Building Your Personal Brand

On October 22nd, 2013, students from the Penn community gathered how to better present themselves both physically and online at our 2nd GBM of the semester, Building Your Personal Brand. Led by Makini Hughes and Keishawn Johnson, students learned how to craft the perfect elevator pitch, and how your culture defines you. Those in attendance then examined the importance of building a personally brand through various new outlets. Academically, students are encouraged to excel in their studies and to develop strong relationships with the professor as both aspects help students in finding internships during the summer. In the online world, students were encouraged to create LinkedIn profiles in order to access a professional social network. Additionally, students are encouraged to monitor all social media such as Twitter and Facebook while applying privacy settings as employers constantly search social media during the application process.

After great dialogue about building a personal brand, interacting with other students delivering elevator pitches, and enjoying a great meal from Pattaya, the BWUA Director of Community Service, Kerubo Mokaya spoke about the U.S. Dream Academy, featured at our first GBM, and encouraged students to become more involved with their mentorship program for children in Philadelphia.

If you wish to become more involved with the U.S. Dream Academy, please feel free to reach out to Kerubo (mowi@sas.upenn.edu)

Thank you all for coming! We hope to see you at the next GBM in November!

Internship Panel - What Did We Do Last Summer?

At long last, BWUA held its first General Body Meeting of the 2013-2014 academic school year called, "Internship Panel - What Did We Do Last Summer?" On September 24th, 2013, 80 students gathered in John M. Huntsman Hall for this meeting, led by the two sophomores of the BWUA Appointed Board, Lena Hairadin and Chad Payne.

Wharton Vice Dean Rosenkopf gave a warm welcome to those in attendance on behalf of the Wharton School. She encouraged all students to take advantage of Wharton opportunities, and spoke about how excited she was for this new year. Following her presentation, Scott Romeika, Director of Academic Advising at the Wharton School, gave an an in-depth presentation of Wharton and Penn's academic advising. He then encouraged the freshmen to be ambitious, hoped the sophomores and juniors enjoy Wharton's core classes, and encouraged seniors to come by G95, and, most importantly, to enjoy their final year at Penn. The presenters then moved away from the Wharton School as we heard Naaila Gray speak on behalf of the U.S. Dream Academy. Last year, at the Black Wharton Gala event, we honored the U.S. Dream Academy, and now we hoped to continue that partnership throughout the year. Naaila introduced a new mentorship program with Penn for elementary school students in Philadelphia, and highly encouraged BWUA members to participate in this rewarding experience.

Lena and Chad then began to speak more about BWUA, introducing the executive and appointed board while speaking about events that we provide during the year. Those in attendance then enjoyed a meal catered by Baltimore Crab as they learned how to become involved with BWUA through the Marketing, Alumni Relations, and HEMM Committees.

Afterwards, a panel presentation began featuring the following individuals:

Amanda Langhorne
Marketing - BET, ABC, Verizon

Danielle Davis
Consulting - Bain and Company

Oyinda Adefioye
Finance - Morgan Stanley

Kelsey Slaughter
Tech - Google

Lucas O’Connor
Non-Profit/Social Impact - Interpol

They were asked about their internship as a whole, what role they, how they came about acquiring it, as well as their greatest and worst moments during the internship. Following the panel, BWUA members stuck around to ask our panelist and Board members questions. The event as a whole was a great success and showing! We hope to see you at our next GBM on October 22nd, 2013!

BWUA Presents: The 8th Annual Road to Success Freshman Luncheon

On the 8th floor of John M. Huntsman Hall on a sunny Saturday afternoon in September, 45 students gathered for the first Black Wharton Undergraduate Association event of the 2013-2014 academic year, the Freshman Luncheon. This event, organized by Black Wharton Freshmen Liaison, Lena Hairadin, allowed the upperclassmen BWUA members to interact with the newest members of the Penn community in the class of 2017. 

This event also featured two key speakers. The first being Ms. Georgette Phillips, former Vice Dean of the Wharton School, who reminded students to be thankful of where they are and to consistently give back to the community. She also told students to take advantage presented to all students not only at Wharton but Penn itself, and to shape these 4 years to be as great as they can imagine. The second speaker was Mr. J. Hyatt Mondesire, NAACP Philadelphia branch and state president, NAACP national board member, and owner of the Philadelphia Sun. Hyatt continued on the theme of giving back to the community, informing us that we are the brightest minds in the African community, a community which is often faced with much adversity. He commented on the racial structure of Philadelphia as well as the United States, referencing multiple events including Martin Luther King's speech and even this history of the University of Pennsylvania. He concluded his presentation in saying, "You have an outstanding chance to make a difference in this country. Don't waste it."

The Luncheon event then concluded with the kind of words of Lena Hairadin. She advised these our newest class to use these 4 years as a time for self-discovery and failure as even the most successful people have failed. They were also encouraged to come to Penn with an open mind and to leave as an even stronger person. After wishing everyone a successful year, those in attendance stayed around to socialize and enjoyed remaining food.