Hometown: East Brunswick, NJ
Education: University of Pennsylvania
Before Wharton: General Mills and Procter & Gamble
After Wharton: Consumer Packaged Goods Marketing
My Day at a Glance
Alison Graham
My Story About Me
I was one of the co-chairs of Welcome Weekend this spring—a huge undertaking, with 800 admitted students coming to visit the school.
Career focus in a collaborative environment
I went to Wharton for my undergraduate degree, which was an amazing experience, but this time around I’m here to focus on my career. The Marketing Club has helped me a ton professionally—especially my peers who served as my support system throughout the recruiting process. The club encourages you to form hot groups, small groups of other first-year students who are recruiting for marketing jobs. You do all of your interview prep with them. We practiced questions and gave each other feedback, all in a non-threatening environment. The second years were also very helpful, especially during the mock interviews. Second years are so happy to talk to you about their internship experience so you could find out more about the companies they worked at.
Everyone wants you to succeed
When I first started at Wharton, a friend who’s a second year told me Wharton was really collaborative and everyone wants you to succeed. I was skeptical—I figured everyone is out to get the job. But it’s really true. People are collaborative and looking out for each other.
Combining fashion and social responsibility
Many of us see this time as a chance to do things you wouldn’t get to do otherwise. For example, since I’ve always been interested in beauty and fashion, I decided to get involved in the school’s charity fashion show. The show supports the Mazzoni Center, a healthcare center for people with HIV/AIDS. When I heard about it, I thought how cool would it be to get involved. At Wharton, you have access to all of these really fun, unique opportunities that you wouldn’t have elsewhere. And in the process, you learn about yourself and your leadership and teamwork styles.
On trying new things…
Being a part of the Wharton community means engaging in more ways than just academics. It’s really about going above and beyond, and trying new things. Wharton is an exceptional place, and it has so many unique opportunities for students to try. Being a part of the community means taking advantage of all of those things. It sounds cheesy, but people really care about getting to know each other and spending time together outside the classroom, whether on a venture trip or in extracurriculars or in a social setting. All of those things are important to us, to have a well-rounded experience. I don’t get that sense from every other place.
A Wharton moment
I was one of the co-chairs of Welcome Weekend this spring—a huge undertaking, with 800 admitted students coming to visit the school. We had three co-chairs, 15 committees to oversee and a ton of student involvement. Over the weekend, there were more than 200 volunteers. We were definitely nervous about something going wrong, people not showing up. But the weekend went beautifully. The whole experience embodied the spirit of Wharton. People are really passionate about the place. We are committed to the school and to each other. It’s all student involvement and dedication that makes it happen.
