The Road Less Traveled

Jess Williams’ (MBA ‘26) journey from South Dakota to HBS.

As all of us learned during START week, students at HBS come from an almost unbelievable variety of backgrounds. My own section included classmates from 25 countries who collectively spoke 33 languages, and hallmark events like Flag Day reinforce the truly global nature of this place. This isn’t by accident. The admissions process intentionally solves for this, prioritizing unique experiences, geographic diversity, and, above all else, the demonstrated ability to transcend one’s home environment and leverage their time on campus to succeed in the world. 

And though most think of diversity along more global dimensions, Jess Williams (MBA ‘26) is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Midwesterner unique in ways that many overlook. For starters, he’s the only South Dakotan currently enrolled here. A cursory investigation of MBA Classcards takes you directly to his page — no dropdown list required — and features a kid who grew up on a cattle ranch miles from the nearest town. He’s a former college football player who worked in politics back home before becoming a Marine officer, and he’s a father of two who hopes to one day run a professional football team. His journey has taken him just about everywhere, but his story began where the prairie becomes the Badlands, in a world very different from the one he now inhabits. 

Wall is a town of roughly 700 people in western South Dakota, about an hour east of Rapid City, serving as the gateway to Badlands National Park. It’s known for its iconic drugstore — a popular pit stop on the drive to Mount Rushmore — and not much else. It’s a small town like so many others in America: staid, quiet, and, in many ways, ordinary. 22 miles outside of Wall is the Williams Family ranch, which has been in their family since 1890 and is where Jess grew up. Their business is cattle, which keeps them busy year-round, though he jokingly describes it as just “11 busy days a year” (in reality, maintaining a herd is a full-time gig). His father is fond of saying that “the cows don’t know it’s Christmas,” meaning rain, snow, or shine, the cattle must be checked at least three times a day, with constant movement and environmental adjustments needed to keep them healthy during the harsh South Dakota winters. This reality prevented family vacations and kept them tied to the ranch, teaching Jess the meaning of responsibility early in life. The third of four children, he was expected to contribute from the time he was young, instilling in him a selflessness and passion for service that informed every choice he had made since. 

At Wall High School, where graduating classes typically hover around 15 students, everyone has to do everything. Jess was one of 16 in the Class of 2012, which meant he had to play on both sides of the ball for the nine-man football team while also moonlighting on the saxophone in the marching band at halftime. This practical reality made him good at many things but, unable to specialize, prevented him from becoming great at any one of them. Still, he and a few of his closest friends dreamed of playing football in college, so they took it upon themselves to develop their skills on their own time. Their unorthodox methods worked: through mail-order training videos and individual sessions in the park, Jess turned himself into a player worthy of two-time all-conference and all-state honors during his high school career. 

However, it wasn’t easy getting college coaches to Wall to recruit kids who had never played the 11-man game. Undeterred, Jess put together his own highlight tape and sent it to an estimated 40 schools across Minnesota and the Dakotas. He didn’t get many responses, but the University of Sioux Falls — fresh off three NAIA National Championships under head coach Kalen DeBoer (now at Alabama) and in the process of moving up to the NCAA Division II — had room for him on their roster. Scholarship money wasn’t a part of the deal, but he didn’t care. He had a spot, which was all that mattered. After his high school graduation, he made the four-hour trip east on I-90 to start his life away from the ranch for the first time. 

Upon arriving in the “big city,” he immediately faced a difficult on-field transition. Undersized and inexperienced compared to his teammates, his first season as a Cougar was spent bulking up and re-learning the sport he thought he already understood. It was a challenging process, but he eventually earned his way onto the field, becoming a valued contributor and an all-conference academic honoree as an upperclassman. In Jess’ senior season, the team won its first conference championship as an NCAA member, earning a playoff berth before losing in overtime in the second round. 

With his playing career complete, Williams was left with lessons of persistence, selflessness, and adversity, along with a sense of uncertainty about what came next. Two of his teammates went on to play in the NFL — a rarity in Division II — but the pros were never in the cards for him. With a psychology degree in hand, he returned to the ranch to figure out his next steps. It was there that he received a call from a former coach asking if he’d be interested in serving as the full-time driver for Senator John Thune as he traveled around the state. With an interest in politics and a desire to get started with something, Jess jumped at the opportunity. 

For the next couple of years, he lived in Sioux Falls but traveled the entire state with Senator Thune. In small-town diners and convenience stores, he saw firsthand how positivity and genuine interest in others translated into loyalty and respect. He excelled in the role, and hours on the road with the Senator and his staff pushed him to think more seriously about a future in politics. Though he had gained responsibility in the office, it became clear that, in order to keep advancing, a move to Washington, D.C. would eventually be necessary. Not excited about that prospect, he began looking for his next step — ideally one that combined the passions and lessons he’d accumulated so far.

As a former athlete in good shape, the military was an obvious fit. After conversations with recruiters from several branches, he chose the Marines. Drawn to the Corps’ camaraderie, he graduated Officer Candidate School and The Basic School at the top of his class and was commissioned as a Tank Officer in 2020. He was quickly thrust into leadership, receiving his first platoon. He instantly found the responsibility to be extremely rewarding and threw himself into the role. However, the Corps’ decision to eliminate its tank division forced him to transition to Combat Engineering. It was in this role that he deployed to Kuwait and Kurdistan and earned the Joint Commendation Medal for “exceptional leadership in the ongoing defeat of ISIS.” 

At the same time, he found a reason to look beyond the Marine Corps. Around Christmas 2020, while stationed at Camp Pendleton, he met a girl named Summer who was visiting from Michigan. They connected immediately, but the logistics were difficult. Undeterred, Jess began booking weekend flights, and their relationship grew from there, eventually surviving deployments before their wedding in early 2022. Jess was on an obvious upward trajectory in the Corps but, just as in Senator Thune’s office, he realized that advancement would require frequent moves and constant transitions from one assignment to the next. As he and Summer thought about building a life and family together, that prospect became less appealing. They hoped to plant roots somewhere, so Jess began again to think about what might come next.

Ultimately, that was what led him to HBS. Encouraged by Marine friends who had successfully applied, the same kid who once avoided studying kinesiology as an undergraduate because he didn’t want to go to graduate school suddenly found himself applying to and interviewing at the most competitive business schools in the country. It was another learning experience for Jess, as he had to decide where to move his family for two years while simultaneously educating himself on the career options he might pursue after graduation. He ultimately chose HBS for its family-friendly environment. His now-two-year-old son, Roman, was joined by his baby brother, Alden, this past summer, making the Williams’ SFP apartment a very full house. Unsurprisingly, they’re eager for more space, and Jess has accepted a role with Bain in the Dallas office — a city chosen for its central location between their families. Long-term, he hopes to pursue a career in professional sports and “make his way north” to return to the ranch where it all began. If the past is any indication, there will be plenty of interesting stops along the way.

John Mahoney (MBA ’26) is a native of West Des Moines, Iowa. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2021 with a degree in Finance. While in college, he was a walk-on defensive back for the Fighting Irish and wrote a book about his experience, titled History Through The Headsets. Prior to coming to HBS, John worked in consulting and strategy in Minneapolis and Chicago.