Wharton Stories » A Step at a Time: From Cotopaxi to Antisana
Wharton Stories
A Step at a Time: From Cotopaxi to Antisana
Image: Each day started with a group huddle, planning different waypoints and stops. (Photograph by Cory Shin, W'25, C'25)
Jaein Kim, W’25, reflects on her weeklong Wharton Leadership Ventures Expedition backpacking in Ecuador.
This past spring break, I traveled with Wharton Leadership Ventures (WLV) on the Highlands Traverse Expedition in Cotopaxi National Park, Ecuador.
The venture was divided into a 3-day preparation period followed by a 4-day traverse. Given that the purpose of the venture is to cultivate leadership skills and introduce students to backpacking, the preparation period revolved around gear checks, workshops, and team-building exercises. Workshops spanned from navigation with a map and compass to personal hygiene in the wild and food safety. Team-building exercises helped unite us, balancing different personalities, preferences, and goals for the journey.
These pre-expedition activities were guided by two student Venture Fellows and a group of local guides sharing their expertise in the field. Having grown up in a city and having no backpacking experience, I found these preparatory workshops immensely helpful. While I started the trip worried that I would not be able to keep up with the group or know how to guide my peers, I began the actual “expedition” portion with cautious confidence and excitement.
A bulk of the trip involved bushwalking, leading hikers through uncharted paths (Courtesy of Wharton Leadership Ventures)
Day 1 began with an early bus to an uncharted dirt path where our adventure would start. I remember sitting in the bus alongside my group, thinking about why I’d chosen to come to Ecuador for spring break. I made the choice rather late one night, driven by a curiosity to explore and challenge myself both mentally and physically. However, even before we started trekking, I realized I would get much more than accomplishment and knowledge out of the trip.
Photograph by Kai Mai, W’25
Over the next few days, we traversed between Cotopaxi and Antisana, two stratovolcanoes. As I experienced silence and sound again and again, I’d learn what it meant to move as a unit, to guide my thoughts and actions with empathy and grace, to rediscover and redefine compassion, and to feel my senses come alive.
We began each day with oatmeal and wrapped up each night with an after-action review (AAR), discussing what we did well and what we could improve on. The leader of the day would receive feedback from the group on their leadership style and personal goals. These built-in pockets for discussion and reflection helped cultivate a sense of closeness and psychological safety within the group. We all started as strangers, and a week later, we were companions, teammates, and friends.
Photograph by Cory Shin, W’25, C’25
The Wharton curriculum is designed to cultivate future business leaders. We learn valuable skills and knowledge, from marketing and legal studies to accounting and finance. Participating in this WLV Expedition allowed me to see managerial practices and theories we discuss in the classroom in practice and led me to ponder a new question: how do we, as present and future leaders, build culture?
It’s a question I’ve sought to answer since being in Ecuador and it feels extra real now that I’m back. Each time I seek to answer this question, I’m brought back to the parting words of one of our guides. As he shared his journey of finding his place as a mountain guide and recovering from a recent injury, he spoke about how far and loud compassion rings. To me, that signifies the beginning of the answer—we cultivate culture by leading with compassion and waiting for it to ripple out and touch others the same way it touched us.
The value of co-curricular activities lies in dimensionality and humanness. We often try to “crack the code” to optimize our education and get the most out of our time in university. I see it in myself, and I see it in my friends. And, while our in-classroom experiences are immensely enriching and deepen our knowledge endlessly, I believe co-curricular activities to be just as necessary as they build breathing spaces that complement and balance the academic experience, one step at a time.
Tambopaxi Lodge in Cotopaxi National Park, which was the launching point for the Venture (Photograph by Kai Mai, W’25)
Activities: Transfer Student Organization (TSO), Marketing Undergraduate Student Establishment (MUSE), Korean Undergraduate Business Society (KUBS), Wharton Undergraduate Peer Advisor, Seniors for the Penn Fund
About Wharton Leadership Ventures
Courtesy of Wharton Leadership Ventures
Part of Wharton’s McNulty Leadership Program, Leadership Ventures are hands-on, team-based experiences “in the field” where students step out of their comfort zone, exceed personal limitations, and experience leadership firsthand. These experiences facilitate self-discovery, leadership, and character development.
There are three types of undergraduate Leadership Ventures: Expeditions, Intensives, and Venture X.
Expeditions are outdoor, experiential learning treks that provide genuine environments of uncertainty and challenge. Expeditions generally range from 6- to 8-day overnight trips and can be physically intense.
Breaks were planned meticulously, working around weather, meal times, and energy levels. (Photograph by Kai Mai, W’25)
Wharton Stories
Major: Economics. Minor: Humanity. The Storyteller behind Humans of Penn
Image: Amanda Cui (Photo courtesy of The WALK magazine)
Amanda Cui, W’25, started Humans of Penn as a way to have numerous conversations and capture the various perspectives across Penn’s campus.
In high school, I spent a lot of my time canvassing, door-knocking, and interviewing people, and I found myself growing with every subsequent conversation. I would exit these encounters with excitement and a yearning to learn and do more.
I first stumbled upon Humans of New York when someone sent me a post that was taken at the train station near my home. For months, I wished that I could meet Brandon Stanton on the streets of New York so that he could interview me. I also wanted to start a Humans of Flushing (my neighborhood) or Humans of Hunter (my high school), but I never got around to it. I made it a goal to start one at Penn, however, and I’m glad that it has actually happened.
What aspects of Penn did you hope to showcase?
Penn is insanely multifaceted, and I think a lot of people’s unique experiences get muddled up because of the pre-professional and busy culture. My negotiations teacher said the biggest flaw about Wharton is that students are too busy to process, explore, and reflect. I hoped to highlight the niches that make Penn special and inspire individuals to look beyond their bubble. Humans of Penn will never capture the many individuals that make up this beautiful campus, but I hope to do something near that, one story at a time.
“I want Humans of Wharton to continue for as long as Penn exists. There is such beauty in amplifying narratives, and the space should exist as long as people have stories to share.”
What was most challenging?
The first impression always matters. Sometimes, I get really nervous when I approach people–so I usually interview with a buddy in case I get too in my head. There have been many instances when the interviewee shrugs and walks away, and that really hurts because I just want to learn about them! These experiences have made me extremely good at taking rejection and approaching people. I also realized that people love talking about themselves. I have had some interviews last for almost an hour because we both got so into the conversation. I love it though!
What did you learn about Penn or yourself?
Photo Courtesy of The WALK
My interviews have completely shifted my outlook. One interview that really stood out to me was Jamel, a worker at Pret. I don’t think Penn students recognize that they exist in this space with other people–for a while, even I forgot that people served me in dining halls and cleaned up my classroom spaces. Speaking with him reminded me that Humans of Penn extends beyond the student body, and maybe sometimes even beyond Penn’s campus.
