Responsibility at Wharton: Why Are We Not Getting Paid Again?
Adam Schlesinger & Julia Davidson (WG'10)
Issue date: 2/1/10 Section: Perspectives
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Last night I ran a meeting. I looked over the fresh, googly-eyed faces of my peers as they hung on every word I stuttered and tried to present myself as confident and collected. Hey, I took Communications here at Wharton, this is no problem! Back straight, make eye contact, zip your fly, emphasize important points - three of four ain't too bad, right?
As I tucked back my franks and beans, I realized that there actually exists a group of Wharton MBAs who think that I am capable of leading a team. And this is a group of people who know me well, have seen my bathroom, have been sketched out by my trenchcoat and have experienced the Schles Express. If ManPAW is going to teach us anything (questionable), then it should be to prevent situations like this.
But while the future of Follies may have been put into jeopardy, it's been an incredible experience for me. It's given me a clarity and perspective on life that I never had before. After all, if I'm being asked to make decisions, how important can they be? The world will continue to turn, the auction will still frustrate us and Julia will always be susceptible to pomegranate martinis and sketchy first years.
And when I think about everything I could be wasting my time on at Wharton, devoting it to a club I'm passionate about pretty much tops the list. I woke up this morning thinking I could spend the next few hours going to class, writing for Follies, or shaving. And while I've actually spent them writing this column and surfing jizzbomb.com, Follies was tempting.
Our two years here at Wharton are a time to take on new responsibilities - to push ourselves to the limit and learn what we can (and, often, can't) handle. We experiment. We lead. We make awkward and ambiguous sexual advances towards our TAs, even as they're trying to devise creative ways to get us in bed without outright guaranteeing an A. It's all a part of the wonderful low-risk Wharton environment, where the only downside of failure is that you're developing a reputation among 1,600 future business leaders that will last a lifetime. At least the Wharton Journal doesn't keep archives…does it? DOES IT?!?
I know we get stretched pretty thin here - but it's all about prioritizing. I'll take leadership experience and three LTs over D-List and eight hours sleep any day. Now I just need to get those employers to see things my way…
She Said
Remember what they first tell you when you get to Wharton? Try new things! Challenge yourself! Get out of your comfort zone! And so you decide to join eight clubs, adding them to your shopping cart on the WGA Store with the flippancy of buying groceries. And you attend their events-well, sporadically at least. Fine, you went to one Culinary Club happy hour and never really got back on the field for rugby practice. Things just get so busy, and by Q3-shit-you need a job. To the back burner that Diversity Rep role goes. And hey, it's all good.
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