Student Life

My Day at a Glance

Year 2

  • Me with a fellow member of the Wharton Welcome Committee at the Spring Soiree.
    Me with a fellow member of the Wharton Welcome Committee at the Spring Soiree.
  • With friends on spring break in Italy.
    With friends on spring break in Italy.
  • Spring break in Italy.
    Spring break in Italy.
  • With my cohort mates on spring break in Barcelona.
    With my cohort mates on spring break in Barcelona.
  • With my cohort mates on spring break in Barcelona.
    With my cohort mates on spring break in Barcelona.
  • Me with the other members of the Leadership Fellows program.
    Me with the other members of the Leadership Fellows program.
  • Me with my learning teammates at the end-of-year dinner.
    Me with my learning teammates at the end-of-year dinner.
  • Me with classmates at the Health Care Management program’s end-of-year dinner.
    Me with classmates at the Health Care Management program’s end-of-year dinner.
  • With friends at the opening night of the 2011 Follies production.
    With friends at the opening night of the 2011 Follies production.

Anne Marie Aponte

Hometown: Bushkill, PA

Education: Cornell University, B.S. Industrial & Labor Relations

Before Wharton: Bristol-Myers Squibb

After Wharton: Health Care Services

My Story About Me

It’s not just about gaining skills and then applying them in the business world. It‘s about making a global impact in a positive way.

Ready for a change

I come from a pharmaceutical background, and I saw the Wharton health care program as a chance to explore other parts of the health care industry. The head of our program is well-linked to a variety of industries and the program has a strong relationship with the Penn Health System. For my Field Application Project, I worked with a team of students at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia exploring the potential applications of telemedicine in the pediatric setting. We partnered with the chief medical officer and a few other administrators to explore what telemedicine could look like and what existing business models were.

Becoming a Coach

In the leadership fellow program, about 40 first-year students are selected to serve as peer-mentors to the incoming class. As part of it, I’ve spent the last semester attending different training sessions, learning about how to be an effective coach. Come the fall, I’ll be assigned to a group of first years and help them navigate their own transition into the Wharton community. I’ll meet with them individually and in small groups, and I will facilitate 360 feedback sessions as they learn to work together in teams.

I joined the program specifically because my leadership fellow was a pivotal part of my adjustment to my life at Wharton who helped me navigate the complexities of being in business school -- how to work with a learning team, how to balance a rigorous curriculum and with campus activities. I wanted to do the same for someone else.

Global impact

Prior to arriving at Wharton, I didn’t even have a passport. Since then, I’ve had the chance to travel to multiple countries. Over winter break, I completed a Global Health Volunteer Project in El Salvador. I spent two weeks at a children’s clinic in a rural community outside to San Salvador. Part of that trip was dedicated to doing work on the ground — cleaning up around the clinic, counting pills to be dispensed, etc. The other half was working with a group of mothers at the clinic to help them start a new business. That was a great way to travel. It had an altruistic purpose, but I also got to do things like go surfing for the first time and dabble in the Central American culture.

My experience reflects what the Wharton brand represents. It’s not just about gaining skills and then applying them in the business world. It embodies making a global impact in a positive way.

Open to learning

Being part of the Wharton community means having openness to learning. Come here with understanding that you’re going to learn a lot. Sometimes, you’re going to be overwhelmed and you’re going to be challenged to take on new opportunities. I’m now the editor-in-chief of the Wharton Journal. I have never worked on a school paper before, but I feel comfortable taking on this challenge because I’m working with a fantastic team. They are patient and supportive, and they bridge some of the gaps that I have. That’s a huge part of the Wharton community, feeling support while you challenge yourself to take on new experiences.