I’ve also learned a lot about what excites people and what makes me smile. I’ve realized that I love speaking with others and see myself doing something that requires a lot of interpersonal interaction in the long run.
If you did Humans of Penn as a participant, what would you share?
I would discuss my identity as a first-generation, low-income college student. A lot of my fundamental beliefs and values revolve around my upbringing, and I think that has shaped my high school and college experiences. I would share my story in hopes that it resonates, or someone is inspired by it.
What do you hope others get from the series?
I really like when people are vulnerable, which is a very tough ask. People are like onions. Some have really easy-to-peel layers while others are very tough and hard. I think this initiative seeks to unveil some of those layers so that the interviewers and readers feel some level of discomfort. Whether it’s a very happy and jolly memory or exposure to something entirely new, I hope that conversations spark some sort of change. I want conversations and moments together to stick.
I want people to read through the interviews and get excited about the fact that all of the people in the series are within arm’s length. I want people to meet others and take advantage of the limitless conversations and stories. I want readers to challenge themselves and maybe even start their own Humans of ___.
What’s next for you?
I’m honored to share that I’ve been awarded a Fulbright grant to teach English in Taiwan for the 2025–2026 academic year!
As part of this opportunity, I will be deferring my start at Boston Consulting Group (BCG). While I was looking forward to joining the firm this year, I’m equally excited to embark on this next chapter. I can’t wait to return from my fellowship with new perspectives, stories, and experiences.
Hometown: New York, NY Concentrations: Finance; Marketing & Operations Management Minor: Fine Arts Activities: The Signal, Wharton Peer Advisor, Penn Civic Scholar, Wharton Research Scholar, Venture Lab Operations Intern, Penn Abroad Advisory Board, The WALK magazine, Chinese Student Association, Kappa Alpha Theta, Oracle Senior Society
(Mini) Humans of Wharton
Photos and interview excerpts by Amanda Cui
Belinda Kumi, W’25, from Georgia
In my time at Wharton, I’ve enjoyed making the most out of the opportunities I’ve been given. Before Penn, I’d never traveled, given my first-generation, low-income background. One thing that I’m really proud of is that I’ve done a Penn Global Seminar, Wharton International Programs, GRIP, and studied abroad.
Favorite study spot? This is strange but the phone room in the Academic Research Building.
Dylan Kang, W’27, from Los Angeles
I want to build lifelong friendships with people at Penn. It doesn’t need to be 30 people, but as long as I find a close community that I know will extend after college, then I’ll be very happy.
If you could ask another Wharton undergrad anything, what would it be: What would you have done differently during your time at Penn?
Salem Fitwi, W’26, from South Bend, Indiana & Nathan Otchere, W’26, from Houston
Salem: I enjoy Wharton’s academic programs and the opportunity to explore anything I’m interested in.
Nathan: Here at Penn, everyone is super smart and that sometimes fosters a fast-paced, competitive environment. It makes it seem like you can fall behind rather quickly. So, I’m trying to be intentional about how I spend my time.
Wharton Stories
Brewing Business: A Wharton Undergrad’s Experience Managing Penn’s Student-Run Café
Image: Photograph by Weining Ding, W'27
How Olivia Turman, W’26, found community, leadership, and clarity through Williams Café.
On the plaza level of Williams Hall, behind staircases that lead to deep hallways of classrooms, adjacent to a silent lounge where students write essays in foreign languages for said classes, a sign announces the Drink of the Week. The drink changes and is often relevant to Philadelphia, like the “Fly Eagles Chai!” during Super Bowl week. In the seating areas by the counter, students gossip, meet with professors, and wait for their shifts to begin. The baristas are deft, bouncing between taking orders and serving customers.
Wilcaf (Photograph by Weining Ding, W’27)
At around 4 p.m., Olivia Turman (W’26) springs into action, training new baristas and keeping track of inventory to ensure the café is stocked for the next day. Williams Café, better known as Wilcaf, is part of Penn Student Agencies, a set of student-run organizations that provide services to students from photography to laundry to water delivery. Every role, from the CEO of Penn Student Agencies (PSA) to the baristas, are students who balance their shifts and duties with their courses.
Olivia began as a barista at Wilcaf, making drinks and food items. She then transitioned into supervising the catering program, ensuring that events around campus were supplied with coffee and bagels. As operations manager this year, Olivia is responsible for the café’s backend operations.
“Day to day, I do our inventory and stocking,” Olivia explained. “Every Wednesday, I come in, put away our deliveries, and then count to see what we have and calculate our rates of utilization.”
Olivia is from a small town in West Virginia called Barboursville, a tight-knit community.
“It’s the kind of place where you still help your neighbors,” she said. “When I was looking at colleges, I was looking for places where I felt like I could find a similar sense of community.”
Beyond that, because so much of Barboursville is small businesses, she found specific power in the ways that they can play a significant role in bringing people together in a community. For her, Wilcaf serves to honor her upbringing and helps create and strengthen the communities that she applied to Penn for.
“Yes, we’re just a café on campus,” she admitted. “But for a lot of people, we’re their study spot or we’re the smiling face in the morning when they need their cup of coffee or their bagel.”
The junior is concentrating in management with a specialization in organizational effectiveness, so a significant amount of her work is not only relevant but also an application of her educational focus on leadership and management. One of the courses she’s currently taking, Management 2380: Organizational Behavior, has been directly valuable for leading as a cafe manager.
“Learning a lot about the best way to do a performance review is super helpful,” the West Virginia native said.
While performance reviews may seem like something most Wharton students only worry about after graduating, student workers at PSA do yearly performance evaluations.
“I’ve been able to go back and directly apply it when we’re writing the policies for these performance reviews.”
Beyond that, she uses skills from her finance and accounting Business Fundamentals courses when looking at the budget and accounting books. The case-study style of her coursework, ranging from Management 3010: Teamwork and Interpersonal Influence to Marketing 2110: Consumer Behavior, has allowed her to apply lessons from real-world challenges companies have faced to Wilcaf and PSA’s operations.
Olivia on shift (photograph by Weining Ding, W’27)
“We’re learning about different pricing and marketing strategies and where certain companies went wrong, so we’re not making the same mistakes,” she said about her consumer behavior course. “It’s very helpful to see how companies came out of certain problems so that we can gauge accordingly.”
Another way that she’s learned about the applicability of her pre-professional and academic pursuits is through the alumni network—during Penn’s Homecoming weekend last year, PSA alumni came back for a reunion that was, of course, catered by Wilcaf. As she talked to the people who had gone through Penn Student Agencies, she understood how the skills she’s gained directly apply to the professional world.
