpost just keeps moving. Then your happiness is only tied to a moment. But happiness is not something to be achieved or to hold on to, it’s about finding fulfillment and joy in the process of living itself. It’s about enjoying the ups and learning from the downs, and understanding that living is a practice, and with practice, we’ll get better at living, but it will never be perfect, and that is ok.
What book, movie, piece of art, what comes to mind with that question? What's had a big impact on you?
Alonso: The Choice by Dr. Edith Eva Eger is an incredibly powerful book. Dr. Eger is a Holocaust survivor and she shares her experience in Auschwitz and how it shaped her work when she became a psychologist later on. Her main message is so simple yet so true: we always have a choice. And while we can’t always control what happens to us, we can choose how we feel and how we respond to those situations.
Even though she was imprisoned in camp, the one thing that they did not have control over was the freedom of her mind. Having freedom of your mind is the most powerful thing you can have; no one can take that away from you.
I try to remind myself often about this because it applies to our everyday life. We’ll always face people or situations that can make us feel sad or angry or nervous, but we have the choice to decide how to respond. If someone’s actions hurt us, we can choose to let it affect us or let it go. If we’re in a stressful situation, we can either see it as overwhelming or as an opportunity to grow and learn. The power to choose how we respond is always ours.
Peter Sykes (MBA ’26) is originally from Calgary, Canada. He graduated from Georgetown University in 2015 with a degree in Economics. Prior to HBS, Peter worked in strategic ops at Reservoir Media, an independent music company in New York, and for Morgan Stanley.
Nikole Naloy (MBA ’26) is originally from Brooklyn, NY. She graduated from Harvard University in 2021 with a degree in art history and economics. Prior to HBS, Nikole worked as an investment banking analyst at The Sage Group in Los Angeles and in strategy for TikTok in New York.