Hometown: Tokyo, Japan
Education: University of Tokyo
Before Wharton: Lawyer, Government
After Wharton: Lawyer
My Day at a Glance
Akihisa (Shockyou) Shiozaki
My Story About Me
You have two years to learn to play with risks and learn to deal with uncertainty, learn that it’s ok to be honest with your passions and desires.
Comedy of all things
Many people see their time at Wharton as a chance to try new things. Me, I got involved in the comedy club through a cohort mate who was a professional comedian in New York. I’ve never done stand-up comedy before, not in the States or in Japan. It completely pushed my limits. I wasn’t really sure what I was getting into, but after I did it, it felt really good. It opened a new world to me. It was one of those things you’d only do in a low-risk environment like Wharton, which really pushes you to discover new facets of yourself.
Unique window in your life
Here you don’t have to think about the downsides or worry about failing. You have a more encouraging environment to try something you’re passionate about. It’s a unique window in your adult life. You have two years to learn to play with risks and learn to deal with uncertainty, learn that it’s ok to be honest with your passions and desires. After recognizing the power of that, you are going to be a different person out in the world.
Seeing yourself through different mirrors
“Learn more, do more, be more” is really what Wharton’s about. You don’t just learn in the classroom—it’s what you do with people, what you take on extracurricularly, that allows you to take what you learn in the classroom and exercise it in the real world. It really pushes you to transform yourself. The cohort members and your closest friends are the mirrors, and through these different mirrors, you see different parts of yourself. That’s what it’s all about. That is what makes Wharton so special. I say that because as a student body president, I know that other schools don’t have that culture. They don’t really push each other to deepen their relationships and explore each other. Sometimes, we don’t appreciate that fact.
A league of future global leaders
You realize how truly global the Wharton community is when you are sitting in a classroom, talking about an international case or company. It’s that moment when you see the faces of your classmates, the international students, starting to glow and get engaged and raising their hands to make the most interesting comments about what goes on in their world, how it looks different from their perspective. It’s those moments when you feel that this is a place where the best talents gather from all over the world. The international student ratio is really something that makes Wharton special. It’s a league of future global leaders.
Openness to diverse views and challenges
Even without noticing it, we get used to recognizing that there is always an alternative view of looking at the world, always a different opinion, always a way to question your own stereotypes and assumptions. That openness to diverse views extends beyond cultural and national diversity. It opens your mind and personality to all kinds of views and challenges that you’ll experience in the world.
