My Day at a Glance
Hometown: Sydney, Australia
Education: Bachelor of Information Science, University of Newcastle
Before Wharton: IT and Supply Chain project manager in Australia. I also spent a summer in Mozambique with the Clinton Foundation before starting at Wharton.
After Wharton: Consulting or General Management
One day you could be having lunch with a CEO, and the next day, you’re hosting a dinner with students from around the world, and the next day, you’re in a leadership workshop based on theater.
A transformative experience
My time at Wharton has been a transformative experience for me, something that I didn’t realize until very recently. One day you could be having lunch with a CEO, and the next day, you’re hosting a dinner with students from around the world, and the next day, you’re in a leadership workshop based on theater. To me, that’s where a lot of the value comes from.
Putting knowledge to work
One of my most powerful experiences was a field application project I worked on with three other students. The project involved analyzing the South Africa education system for a nonprofit in the U.S. As part of the coursework, we went to South Africa for a week. At the beginning of the week, we were very unstructured. We met with about 50 people and at the end of the week presented our findings to the client and some of the key leaders in the education system in South Africa. They were so impressed with our work and amazed with what we accomplished in such a short period. Afterwards, I realized how much I had grown and learned since I started school.
Opportunities to make an impact
Wharton is a place where students have a number of opportunities to make an impact on their community, while at the same time apply the skills they learn in the classroom. One way to do that is the Nonprofit Board Leadership program. The program places Wharton students as a visiting board member of a local nonprofit in Philadelphia for an academic year. I served on the board of a nonprofit before so I wasn’t eligible for the program, but I was eligible for the coordinator position.
Fostering a lifelong commitment to service
My role as coordinator is to help run the program, provide the kind of experience students are looking for, and act as a mentor and coach. Overall, the goal is to foster a lifelong commitment to community service. A lot of students have had volunteer experiences, but many haven’t been exposed to what goes on inside the organization. This program gives them the opportunity to see the inner workings and make a strategic contribution as well—not just volunteer work, but really helping to set the direction for the organization. I found that to be a really amazing experience.