Next year, she’ll be moving on to a role as the COO of Penn Student Agencies. Having mastered Wilcaf’s operations, she looks forward to understanding the different agencies better and strengthening the community between them.
As for her continued goals as a barista? She’s in the process of learning latte foam art. A leaf is the easiest for her, but she says a heart is the coolest.
This entirely student-run café is located in Williams Hall at Penn. Independent of the school’s dining plan, Wilcaf provides products and services exclusive to its location and catered to Penn’s diverse student body.
Penn Student Agencies is a collection of student-run agencies serving the University of Pennsylvania community and the Philadelphia metropolitan area.
Wharton Stories
From Student to Teaching Assistant: Same Class, Different Takeaways
Image: Shriya Shah, 5th from right, with the WH 2011 class on a visit to the British Museum (courtesy of William Dalton, W'27)
How some students build their leadership, academic, and professional experiences by going even further into the classroom.
One of the common threads connecting most courses at Penn is that students will have to engage extensively with the courses’ teaching assistants (TAs).
The role of the TA varies between courses and instructor needs. Between research, professional obligations, and other responsibilities, instructors often require assistance coordinating assignments and responding to questions, and they rely on standout students who have previously taken their course to serve as TAs.
Gabriella Gibson (W’26) TA’d Professor Angela Duckworth‘s Operations, Information, and Decisions 2000: Grit Lab, a popular course that deals with tangible ways to apply reflection and goal-setting to students’ personal lives. Gabriella helped students structure goals to accomplish them successfully.
“I had one student who learned how to cook and used it to get in touch with her culture,” she said. “It’s exciting to see students be able to connect with their identity, family, and culture, and to be able to use a class as a means to do that.”
Of course, everybody has different goals. One of her students set a goal of running a marathon. Another student wanted to dunk a basketball. While she saw some students fulfill their personal goals and decide to pursue them further, some learned that their goals might not have been a great fit, which she felt was equally valuable. As a TA, she could see different insights about passion from a bird’s-eye view.
Negotiations is highly experiential—most class sessions include interactive simulations, games, and exercises done between students. He explained that his role was to help “facilitate those interactions” and read through student journals where students reflected on their experiences in the class.
Gabriel was especially drawn to what he called the “data game.” While taking the course as a student, he could only experience his perspective; as a TA, he could see every perspective.
“Since you’re reading the majority of the journals, you’re able to see the perspectives other students take in the same position as you,” he mentioned. “The more data and feedback you get from these simulations and games, the more you learn about the world, how people might react to how different people will play out in different situations.”
“Being a TA is probably one of the most meaningful things to do in your four years on campus.” —Shriya Shah
Shriya Shah (W’25 C’25) had the privilege of experiencing a similar takeaway over the course of multiple semesters through Wharton 2010: Business Communication for Impact. She served as a teaching assistant for two instructors: Sara Mangat and Riddhima Hinduja.
Since WH 2010 lecturers can also be working professionals, her relationship with Hinduja went into mentorship at a time when she was looking for professional guidance, describing it as “being able to learn from her, sitting down for coffee one-on-one, and speaking about her experience.”
The opportunity to connect with experienced professionals is an important part of being a Penn student, but TAing allowed Shriya to take it one step further into developing a nuanced mentorship.
Shriya facilitating a case-study discussion on the WH 2011 visit to McKinsey London (courtesy of William Dalton, W’27)
TAing for WH 2010 is especially important, given that the TAs add real-world impact to the instructor’s teaching.
“Teaching assistants model the relevance of the content,” Mangat explained. “They help the students understand the importance of listening and applying the skills they’re learning in the classroom because they have examples through their internships.”
Mangat describes the TA role as necessary for the course to succeed: “As a TA, they have to cross and become part of the instructional team. When I talk to them, I try to get them to understand that they’re a bridge.”
In the fall, Shriya TA’d Wharton 2011: Global Business Communication for Impact, a Penn Global Seminar, which combined the business communications tactics of WH 2010 with added context on how they can be applied in global scenarios. During winter break, she traveled to London with the class for a week.
This gave Shriya even more understanding of the students with whom she had built a mentor-mentee relationship throughout the semester.
“When you go on a PGS, you’re able to understand a student more holistically,” she said. “You can understand how the student operates and what they’re interested in.”
Like Gabriella and Gabriel, Shriya’s key takeaway revolved around the various perspectives that she was helping to facilitate. The small cohort had different degree combinations and interests, meaning she could glean unique takeaways while building relationships with each student.
Wharton lecturer Steven Blum has taught a Negotiations section for over 30 years and has had three teaching assistants per class for the past 15 years. He sees it as a core responsibility to provide them with a rich educational experience as a TA and agrees with the TAs: the opportunity to TA is still a chance to be a student and engage with the course material.
However, having a TA is a two-way street, and Blum acknowledged how much he has gained from having TAs.
“Absolutely, some of the strongest educational interactions I’ve had are with my TAs,” he said.
Gabriel, from the TA side, felt that same impact: “When I was looking for guidance on what I was planning to do after college, in terms of my career, he was the first person I reached out to.”
Concentrations: Operations, Information & Decisions (OID) and Environmental, Social and Governance Factors for Business (ESGB)
Activities: MUSE Marketing generalist, 2025 Penn Class Board, Joseph Wharton Scholars, Wharton Ambassadors, Kite and Key Society
Gabriel Mora, W’26
(Courtesy of Gabriel Mora)
Hometown: Miami, Florida
Concentration: Finance
Activities: Growth Equity at Penn, Penn International Impact Consulting, Music Business at Penn, Greek Life (Phi Gamma Delta)
Shriya Shah, C’25, W’25
(Courtesy of Shriya Shah)
Hometown: Toronto, Canada
Concentration: Finance
Major: International Studies
Minor: German
Activities: DiversaTech Penn chapter founder & president, Amnesty International Canada National Youth Action and Advisory Committee co-chair, Bell Senior Society vice president, Oracle Senior Society, Wharton Research Scholars, Wharton Investment & Trading Group, WH2010 TA, WH2011 TA
Wharton Stories
Unlocking the World: Global Learning Opportunities
Image: Students on a Wharton International Program trip to China (Courtesy of Jonathan Song, C'25)
Wharton students share their experiences traveling abroad on four short-term programs offered by Penn.
In addition to semester-length programs, Wharton and Penn offer opportunities that merge unique experiential education with short-term travel across the globe. Four students discuss their experiences traveling to Europe, Bali, and Ghana.
Walking the Red Carpet at Cannes
Kaia Chambers on the red carpet at Cannes Film Festival. (Courtesy of Kaia Chambers)
Every morning, Kaia Chambers, W’26, had a café latte before heading to the cinema. She had never experienced a high-heel dress code before coming to Cannes, but when walking on a red carpet next to major celebrities and producers in the film industry, it would be a necessity.
