Believe me, I still can’t believe I got in either.

Wharton Essays

How do you plan to use the Wharton MBA program to help you achieve your future professional goals? You might consider your past experience, short and long‐term goals, and resources available at Wharton. (500 words)

As the world becomes increasingly digitised and technological development surges ahead, I envision myself at the forefront of product development in the Technology industry, ensuring the developing world isn’t left behind. As I progress in my career, I’d like to become a thought leader and progress from executing projects to directly influencing long-term product strategy. In the short-term, I hope to use the Wharton MBA to pivot to Strategy at a Technology company where I can continue developing digital products to address global societal problems. A Wharton MBA would supplement the technical executional skills I gained as a Penn Engineering undergrad with business acumen, allowing me to develop into a well-rounded Technology leader.

Throughout my career, I’ve sought opportunities to use technology to enhance people’s daily lives. Social media is a powerful tool but there are several bad actors who take advantage of users by hacking their accounts and stealing their information. At Meta, I collaborated extensively with partners in Product, Engineering, Design and Research to bring to life a new product that enhanced account security across Facebook, Instagram and Messenger. This role highlighted to me that it’s imperative to have varied perspectives when working on a project: technical innovation doesn’t happen in a vacuum and needs input from all stakeholders. The Learning Team model at Wharton would be an ideal way for me to continue developing my teamwork and communication skills and grow into a persuasive leader who can partner effectively with different stakeholders.

My position at JPMorgan Chase not only exposed me to a different application of technology products, but also to the financial side of the business. In leading the data strategy for an AI/ML use case at the firm, I have had to balance customer satisfaction with business value. Whilst this has been an opportunity for me to learn how digital products bring in revenue for the firm, the Wharton MBA would allow me to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between technology and business. Majoring in Operations, Information and Decisions and taking courses such as ‘Operations Strategy’ would help me understand what makes digital products profitable. ‘Product Management’ will give me insight into the end-to-end process of creating and managing a product. Wharton’s unique academic offering would also allow me to take courses at Penn Engineering, where I could continue sharpening my technical skills as I develop business acumen. The Lauder program would enhance my global perspective, ensuring that I could act as a responsible global Technology leader in our increasingly globalised and digitised world.

My undergraduate experience in Penn Engineering gave me a solid foundation upon which to embark on the initial part of my career journey. I believe Wharton is the best place for me to continue building on that foundation: the combination of Wharton’s interdisciplinary academic program, unparalleled alumni network, and tight-knit community is a winning formula that would launch me into my future career as a product leader in the Tech industry.

Lauder Essays

Discuss why you are applying to the Lauder Institute, detailing specific reasons, experiences, and background for choosing your Program of Concentration, as well as your interest in further study in that Program. Applicants to Programs of Concentration involving language study (Africa-French; East and Southeast Asia; Europe; Latin America; South Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa) should also discuss what they hope to gain from advanced language and cultural education, as well as describe how they have learned the language they will study (e.g. undergraduate courses, undergraduate major, etc.). Finally, please describe how you see yourself benefiting from, and contributing to, the Lauder community. (800 words)

“We will make a plan” – the traditional Zimbabwean response to adversity

Growing up in Zimbabwe was a lesson in tenacity. An unreliable electricity supply? Get the diesel generator up and running so the lights stay on all night. Taps running dry? Sink boreholes into the ground to get access to water. My childhood is littered with lessons in perseverance, but for me the most memorable was a masterclass in digital innovation.

On the reintroduction of the Zimbabwe dollar after the 2008 hyperinflation crisis, there was a severe shortage of cash. Each day, scores of Zimbabweans would meet disappointment after queuing for hours on end outside the bank in the hope of withdrawing cash. Never deterred, crafty Zimbabweans did what we always do – came up with a plan. If we couldn’t exchange money physically, why not exchange money digitally? In a matter of weeks, a rapid transformation swept across the country: the adoption of mobile money payments. This spectacular movement opened my eyes to the power of technology in solving societal problems and inspired me to embark on a career in the Technology industry.

