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Who Are You? Recognizing and Building Affinities with Wharton
When you look at your
connection with Wharton,
what frames the picture you
see? From how many different
perspectives do you regard
the totality of your
Wharton experience and
how it has shaped
your life?
What was your academic
major, the division of the
School which you attended,
your cohort or learning
team? Who are the friends
you made and kept - or
would like to get back in
touch with? What extracurricular
activities were you
involved in? Were you an
international student or a
member of a minority constituency?
And since graduation,
where have you lived,
and in which professions
have you been employed?
Through a myriad of opportunities,
the alumni network
reflects the many
facets of the Wharton experience.
Events like Alumni
Weekend and the Follies reunion
in New York City, or
online services on WAVE (wave.wharton.upenn.edu)
such as the alumni directory
and the new Class Notes
section enable people to
better stay in touch. One of
the greatest strengths of the
alumni program has been
the club network: in 30
cities and regions around
the U.S., and in 42 other
countries around the world,
alumni gather for professional
and personal networking.
There is also a growing
trend to develop clubs that
reflect other affinities that
people feel to the School.
There are groups organized
for alumni by industry,
academic programs, and minority
constituencies, and
several more are in the
pipeline. While contact
information for all of these
groups is listed on the
WAVE website and at the
end of this article, the
following is a profile of
two of these affinity groups,
which reflect the breadth of
the interests with which
these groups are engaged:
one is the oldest ongoing
affinity club, and the other
is "the new kid on the
block."
Wharton Evening School Alumni Society
Once upon a time, when
students attended classes in
Logan Hall and trolley cars
ran above ground through
campus on Woodland
Avenue, an organization was
formed to recognize the
achievements of a
pecial group of Wharton
alumni. In many cases,
these individuals had received
their Wharton
degrees in the light of
challenges that would have
daunted many lesser men
and women. The Wharton
Evening School Alumni
Society (WESAS) was
formed to mark the special
experience of those who had
earned their degrees
through a program that began
almost at the very inception
of Wharton itself
(the School was founded in
1881; the Evening School
began in 1904).
More than half a century
later since the start of the
alumni group, the Evening
School Alumni Society represents
the interests of over
5800 graduates, making
theirs one of the largest
alumni bases in the club
network. While the majority
of the graduates of the
program live in the
Philadelphia area, alumni of
the program can be found
on five continents. The
Evening School Alumni
Society reaches out to these
graduates with a mix of social
and educational programming,
a newsletter, and
an annual brunch which
brings together alumni from
across the decades and recognizes
outstanding
achievement among graduating
seniors. This year's
event, held in June at La
Terrasse, found newly-minted
alumni from the class of
'03 mixing with Wharton
peers from as far back at the
1950s. While their
Wharton experiences were
quite different, they shared
the mutual pride in achieving
a Wharton degree while
juggling full-time jobs, families,
and in most cases, a severe
lack of sleep.
Gary Lindauer, W'92,
president of the Society, recently
reflected on the future
of the group: "We have
always enjoyed the enthusiastic
participation of our
traditional Evening School
alumni. But now, we are
looking to expand our ranks
by reaching out to the management
and marketing certificate
programs. In the
years to come, their inclusion
could be the new
lifeblood of our organization."
Blending the traditions
of the past with the
present-day evening program
ensures that the
Society will continue recognizing
the achievements of
all its graduates.
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