After classes ended last May, Kaia traveled with the Penn Summer Abroad Cannes program to attend the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in France. Penn Summer Abroad provides course credits for students to study internationally for a span of weeks, ranging from hiking in the Alps to learning Spanish in Madrid. In Cannes, some of the year’s most famous films premiere, and for the week, Penn students get to observe a global hub of the film production and distribution businesses.
For Kaia, who is passionate about cinema and one day hopes to have her own production company, seeing the business behind these premieres was highly informative.
“We would walk out of the theater, and people are making calls, bidding and auctioning about who’s going to distribute that film.”
The next morning, she would see which company won the bid in Deadline magazine. Owing to the high-profile nature of the festival, she wasn’t just watching small, independent films; she attended the premieres of the most acclaimed and buzzy films of the year, such as Oscar winner Anora and Megalopolis.
She also had the opportunity to connect with individuals working both behind the scenes and on stage.
“Everyone next to you at Cannes is someone,” she said. “I had no ego when it came to going up to people and asking what they do.”
The best part, she says, was being able to use the “student card,” and that producers and financiers at the top of their field were more willing than usual to chat with curious students.
On the red carpets, she saw every type of celebrity, giving her once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to engage with those celebrities.
“I talked to Bella Hadid!” she recalled laughing, as if she couldn’t believe it either. “Seriously, yes. I have a photo with Bella Hadid.”
Tourists Studying Tourism in Bali
PGS students pose in front of a traditional Balinese temple in Penglipuran Village, Indonesia. (Courtesy of Lindsay Graves)
While Kaia was on the red carpet in Cannes, Lindsay Graves, W’27, was walking the beaches of Bali. With her Critical Writing Seminar, she traveled to two towns in Bali, Ubud and Denpasar, to learn firsthand about the seminar content: Tourism, Sustainability, and Local Impact.
This course was one of 18 Penn Global Seminars offered in the 2023-2024 academic year. Each Penn Global Seminar, or PGS, focuses on a subject with international implications for a semester. During winter, spring, or summer break, the class then travels to the associated region to meet with key stakeholders in the field.
Some PGS courses, like Lindsay’s, are available to students as early as their first semester on campus. This made the oftentimes daunting task of meeting people in her first year easier.
“We all came into the class with the knowledge that we were going to spend 10 days on a trip together,” Lindsay said. “We came in very excited to form relationships with each other. We had weekly lunches after class and became almost like a little family of sorts.”
The trip itself began in the capital of Bali, Denpasar. The students heard guest lectures on sustainable tourism and the impact of tourism on the region and went behind the scenes at museums to learn further about how tourism has influenced Bali’s culture. When discussing her visit to Bali’s largest university, Udayana University, Lindsay mentioned her newfound relationships with students at Udayana as one of the highlights of her trip.
“We formed very personal connections,” she said. “We ended up hanging out with the students. We still follow each other [on Instagram].”
Even though the course was housed in the College of Arts and Sciences, she was able to relate its contents to her interests in business. For example, one of their assignments was to create a white paper, and she wrote hers on large hotel chains and sustainable tourism.
She says that when they went to a five-star Hilton Hotel, she “was able to think from that business perspective and not just a tourist perspective of how this could be changed.”
The trip was deliberate about the class experiencing different layers of Balinese tourism and culture. They stayed in both traditional village-style and corporate hotels, which allowed her to see the duality of different tourism opportunities.
Beyond the traditional souvenirs that she brought home from the trip, she tried to take home more intangible parts of the culture with her.
“I’m a big foodie, so I loved nasi goreng, which is the fried rice over there. I tried to recreate it at home. I’ll never be able to.”
Think Tanks and Takeaways in Copenhagen and Stockholm
Hannah Zhang poses for a picture in Sweden on her WIP Trip. (Courtesy of Hannah Zhang)
Hannah Zhang, W’25, traveled with two instructors and 20 peers to Denmark and Sweden the summer after her first year. Under the Wharton International Program to Copenhagen and Stockholm, she was able to travel to the headquarters of companies like H&M, IKEA, LEGO, Pandora, and Klarna.
A key part of their experience was getting to meet CEOs, CMOs, and other key executives at these firms, and to learn directly from them at their “home base.” She mentioned Klarna as a particularly stimulating experience—rather than a traditional speaker event where they would ask questions and listen, the Wharton students were engaged in a “think tank” with Klarna executives.
“I was a first-year at the time, and I was shocked that they cared anything about what we had to say. It was like, ‘So what do you think? How can we improve?’” Hannah recalled. “We were basically asking questions and pointing out how they weren’t being customer centric.”
Even though they learned about the companies before going, Hannah mentioned that being able to “dig deep” when asking questions allowed her to understand the vision of the companies in a way that would be impossible without visiting them in their home countries.
“In this context, it’s like a two-way street where they’re asking for your opinion,” Hannah noted. “This is their home base, and they can show you a lot more.”
The counterpart of their company visits were cultural excursions. In Denmark, they went to Tivoli Gardens, an amusement park in the center of Copenhagen. In Sweden, they traveled between towns to see castles across the country.
Hannah said that the itinerary “was such a perfect balance of learning and exploring.”
She studied abroad in London as a result of this experience: “This was one of the reasons I wanted to go abroad… [WIP was] absolutely life changing.”
Hospitals, Factories, and the IMF in Accra, Ghana
Sophia Shi, W’25 C’25, participated in a Wharton Global Modular Course (GMC) during her spring break: HCMG/OIDD: Health Care and Business in Ghana.
Walking through a street market in Accra with more than 100 vendors. (Courtesy of Sophia Shi)
GMCs provide experiential learning in “key business locations around the world.” The courses, held during breaks throughout the school year, span most continents and cover complex business topics in emerging markets and in developed economies.
In 2024-2025, courses range from “Anticipating Business in an Emerging Socialist Country” in Vietnam to “Luxury Branding and Retailing in France: Bringing it into the 21st Century.”
Unlike other global programs, GMCs are open to undergraduate and graduate students, and Sophia was one of only two undergraduates on her trip. The remainder were MBAs, who gave her some unique insights.
“It was really interesting. I got a lot of career advice from them,” she said. “A lot of them are in fields that I want to eventually get into. One of them was even a politician.”
During the trip, they visited rural and urban hospitals, steel and chocolate factories, and heard from a variety of speakers. One, for example, came from the International Monetary Fund to discuss the emergence of mobile money in the region. This linked together Sophia’s interests of healthcare equity and business, and she was able to compare them between cultures and countries.
Some of their speakers would come to their nighttime get-togethers, and she was especially impressed by one Wharton alum she spoke to.
