Meet a Learning Team
A group of five or six students is assigned to collaborate on assignments throughout the first year, drawing together students from diverse careers, interests, and backgrounds. The team structure encourages trial and error, risk-taking, and creative friction among members as they learn to collaborate and lead within a group of high-level peers.
     Click above on a member of
the Tequila's learning team to see what they have to say. |
A microcosm of Wharton's executive MBA community, members of the Tequilas learning team include two Ph.D.s and an Air Force pilot. Read their perspectives on the learning team experience.
Brian Atkinson, WG'07
Vice President, Sales
Devon Health
"The learning team is critical for learning from your classmates. Our learning team has a fighter pilot, two PhDs, a CPA, and a finance guru, and everyone brings their own perspective to problem solving. Experiencing how other classmates solve problems has forced me to look at things differently."
Brad Everman, WG'07
Major, and Chief of Weapons and Tactics
US Air Force
"I had to learn to soften my leadership style —
it's no surprise that, coming from the military, I had a different approach than some of my teammates. I had to learn be much more collaborative and less autocratic."
Sammy Farrah, WG'07
Scientific Liaison, External Scientific Affairs
Merck & Co., Inc.
"In many ways, it is more valuable than classroom learning because it is more intimate. You don't have two hours in every class to hear about the experiences of 60 people, but you have days of hearing about the five people on your team. You get to know them well, and your experience is deeper."
LaWanda Morris, WG'07
Senior Manager, Assurance Practice, Consumer Finance Group
Pricewaterhouse Coopers
"I've worked in teams for many years, but in most cases, the manager has always been appointed. I was very rarely put in a team with my peers. The experience here has refocused how I work, and it's shown me the importance of communication, effective listening, and knowing how to motivate people."
Heather Vanderhoof, WG'07
Business Manager, Private Wealth Management
UBS
"When it comes to team projects, we take the ‘divide and conquer’ approach. People volunteer for the area in which they can make strongest contribution, and whenever anyone has a light week in the office, they take on more schoolwork to help out the rest of the team."
Scott Winters, WG'07
Director of Decision Support
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
"At first I was reluctant and worried that it would be hard to work with so many talented people with strong personalities, but we learned very quickly that our future was directly linked to our collective success. The team's support is necessary — professionally, academically, and personally — and over time you start to depend on that support."
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