BWUA Minority Report: Being Black in the Business World

On February 26th, 2013, forty members of the Black Wharton Undergraduate Association gathered to hear realistic advice on what it truly means to be an African-American in the business world. Guided by University of Pennsylvania professor, Guthrie P. Ramsey, students listened attentively to a panel of successful individuals from Pennsylvania. This included Brittany Jean-Baptiste, Class of 2010 of Penn State University and Employee Engagement and Inclusion Coordinator at Comcast; Alan-Michael Hill, Class of 2011 of the University of Pennsylvania and First-Year Law student at Penn Law; and Luke Chernosky, Graduate of Cornell University and MBA Candidate at the Wharton School Class of 2014.

As our members indulged in Chipotle, they listened attentively to advice from our panelists. First, students learned how to present themselves both physically and online as companies are actively looking for well-presented and responsible employees. Members also became actively involved in our discussion of discrimination in the workforce. Our panelist unfortunately and unanimously agreed that there was racism in the workforce; however, they also provided the audience of students with ways to combat it. Hill supported that simply putting one's head down and working harder than one's coworkers allows one to produce a greater product and later gain superiority. Meanwhile, Chernosky supported that today's generation is now competing against people all across the world, and that minority students must take advantage of the opportunities that await them in African countries. In addition, both Hill and Chernosky believed that one should look to friend people who are similar to them, whether its height or skin tone; however, one cannot forget that though they are an ally, they are also your competition. Furthermore, Jean-Baptiste eluded to confronting those who were disrespectful by asking them to elaborate when they question your work, or wishing that they had not disrupted you during a speech as their question would have been answered later in the presentation.

Ramsey then brought the discussion to a close as our members applauded the panelists and waited to ask them further questions individually. BWUA Freshman member, Rachel Palmer, said, "It was great! The moderator was quirky and the panelists were interesting and insightful." Our members left the GBM feeling educated about the hidden truths of the business world. Nonetheless, the panelists inspired the students to continue working hard in school, and sparked the confidence to overcome all barriers in the work force.