“One of the speakers associated with Wharton is working from Philly to Ghana and is trying to start a new diagnostics testing company since a lot of clinical trials are done with only Caucasian patients,” she said. “He’s trying to spread clinical trials to test more West African patients, too.”
They also enjoyed opportunities beyond the academic and professional aspects of the trip. Like Lindsay, Sophia’s cohort went to the beach and had a large buffet-style dinner by the water.
She also highlighted how calm the culture was and how different that was from the student mindset.
“Whenever we would go and be in a rush, [the Ghanaians] would always be like: ‘Calm down. You’re exactly where you need to be in this moment.’”
Even though it lasted only a week, the GMC was key for understanding Sophia’s future beyond her career ambitions. Through unexpected networks and philosophies, it brought her out of her comfort zone and expanded her horizons.
Penn Summer Abroad offers the opportunity to study in international locations for a span of weeks—rather than a semester—while still getting the full cultural experience. Students dig deep into topics with Penn faculty experts, meet peers with similar interests, and discover new ideas and traditions around the globe.
Penn Summer Abroad The Alps program (Courtesy of Dr. Reto Gieré, Program Director)
Penn Global Seminars are semester-long courses with a short-term international travel component to deepen the understanding of the concept discussed in the classroom. During winter, spring, or summer break, the class travels to that region to meet with key stakeholders in the field.
Students on the Global Business Communication for Impact PGS in China. (Courtesy of Sara Mangat)
WIP is a short-term international business course that features interactive business-site visits, lectures at partner schools, cultural excursions, and networking opportunities with alumni and other business leaders from the destination countries.
Students on WIP visiting Brubank in Buenos Aires (Courtesy of Lisa Parladé)
GMCs deliver global, experience-based learning to Wharton students in key business locations around the world. Courses are led on location by world-class Wharton faculty, linking innovative ideas to new business phenomena, contextualized in emerging markets and developed economies.
A group of undergrads on the 2025 UAE GMC. (Courtesy Amy Nichols, Wharton Global Initiatives)
Wharton Stories
Finding Camaraderie by Finding City Hall
Image: Students explore Center City with the Philly Connection (Courtesy of the Wharton Undergraduate Division)
Wharton first-years helped pilot a new activity that familiarized them with Philadelphia and connected them to each other in a meaningful way.
Before classes began in August, nearly 100 Wharton students were already in Philadelphia, racing each other throughout Center City. They held envelopes with cryptic pictures, asking each other questions about their identities, histories, and things they were excited about in the upcoming school year.
They were participating in Philly Connections, an activity developed by Dr. Utsav Schurmans, Director of Research & Scholars Programs, and a team of Undergraduate Division staff members. It was piloted during New Student Orientation and focused on introducing new students to the city through an interactive scavenger hunt.
Ayaan Jeraj, a first-year from Vancouver, participated on his third day in Philly. He says it allowed him to strengthen his relationship with his STEP mentors.
“It’s a similar premise to the Amazing Race,” he explained and said the mentors “let us figure things out, and if we needed help, nudged us in the right direction.”
‘I wish I took advantage of the city more.’
Schurmans mentioned the program was created in response to interactions with older students.
“I’ve often done an exercise where I’m talking to seniors, and the thing that I’ve often heard is, ‘I wish I took advantage of the city more,’” he said.
Inspired by a Boston University program, Schurmans says the activity familiarizes students with how to use public transit and city landmarks but he also hopes the students continue to be curious about the city and enjoy collaboration as a method for meeting and connecting with others.
While Center City is only 20 minutes from Penn, and public transit is easily accessible, first-years often opt to stay on campus.
However, STEP and program mentor Jayla Hanson, a second-year from Alabama, explains how Philly Connections did precisely what it promised: “I know it’s easy to go meet up at a dining hall, but I was surprised by how much I actually got to know somebody through doing activities, like when we were taking the train.”
Ayaan reported that one of his favorite parts was when his mentors shared stories and advice based on their experiences with the locations. As they walked, his mentors explained how they liked to spend their time in the past few years enjoying the city.
Both Jayla and Ayaan mentioned their appreciation for mentorship through STEP, and Philly Connections allowed them to bond further with their STEP mentors and mentees through Philadelphia as a tool for connection. One of the first questions starts to build this relationship: “Describe the origin story of your name.”
“I was surprised by how much I actually got to know somebody through doing activities, like when we were taking the train,” —Jayla Hanson, W’27, C’27
Each team was a small group of 4-5 with an upper-level student mentor leading them. Within each envelope, a card contained information on their next stop, and together the group deciphered the clue.
The first stop for all was somewhere on campus, for example, the Penn Women’s Center. At this stop, the group answered questions to learn about each other’s backgrounds and interests. One of the first questions was: “What’s a celebration that’s meaningful to your culture?”
After finding a destination, groups took a photo before moving on to the next, riding one of the many public-transit options to downtown Philly on SEPTA, the region’s mass-transit system. Some took historic trolleys only steps from first-year dorms while others caught a bus at an on-campus stop. A goal of Philly Connections was to demystify and allow students to use efficient and cost-effective ways to travel to Center City.
After discovering two more locations downtown, the groups returned to campus to eat lunch together. Each team shared their distinct experience, and a slideshow displayed the group photos throughout the meal.
After the students began the school year, they reported applying this experience to their Penn one.
“I went shopping with one of my friends,” Jayla shared. “He was like, ‘Do you know how to use the bus system or subway? Because I don’t know.’ Like, yeah, actually, I do know how to use it.”
Philly Connections will continue at next year’s pre-orientation with JWS and STEP. Schurmans also plans to present it at a Penn conference this summer, offering the model and its infrastructure for campus partners to replicate.
As the weather has gotten colder, first-years may be more preoccupied with hanging out with friends on campus given the newness of everything, but Ayaan, the first-year from Vancouver, now recommends that they go to Reading Terminal Market, the Liberty Bell, and other Philadelphia landmarks when they have time. He mentions that Philly Connections was the first to show him one of the most important landmarks of his East Coast and Penn experience: “I saw my first Wawa!”
Groups get to know each other during their first on-campus destinations. (Courtesy of the Wharton Undergraduate Division)A group takes a SEPTA trolley to Center City. (Courtesy of the Wharton Undergraduate Division)After arriving in Center City, this group’s stop is near City Hall. (Courtesy of the Wharton Undergraduate Division)This group found themselves at the iconic Chinatown Friendship Gate. (Courtesy of the Wharton Undergraduate Division)Philadelphia is known as the “Mural Capital of the World”—so it feels right that some groups went to find murals! (Courtesy of the Wharton Undergraduate Division)A group poses for a photo in LOVE Park in Center City. (Courtesy of the Wharton Undergraduate Division)
Wharton Stories
Finding the Rhythm Behind Business Fundamentals
Image: Grace playing music on the Quad. Photo courtesy of Grace Gramins.
