Prior to applying to Wharton, I earned degrees in science journalism and computer engineering at Lehigh University and had accumulated 11 years work experience in IT systems and management consulting, starting out as a systems analyst for American Management Systems, then senior consultant and manager with Cap Gemini Ernst & Young. After a brief foray as an entrepreneur with my own business, I served as an associate director in the Federal Consulting Practice of Gartner, Inc. where I provided IT strategic and organizational planning support to Federal CIOs and transformation program managers. Shortly before graduating from Wharton, I re-launched the fledgling strategy consulting business I had started in 2002, having a more established network and the improved confidence, credentials, and cutting-edge insight and analysis techniques gained through the Wharton program. While continuing to build relationships to advance my consulting business — for which the Wharton name opens many doors — I continue to engage with and support my classmates in cultivating other business ideas/endeavors as we seek to grab the brass ring!

Well-rounded, integrated perspective
In addition to the rigor of Wharton’s curriculum, I found it to be very integrative — the program is really skillfully structured. We addressed similar companies or business topics from different perspectives in each of the classes in one semester. For example, say we talked about Wal-Mart. Marketing has a particular point of view on some of the things that go on there, and Operations has another point of view. Finance will have yet a third. So you see that same entity through a variety of perspectives in that same semester, which is very valuable. All the content fits together, and you walk out with a very rounded, very integrated perspective that you can use to look at a problem from all angles.

Phenomenal faculty
The faculty are just phenomenal. The classes are very dynamic, and the professors are very committed and passionate about their topic areas. My macroeconomics professor, Steve Meyers, totally turned me around. His approach to teaching, the way he communicated the information, made it very invigorating and, most importantly, relevant. Finance with John Percival was another class I never expected to embrace the way I did.

Intense collaboration
One of the things that I hadn't expected was the intensity of the collaboration within the class. It's not cutthroat competitive. People definitely want to do well, but it's never at the expense of someone else. There's a real "we're in it together" attitude. What I'll take away from the program is a very strong classical business training that's based not only on the knowledge and research of the professor, but also on the knowledge and experience of the fellow students who actively participate in each class. So I'm not just reading it from a book or hearing what professors told me they saw here or there. It's a whole group of dynamic intellectuals who, through their experiences, show you many different ways to look at similar problems.

Career impact
The degree to which the Wharton credentials continue to open doors both personally and professionally has been so interesting to me. My affiliation to Wharton is not usually something I initially or overtly point out, but it always comes up as a qualification of note with my clients and business partners. In addition to the analytical tools and frameworks practiced in school and the enthusiastic alumni network I’ve joined, the process of completing the rigors of the program while working full time has sharpened my focus, discipline, and decision-making process while conferring a confidence that will enable me to be successful, no matter what I choose to pursue.