Graduation Speech

Total words: 1086
As I look out upon my fellow graduates this morning, I see the world's future business leaders: consultants, bankers, marketers and the like. I also see my fellow participants in the Wharton curve and I know that somewhere out there, one of you is responsible for my ‘B' in Accounting. You see, Wharton is a high-pressure environment, one that pits its students against the most daunting of obstacles, including, in the case of the curve, each other. But this pressure, which, in my opinion, would cause a normal human to crumble, actually causes a Wharton student to grow stronger. In my four years here, I have witnessed all that the world could throw at us Whartonites. And you know what? We came together, we gave it our all, and as one unyielding force, the Wharton School Class of 2001 defeated every challenge that came our way. This speech is about what we overcame.

Any discussion of the Wharton experience must, of course, begin with Steinberg-Dietrich Hall, or "Steiny-D" as it is affectionately called by its bleary-eyed inhabitants. Steiny-D is the place where we, the world's future business leaders, learned the basics of finance, accounting, and marketing. Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to learn all these basics during daylight hours, and therefore Steiny-D became the late night haven for any Whartonite wishing to figure out the difference between a perpetuity and an annuity. Thus, the Class of 2001 slept in Steiny-D, in the lounges and in the hallways. One day, as I walked past Huntsman Hall, the new Wharton building currently being constructed, I overheard a fellow Whartonite remark, "Gee, I sure hope they're putting some beds in there." And since we slept in Steiny-D, the Class of 2001 also ate in Steiny-D. Only problem is, the dining options at 4am are limited to the vending machines in the basement. And you know you're getting desperate when you're just praying that the party mix you bought for dinner has extra Doritos in it.

But for all our efforts and late nights, the facilities within Steiny-D still teased us. For pressing "print" on one of the lab computers does not mean the confidential business plan you worked on all night will simply appear on the inkjet next to you, but rather it may come out 2 hours later on any one of the 10 printers in the building or even across the street in Vance Hall. To add insult to injury, each student also gets their own mailfolder in Steiny-D in order to receive supposedly important announcements and other news. Each day I would trot expectantly to my mailfolder only to see a stack of junk mail and dump the entire contents into the mixed paper recycling bin placed nearby. And so even as our class spent the better part of our formative years in this unforgiving building, we accepted and cherished it. It became a part of us. Those late nights in Steiny-D are what brought our class together. Eating party mix from a vending machine in the middle of the night while you're knee deep in discount rates produces a sort of camaraderie that just cannot be found elsewhere. I will remember those nights forever.

Of course, all-nighters in Steiny-D were not only thing that our class had to overcome. Difficulties came at us from all angles. I remember promising myself early in my Wharton career that I would not succumb to the pitfalls of recruiting, and that I would find a job on my own. But next thing I knew, I was holding a leather Wharton portfolio and wearing a conservative tie at the Office of On-Campus Recruiting answering brainteasers about jelly beans in a jar. But there, too, our class found strength in numbers. After each interview I would huddle with my classmates to discuss our interviewers and try to figure out the best answer to golden question, "What is your biggest weakness?" Appropriately, none of us could figure it out.

And when we were not counting jelly beans, our class had to deal with being poked fun at by our non-Wharton counterparts. One of my good friends who is in the College of Arts and Sciences is fond of saying that Wharton students can only speak in bullet points. To which I reply: A) That's just not true, B) Many of my classmates are very well spoken, C) Well...I guess he tricked me on that one, but the point is, contrary to popular belief, Wharton students actually deserve more respect since we graduate not only with a grasp of all the nuances of PowerPoint, but also with a similar knowledge of History and English as our liberal arts classmates.

Besides coping with ridicule coming from outside of Wharton, our class also had to learn to work together. One of the most talked-about aspects of the Wharton experience is the infamous Wharton curve, which I alluded to earlier. This mysterious curve, which allots the highest grades to the smallest percentage of each class, could have easily been a source of dissension. But, in my experience, the curve was just another example of a potential hardship that our class not only overcame, but that made us stronger. At no time, whether at 5am in Steiny-D or under the strange, purple buzzing lights of Vance Hall, did I ever feel I was without help. For even with the specter of the curve looming over us, the spirit of our class has always been one of cooperation, not competition. And that is what makes me so proud as I stand here today.

One thing our Wharton experience has taught us is that even though classes are finished and the curve is behind us, finally, we will continue to face challenges and hardship. For instance, even after all the 9am OPIM classes that we had to sit through, did graduation really have to be this early? All kidding aside though, I am confident that each and every one of you sitting before me today will become a great success by meeting any challenge that comes your way. I know this because I have shared your experiences. I too have learned things and made friends that will last a lifetime. I too shared in the burden as our class accomplished what many did not think we could. And so in closing, I say to you, the Wharton School Class of 2001, good luck in all your future endeavors, and wherever your path in life takes you, may your party mix always have extra Doritos.

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