Grace Gramins, W’26, finds harmony between music production and business.
It seems these days that every college student wants to be a DJ and that we’ve lost a long-held appreciation of pure singing. However, on Penn’s campus, you can hear quiet humming while studying in Huntsman Hall and a raw voice belting for large crowds in the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. All you have to do is look for Grace Gramins.
It actually runs in the family for Grace. Her mother moved to New York City to audition for Broadway, and while doing so, she worked on Wall Street. It makes sense that Grace has been raised with that intersection in mind. In New York, she started her educational career at the Special Music School, where she first learned violin and then began to compose music.
As she continued songwriting, she developed an interest in business in tandem. Throughout high school, her volunteer work was focused on helping with organizations’ marketing, which had natural intersections with her interest in producing music.
While she identified this intersection between business and production as an interest when applying to Wharton, she was able to see it through with her undergraduate experience in marketing courses.
“Writing music and editing it to cater to my consumers was something I was inherently doing,” Grace said. “But then I was able to attach it to a real concept and principle in my marketing class.”
The same goes for her Management 1010 course: “I learned about horizontal and vertical diversification, and I moved from writing to producing music which was vertical diversification in a way, but I had no words for it until I took that class and was able to understand exactly what I was doing.”
Business gave her the vocabulary behind some of the more pragmatic decisions she was making in her creation of music. It also gave her the ability to understand recent movements and trends in the music business.
When she began to write music in high school, she viewed it very entrepreneurially, akin to creating a business or product, which was where marketing came in. When she refers to music business, she means applying principles of management and finance to it.
When it comes to finance, Grace says that as a music creator, she has enjoyed learning about different deals within the business: “The intersection of all that has been really exciting for me to apply my passion for music to the different concepts I’m learning in my business classes here in Wharton.”
In February, Grace produced and released a single, “Falling.” While her business education taught her to tie in some of the more pragmatic, less emotional aspects of the art form, she also utilized the music department at Penn. While making the song in her second year, Grace took Professor Anna Weesner’s songwriting course as part of her Popular Music and Jazz Studies minor.
“It was a great forum to connect with other students who were passionate about songwriting,” she said. “Adding music classes throughout my four years has been a great way to learn about music in a more formal setting.”
Grace performs at a concert hosted by the TEP fraternity in the fall of 2022. (Photo credit: Penn Records)
While her education played a large role in her production process, she also found connectivity and inspiration from the people around her. She played the song and received live feedback from Penn Counterparts, her acapella group. Counterparts is Penn’s oldest all-gender pop and jazz acapella group, and John Legend was a part of Counterparts during his time at Penn. As the music director this year, Grace is responsible for musical arranging the music and conducting their shows.
“I had watched Counterparts YouTube videos before coming to Penn, and I had written about them in my [application] essays,” she reminisces. “That’s opened such an awesome door for me to have a community on campus of people studying and being interested in different things outside the group.”
Even beyond the classroom and her social circles, access to Wharton’s faculty has helped her navigate the business of music creation. When she got a contract in the fall of her first year, her Legal Studies 1010 professor looked over it with her.
While all these experiences at Penn continue to overlap, Grace still finds time for personal endeavors.
“I’m going to continue immersing myself with Wharton and business,” she said. “I’m currently working on producing another song, so hopefully that comes out soon.”
Activities: Penn Counterparts, Wharton Ambassadors, Penn International Impact Consulting, Mask and Wig Band, Music Business at Penn, and Negotiations TA (OIDD 2910)
Grace singing at a Penn Counterparts show, Penn’s oldest all-gender pop and jazz acapella group. (Photo credit: Bill Tsai)
Wharton Stories
Trimming the Jib and Other Ways to Think About Business
Image: Undergrads learn to sail an obstacle course in formation on the Chesapeake Bay. (Photo credit: Will Keyworth Photography)
An immersive look inside Team Sailing, a Wharton Leadership Venture designed to foster team cohesion in a high-pressure environment.
The mast began to pitch towards the water at a harsh 45-degree angle. The wind blew rain horizontally against the sailors, and for the first time, they had to balance pulling the boat’s cables with wiping their faces off. The sailboat had never moved this fast, and everybody suddenly was familiar with the physics behind how wind turns into speed.
Dillon Hale, the instructor, laughed a bit to himself and reminded students that “as much as it feels like it, the boat won’t tip over. You’ll only fall into the water if you try to.”
However, these were not sailing athletes or physics students; they were four business students far outside their comfort zones. They got on the Wired about an hour earlier, and only one had sailing experience.
As quickly as the storm started, it ended. The wind slowed in the opposite direction, and the rain turned into a light mist, but they weren’t allowed to cheer quite yet. The sail at the front of the boat began to flap wildly, and the boat slowed.
Malek DeBrabander, W’25, yelled, “I’m ready to switch directions!”
Rachel Doman, W’26, and Abu Mcunu, W’25, with the confidence of experienced sailors, yelled in response, “Ready to tack!”
Abu, on the left side, let go of the taut cable. Rachel, on the right side, began pulling furiously until the cable tightened and locked it into place. The boat satisfyingly tilted and picked up speed, and for a second, it felt like the boat was flying.
The waves grew larger, and everybody on the boat groaned. They weren’t ready for another storm, but Dillon said the opposite was occurring.
“Waves are just a history of the wind.”
A team and their instructor ride choppy waves through the wind and rain. (Photo credit: Will Keyworth Photography)
The Road to Adventure
On a Friday at 6 am, seeing a coach bus waiting outside Huntsman Hall on Penn’s campus is not surprising. The usual guess is that students are going to New York or DC with their clubs for career treks.
Wharton Leadership Ventures (WLV) often uses them to take students to unusual locations, such as rural Pennsylvania or upstate New York for daylong “intensives” like high-ropes courses or mountain biking. WLV also flies students to locales like Cotopaxi in Ecuador or Patagonia for week-long hiking and backpacking Expeditions over winter and spring breaks.
“We’re doing things in a completely new environment,” said Erica Montemayor, Senior Associate Director of WLV. “What students take most from this experience is just getting out of their comfort zone.”
Venture experiences are coordinated and overseen by Wharton undergrads known as Venture Fellows. A fellow was on every boat during this intensive, helping facilitate acclimation and reflection during and after the sailing experience.
Kai Mai, a fellow on his fourth sailing venture, explains: “You learn how to lead a wide range of students and see their leadership styles, and by the end, you walk away with an expanded skill set.”
Learning to lead as a venture fellow features standards like speaker events and communication training but also has unorthodox aspects.
“We do hands-on outdoor learning during fall and spring training, and then we divvy ourselves up and lead these intensives and expeditions,” Kai said. “We actually have mountain guides do some of our trainings.”
