What happens if life gets in the way?

It’s a question many professionals think about before applying to an MBA, even if they rarely say it out loud. Careers evolve unexpectedly. Promotions bring responsibilities nobody warned you about. Businesses go through difficult periods. Family situations shift.

For experienced professionals balancing leadership roles with personal commitments, the challenge is rarely ambition. It’s whether life will still allow room for study when circumstances change.

Maximilian Frueh understands that reality well.

As Project Manager of Metallbau Fruh GmbH, his family’s engineering and manufacturing business in Germany, he enrolled on the Executive MBA at Bayes Business School in 2020 with a clear goal: develop his leadership skills while continuing to grow the business.

Like most Executive MBA students, he fully intended to complete the programme on schedule.

Then work changed.

When career responsibilities take priority

As pressures within the family business increased, balancing both responsibilities became impossible.

"My decision to suspend the MBA was primarily driven by increasing professional responsibilities that made it impossible to fully commit to both work and study at the same time," he says.

"It wasn't an easy choice, as I was highly motivated to complete the programme, but due to my work in our family business, I had no other option than to prioritise my career at that moment."

Suspending his studies felt like the responsible decision, but it also felt like giving something up. What Maximilian didn't yet know was that it wasn't the end of his MBA. It was just a pause.

A pause, not the end

When he spoke to the Bayes team about suspending his studies, the experience was very different from what he had expected.

There was no pressure to continue, no sense that he was letting anyone down. Instead, the conversation focused on finding a practical way forward and ensuring the option to return remained open.

"What really stood out to me was how supportive and understanding the Bayes team was throughout this process," he says.

"From the very beginning, they treated my situation with empathy and flexibility, making it clear that stepping away didn't mean the end of my journey."

For many Executive MBA candidates, this is one of the biggest underlying concerns: if life becomes difficult, will the institution genuinely work with you?

For Maximilian, the answer was yes.

While he was away from the programme, the relationship didn’t simply stop. The Course Office stayed in touch through regular check-ins, maintaining a sense of connection during his time away from study.

And when the time came to think about returning, it wasn’t Maximilian who first reached out to Bayes, it was Bayes who contacted him.

That detail mattered. There’s a significant difference between a programme that will accommodate students when necessary and one that remains actively invested in helping them eventually reach the finish line.

Returning to the programme

Coming back after an extended break brought its own challenges.

The programme had evolved during Maximilian’s absence, meaning there were additional modules to complete and new logistics to work through. He would also be joining a different cohort of students who had already built relationships and routines together.

Returning after time away is rarely seamless, but Maximilian says the Bayes team focused on practical solutions rather than policies.

"The team was incredibly helpful in finding solutions and guiding me through the process, ensuring I could reintegrate smoothly," he says.

"Their proactive support and willingness to find individual solutions made a huge difference."

What surprised him most, however, was how naturally he settled back into student life.

Finding a community

One of Maximilian’s concerns before returning was whether he would feel disconnected from a new cohort of students who had already formed strong friendships and networks.

That fear quickly disappeared.

“I was warmly welcomed by my fellow students, which made it much easier to settle back into the programme,” he says.

“This sense of openness and community made my overall Bayes experience even more valuable.”

For Executive MBA students, the strength of the cohort experience often becomes one of the most valuable parts of the programme, professionally and personally. Rebuilding that connection after stepping away could easily have been difficult. Instead, it became another reminder that he still belonged there.

Five years later, an MBA earned through resilience

Maximilian graduated five years after he first enrolled.

He is honest that the journey became more demanding than originally planned. Completing an MBA over a longer period required persistence, adaptability and the motivation to restart after stepping away.

But he is equally clear that the experience was worth it.

“Without the programme's flexibility, it would not have been possible for me to complete my MBA,” he says.

“Completing the MBA after five years feels especially rewarding, as it reflects persistence, resilience, and the strong support system behind me.”

For Maximilian, that support system was personal. He specifically credits Lorraine, Bene, Tamsin, Charleane, Tarnum, Charlotte, Paulina and James from the Course Office and programme leadership for helping him successfully return and complete the MBA.

"Their encouragement and dedication made a real difference and were instrumental in helping me return and successfully complete the programme."

"Taking a step back doesn't mean you're giving up"

If you're weighing up an EMBA and the thing holding you back is uncertainty about whether you'll be able to see it through, Maximilian's advice is worth sitting with:

“Don't be afraid to prioritise what matters most in the moment,” he says.

"Taking a step back doesn't mean you're giving up. It can actually be the best way to come back stronger and finish successfully. If you communicate openly, you'll often find more flexibility and understanding than you might expect."

Five years after enrolling, Maximilian graduated with his MBA. The business is still standing. And he got there without having to choose one over the other.

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