It's 6:45 p.m. on a Friday night in San Francisco. As the sun sets over the Golden Gate Bridge, office workers slowly make their way home. But for the Wharton West students heading to dinner with their fellow executives, there's no commute, no symbolic end of the week; rather a feeling of anticipation and excitement for what's ahead.

That's because the day doesn't really end; when classes are done, education just takes another form. The living-learning environment of Wharton's program ensures that the exchange of ideas isn't confined to class time.

"The residential aspect allowed us to mingle and interact with people we wouldn't normally meet. The exchange of ideas, getting to know people that way, is amazing," says Ron Murayama, WG'03, CEO of Amden Corp.

Knowledge on Rye
At Wharton West, students' desire for knowledge often overlaps with the more prosaic kind of hunger satisfied in the dining room. Lunches and dinners become prime opportunities to debate issues, expand on topics discussed in class, and pigeonhole professors for some one-on-one time.

"Many of the ethics questions Professor Michael Useem posed became fodder for really intense conversations outside of class," said Brennan Davis, WG'03. "At one dinner, I asked Professor Useem about some things that came up in an ethics class - about how smart it was to reveal one's religious background in the workplace, and what the implications would be."

San Francisco is full of good restaurants, but Donald Landwirth, WG'03, preferred to eat with fellow students in the Wharton West dining room. "We talked queuing theory with Professor Terwiesch and statistics with Professor Waterman."

Christine Wable, WG'03, notes that her conversations over dinner with Professor Andrew Abel were particularly insightful. "I work in sales and trading, and I'm always watching economic numbers. Since Professor Abel teaches macroeconomics, I'd ask him about the current situation of the Fed and his perspective on it."

The Open Classroom
Another advantage to Wharton's living-learning structure is that professors are available at all times of day. Even if professors aren't based in San Francisco, they make themselves available on the Internet to maximize the time they spend at Wharton West. Special scheduling software allows students and professors to view office hours and share files online.

Murayama says that he found out-of-classroom encounters with professors valuable because he got specific information on what he's personally interested in. "I could ask questions about areas directly related to my specific line of business. Having face-to-face access to world-class expertise is amazing."

Bill Nash, WG'03, appreciates the faculty's human involvement as much as their advice. "The faculty are very accessible because they are in the same place, and they eat lunch with us and go out after class with us. My impression is that they were enjoying the program as much as I was."

A Worldwide Community of Learning
Just like its home city, San Francisco, Wharton West brings together leaders from around the globe in a mosaic of industries and cultures, with one student in the '03 class even commuting across the Pacific from Shanghai.

"Her insight was extremely valuable and incredibly enlightening, especially when we took our international trip to China," says Murayama. "We got to understand how business is conducted in China and Hong Kong and how the market is developing. This is very important to my business since we are looking to move more manufacturing to Hong Kong."

This community of learning and support continues long after graduation. Franklin L. Lavin, WG'96, now U.S. Ambassador to Singapore, reports that his Wharton connections have followed him overseas. "The number of Wharton graduates in leadership positions across Asia makes the alums a sort of informal 'kitchen cabinet' for many of the key government decision-makers in the region. When I need a sounding on a commercial or economic issue, I can always turn to Wharton colleagues for their insight."