The Practice Run
The role of the venture fellow becomes clearer when watching Malek lead different groups during the intensive. At the start of the day, he takes attendance and ensures everybody gets their food. Once the bus arrives in Annapolis and everybody wakes up from their morning naps, he leads the group through an icebreaker.
Once the ice was broken, the groups were ready to sail. The first part of the day would consist of learning how to sail, and the second part would culminate in an obstacle course similar to regular sailing competitions, where each group would have to organize themselves into a pre-set formation and go around the course five times in a time trial.
The rain picked up as everybody boarded their boats for the practice run. On the Wired, instructor Dillon taught the group the vocabulary of a sailboat. To turn, the front sail had to match the direction of the wind, or in sailing terms, people on port and starboard needed to “tack” or “trim the jib” to match the movement of the wind.
The practice run featured leadership struggles, uncoordinated tacks, and Dillon’s intervention to keep the boat moving. As the rain picked up and slowed down, everybody settled into their roles after being forced to adapt to hard conditions.
After lunch, the instructors explained the next step of the intensive. They flipped over the whiteboard to showcase a colorful illustration of boats moving between cones. At the start of each time trial, the finish line order would be listed, and they would time the speed it took the boats to cross the finish line. They gave each boat a walkie-talkie, and the instructors took a step back – it was time for the students to lead each other.
As the rain picked up and each boat moved to the start of the course, each team began practicing using the walkie-talkies.
“Can somebody tell a joke right now?”
Another team chimed in: “We’re not going to do well at this.”
The time trial’s structure meant that each team was working to compete against their previous performance. As each round continued, the boats got more efficient at moving into the proper formation at the finish line and presented faster times. By the final round, the last boat crossed the finish line in ten minutes. Everybody cheered as the time was announced through the walkie-talkies.
Wharton students pose in their lifejackets before team sailing gets underway. (Photo credit: Will Keyworth Photography)
Reflecting on the Race
The way WLV teaches leadership is separate and entirely connected to the in-class business education.
Malek, the fellow on the Wired, explains that venture fellows “go to expert talks of organizational psychologists and learn what the best techniques are for leadership,” which is reminiscent of the leadership techniques taught in courses like Management 3010.
WLV heavily emphasizes the value of reflection and transference, ensuring that the experience’s lessons are brought into real-world business and leadership contexts. While organizational psychologists can help guide the theories behind leadership, a key theme of the ventures is that leadership is also built in unorthodox environments and contexts and that organizational success is not only present in the workspace.
“We’ve adopted after-action reviews from the military where we go back and reflect and recap these moments,” Kai, another fellow said. “Whenever I do something new, and I make a mistake here or there, I’m able to adapt these AAR techniques into my life.”
Kai then quickly runs through an example of his reflection process.
“Am I communicating this thing well? Or should I try to think about this in a different way? Or what is that other guy thinking?” Kai asked. “There are so many factors at play that AAR has allowed me to pinpoint and focus on that present moment.”
y utilizing different reflection and learning processes, venture fellows have been able to think about leadership in nontraditional, nuanced ways. The best part is that they can bring these processes to the participants, as seen by the Wired boat’s after-action review (AAR).
Rachel, the third-year student on the Wired, reflected: “There was a lot of new terminology and figuring out what worked, but once we got in sync with the jib, it was very rewarding to work well as a team and watch everybody else come into their roles.”
The corollary here is readily apparent – college students are often put in unfamiliar, jargon-heavy internships or courses where they have no option but to adapt to the language and culture of their new environment. While different, sailing is another example of how teamwork can make it easier to gain these necessary skills.
The goal of the sailing intensive was to gather a group of strangers, put them into an unfamiliar context, and derive success from the entire team’s ability to adapt to new circumstances. It was even satisfying to come in last place.
“There’s something kind of metaphorical about the fact that we had to be last in order to make sure that everyone else was able to succeed,” Abu, W’25, said. “Accomplishing that goal was a great moment because we all figured it out together.”
Erica agrees. “It’s complete chaos, but it’s interesting to see what you’ve learned, apply it, and move quickly,” she said. “Because life is always going to move, and it’s either going to move you or you’re going to respond to it.”
After the AARs, everybody thanked their instructors, and the sun peeked out of the clouds and began shining brightly. The Chesapeake Bay began to shimmer, rays reflecting off the water and twinkling against the boats. The whole group groaned, and everybody started to complain about how they had to sail in the unforgiving rain just a few hours earlier.
When walking towards the bus, laughter and chatter filled the air as everyone talked freely, arms slung around the shoulders of their old crewmates and new friends. As the wind blew through the narrow streets, the conversations got louder, and the group turned into one big wave of sound.
The author on the Wired (Photo credit: Malek DeBrabander, W’25)
About Wharton Leadership Ventures
Part of Wharton’s McNulty Leadership Program, Leadership Ventures offer hands-on, team-based experiences “in the field” where students step out of their comfort zone and exceed personal limitations, and experience leadership firsthand. These experiences facilitate self-discovery, leadership, and character development.
There are three types of undergraduate Leadership Ventures: Expeditions, Intensives, and Venture X.
Expeditions
Patagonia Expedition (Photo courtesy of Gabbi Coetzee, W’24, C’24)
Expeditions are outdoor, experiential learning treks that provide genuine environments of uncertainty and challenge. Expeditions generally range from 6 to 8 day overnight trips and can be high in physical intensity.
Intensives
High Ropes Challenge Course (Photo credit: Dwane Holloman)
Intensives are consolidated and immersive group-based experiences ranging from one to two days. They provide genuine environments of uncertainty and challenge.
Venture X takes students to outdoor locations in Philadelphia for daylong experiences that are intended to broaden and deepen connections in the Wharton community as well as facilitate communication and team cohesion.
Wharton Stories
Bridging the Cultural Divide
Personal experience and selfless family sacrifice led Tsion Bezabih, W’27, to create a nonprofit aimed at helping young people connect.
One morning in my Ethiopian home, when I was seven years old, I was awakened by the sounds of laughter and packing. I quickly got out of bed and saw our luggage piled up on the floor next to my mom. I asked, “Where are we going?” She replied that we were going on a shirshir, which meant “vacation.” My parents would always call anything a shirshir, whether it was a trip to the amusement park in Addis Ababa or a visit to Awasa, a vacation spot in Ethiopia. So I assumed we were taking a short getaway to one of the usual local destinations. When we arrived at the airport, I was confused by my aunt’s and grandmother’s tears. Little did I know I wouldn’t be back for another six years.