When I started my career at Meta, the company mission, ‘Bringing the world closer together’, resonated strongly with me. Living half a world away from my family and a daily (power) user of Facebook, Instagram and Messenger, we were in constant communication and I never felt like I was missing out on what was happening at home. During my time on the Instagram Well-being team, I came to fully understand the sheer scale of the company’s operations across the globe and the ways that social media could have adverse effects on its users. As engineers raced to develop the latest tech, nefarious actors would find ways to spread propaganda, harass consumers or commit fraud. Whilst we aspired to bring the world closer together, we were simultaneously amplifying the threat to our users as bad actors were able to act across a larger geographical network. Whilst the goal of policy protection is to minimise harm to consumers, policy often lags behind technological advancement, and in the meantime, harm is done to innocent consumers. I believe it is imperative that us engineers prioritise responsible innovation instead of waiting for policymakers to act.

We are living in an era where the rate of technological development has never been faster and coupled with increasing globalisation and increasing access to the internet, the world is becoming smaller and smaller. As the world is rapidly transforming, I am eager to participate in this explosion of growth on the African continent. I’ve witnessed firsthand how technology can uplift the Zimbabwean people, and I believe there are a myriad of opportunities for me to use my technical skills to transform not just my country, but the continent and even the world. I believe combining the Wharton MBA with the Lauder Institute’s Africa Program will give me a well-rounded education at the intersection of technology, business and public policy, and equip me with the business acumen and intercultural discipline I need to develop into a Technology leader who champions responsible innovation in Africa and across the globe.

Minoring in French and studying abroad in Lyon as an undergraduate gave me a solid foundation in French language skills, however, it wasn’t until I took a class on Gender and Development in Africa in Fall 2019 that I began to consider the differences between Anglophone and Francophone Africa. Lauder’s Africa program would allow me to build on this foundation with additional African cultural education which would allow me to develop into a Technology leader who is sensitive to the impact of their products across different geographical regions.

During the ‘Women and Allies’ campus visit day last September, I had the opportunity to hear from the admissions committee about Lauder’s dynamic community. Meeting with [x] (Class of 2025) energised me to join the Lauder community as he spoke fondly of the rich exchanges within Lauder that add a global dimension to the Wharton discussions. Having grown up in Zimbabwe, studied in the US, Argentina and France, and worked in South Africa, I will contribute insights from my international experience in the Technology industry to the discussions at Lauder by actively participating inside the classroom. Outside the classroom, I hope to cultivate community by leveraging my event planning skills on-campus through Wharton’s Africa Students Association and off-campus through Lauder’s annual CultureQuest.

I believe the Lauder Institute will facilitate my development into a globally oriented Technology leader who builds inclusive products that serve those in both the developing and developed world. I believe the interactions with the diverse Lauder community both inside and outside the classroom will enrich my global perspective and this exposure will contribute to my development as a leader who thinks globally.

Describe a challenging intercultural or politically sensitive situation where you had to navigate a difference in perspective or opinion. Explain how you handled it and any lessons learned. (200 words)

At the end of my freshman year of college, I travelled to Buenos Aires as part of a Penn Engineering course on Renewable Energy. As part of the summer course, we collaborated with Engineering students at the Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires (ITBA) to construct solar water heaters for community centres.

We hadn’t met the ITBA students prior to our arrival in Buenos Aires and instantly clashed on multiple topics related to the design of the solar water heaters, delegation of work and general engineering practices. Due to differences in cultural and educational backgrounds as well as the language barrier, we found ourselves increasingly being sidelined on the jobsite and the project’s progress stalled.

I noticed this disconnect was primarily due to the lack of trust on both sides. I suggested to our professor that we spend more time with the ITBA students off the jobsite so we could get to know each other in a relaxed environment to alleviate the tension in our working group. This experience was my first true test of delivering a project from conception to realisation and taught me the value of collaboration in ensuring that a project can run smoothly.