During my family’s first year in the United States, I frequently complained about our moving away, which I could see hurt my parents. I had vivid memories of my parents back in Africa, with my dad drawing cartoons and heading the office of a newspaper company while my mom owned an import/export business. All of that changed in the U.S.: My dad worked as a valet attendant and my mom as a custodian. At times they juggled two jobs each to support our new lives here in Philadelphia. Going from an office to jobs like those wasn’t easy for my parents, especially considering they weren’t fluent in English. The hardships they went through helped me see how fortunate I was to have parents willing to make such sacrifices. Their difficult path led me to Penn, and during move-in last fall, I saw another Habesha woman pushing a cart twice her size, and I couldn’t hold back my tears. She reminded me so much of my mother.
My parents’ sacrifice, mixed with the hardships I witnessed in Ethiopia, inspired me to help others — initially, orphans in Ethiopia. After reading my college essay on the topic, my former eighth-grade math teacher and mentor, Larry Kaplan, GED’97, reached out to discuss a similar program he was thinking of developing. We quickly set up a meeting at a Center City cafe to discuss our plans for what would later be known as the Philly Unity Project, or Philly UP.
Hometown: Philadelphia by way of Ethiopia Concentrations: Finance and entrepreneurship
About Philly Unity Project
The mission of Philly UP is to nurture and inspire teens to break down racial, cultural and religious barriers by building up understanding, empathy and human dignity.
Wharton Stories
Making a Tangible Impact through Snider Consulting
Image: A Snider Consulting team meets with an instructor in Tangen Hall (Photo credit: James Graves)
Through the four-year consulting program at Penn, undergrads get real-time experience with startups almost from the minute they step on campus.
At the end of October, as Locust Walk’s trees hit their peak bloom of red and orange, students were submitting their midterm essays and Esha Pathi, W’25, was getting ready for her team’s midpoint presentation.
“We’ve conducted a ton of interviews with other students and are hoping to share our findings in a clean, synced way to the client,” she explained. “It’s a chance to recalibrate the scope – midpoint is a great sanity check, touching base to see if the client wants you to dive deeper or completely pivot for the final presentation.”
She spoke with the fluency and professionalism of a seasoned consultant while describing how Snider Consulting manages relationships with their clients. To be fair, she is a seasoned consultant. This is her fourth year in Snider, and she currently serves as her team’s engagement manager (EM). As an EM, she oversees her consulting group to ensure they are on track to accomplish their weekly and semester goals.
Snider Consulting is a four-year program in Penn’s Venture Lab that hires Penn student consultants to provide “tailored research, analysis, and execution support to meet clients’ needs.” As a part of Penn’s expanding entrepreneurship opportunities for students, Snider Consulting not only utilizes students’ unique experiences and knowledge but also hires them directly as paid student workers.
The way it works is teams of students work with companies to solve strategic problems for them. The students meet weekly within their teams, with Snider Consulting as a whole, and with their clients to deliver those results.
Jon Potter, Snider’s growth program director, explains how the program has changed over the years: “It’s evolved to the point where the undergrad program is pretty much exclusively focused on Penn startups, from students or faculty, companies coming from the Penn ecosystem.”
They have worked with a variety of clients, ranging from global consulting firms to growth stage startups that have raised eight figures and early-stage clients that have since gone on to raise Series A and B funding from venture capital firms.
Both Esha and Shivani Desai, a fourth-year who is an engagement manager and leading the first-year training program, have felt the impact of working for high-growth Penn enterprises and the accountability of Snider Consulting being a paid, high-responsibility job.
Shivani says that “it’s put a sense of responsibility on me from an early stage, and it was nice to receive formal feedback my first year. I carried myself better at Penn.”
The four-year aspect of the program is especially compelling. The tangible impact that Snider provides to companies is incredibly valuable, and students often report that it has far-reaching implications beyond their first year.
“As much as college is really important, a lot of it is kind of low stakes because you’re only doing things for yourself,” Esha said. “Snider was the first time that I did something for the success of someone else’s company. There’s a lot of additional pressure to execute at 120 percent and that’s the attitude that I’m going to take into the future.”
As Shivani and Esha discussed their progression through the program, they continually mentioned that they gained a sense of tangible confidence that allowed them to carry themselves with more professionalism in the workplace. However, having such early access to Snider Consulting’s network has also allowed them to explore which workplaces to channel this energy towards.
Through their four-year experience in Snider Consulting, students wear a variety of hats. They start out learning by doing—training their financial analysis skills and interfacing with clients and their real-world challenges. As they progress, they begin to take on mentorship roles with the first-years and lead the processes that accomplish real impact for Penn startups.
Shivani declared her concentration in entrepreneurship because of her experiences working with these startups, and through Snider, she gained exposure to Venture Lab as a whole. The summer after her first year, she participated in Venture Lab’s Bet on Entrepreneurship program that connected her with an internship at a venture-capital firm in San Francisco.
When Esha was looking for internships, she “tapped into the Snider network, a really great community of alumni that have gone on to do such incredible things. Everyone in Snider pays it forward.”
However, this focus on “paying it forward” doesn’t stop at the alumni network.
Michael Sarboraria, W’28, C’28 (Photo credit: Weining Ding, W’27)
Michael Sarboraria, a first-year in the Life Sciences and Management program, began his time in the Snider Consulting training program in early October. In high school, he worked on a passion project that produced braces for multiple-sclerosis patients, and he came into Penn looking to gain exposure to life sciences entrepreneurship.
Of his time in the training program so far, he mentions that his biggest takeaway is the willingness of upper-level students like Esha and Shivani to serve as mentors in his professional and personal development.
“The training really starts from the ground up,” he remarked. “The fact that they’re willing to put aside time and actually invest in the younger students in the program is the most positive form of mentorship I’ve had.”
However, the mentorship extends beyond professional into personal. Shivani says that Snider “sets up coffee chats where students can grab a coffee or meal, and the upper-level students get to know them outside of the projects that they do.”
Students also learn the necessary business art of the coffee chat and get to earn that coffee money themselves. Michael has done a few coffee chats and gotten the inside scoop about course selection and life at Penn, but he’s excited to “graduate” the training period.
“I’m looking forward to completing the training program,” he said. “My next step is actually getting involved in the program and trying to make an impact for some of these startups that I’ve been really excited to see passing through.”
Esha Pathi, Michael Sarboraria, and Shivani Desai (Photo credit: Weining Ding, W’27)
About Snider Consulting
Snider Consulting is a four-year program where undergraduate students work on semester-long projects. Students must apply for the program as first-years during their first few weeks on campus. After that, there are no further opportunities to join. After formal training and workshops, the paid student consultants meet weekly with their team to deliver recommendations to help clients drive and sustain business growth. The teams are supported by staff with years of experience as professional consultants.
Belinda Kumi, W’25, from Georgia
Dylan Kang, W’27, from Los Angeles
