Community-building at Wharton takes on a new shape

By: Arie Barendrecht (WG '10) Contributing Writer

Posted: 4/20/09

Despite the various perspectives thriving within the Wharton student body, there seems to be one pervasive understanding that most people agree upon: the fact that Wharton's greatest asset is its student community. That being the case, the WGA's core objective in the next year is to increase the quality and opportunity for interaction and relationship-building between students. These interactions will foster a stronger sense of community and will collectively increase our ties to the school. In other words, the WGA is working to create ways for people to branch out of their cohorts and classes, make great new friends, support one another, and have a fantastic time doing it.

As an example, at the beginning of Pre-Term this year, every single incoming Wharton student will be contacted by a 2nd year student as part of the new 1st/2nd Year Buddy Program. 1st years will have the opportunity to receive guidance on waiver exams, extracurriculars, Philadelphia living, and just general life questions from someone who has been through it all before and probably hit a few stumbles along the way. 2nd years will be able to serve as trusted resource in a role that might have been lacking last summer, and will quickly get to know the 1st year class. The WGA aims to support the program by creating specific events, such as coffee meet-ups, to encourage buddies to meet in person and hang out.

Additionally, next year will mark the reemergence of a long-standing tradition at Wharton that the WGA is incredibly excited about - the Cohort Cup. The Cup is a year-long competition that will pair WG'10 ("Big") and WG'11 ("Little") cohorts in battles against each other in events ranging from the athletic (i.e. Dodge Ball Tournament) to the community service-related (i.e. Rebuilding Together). The objective of the Cohort Cup is to foster fun and meaningful interaction between 1st /2nd years and within cohorts, while encouraging participation in some of Wharton's most exciting and memorable events. The Cup will include 6-8 events throughout the year, and a scoreboard will be posted on SPIKE to keep students up to date on the action. The Cohort Cup champions will receive a significant prize at the end of the year, but it will pale in comparison to the fame and glory that will undoubtedly accompany the victory for the rest of time.

To encourage 2nd year participation and enthusiasm for these community building events, the WGA hascreatedthepositionof"CohortCaptain." Cohort Captains will work with Social Chairs to maintain a strong sense of cohort-community throughout the 2nd year of school, ensuring that we all remain engaged and connected to each other throughout our time at Wharton. With twelve 2nd year student leaders focused and committed to generating increased interaction, the WGA strongly believes that the Cohort Captains will be able make a significant impact on our collective student experience.

The initiation of these community-focused programs means that the Class of 2010 has the fortunate opportunity to found long-standing traditions that will carry on at Wharton from year to year and will become integral parts of student life. The success of these programs depends on the interest and commitment of the current student body, but the impact of our efforts could last much longer than our short time here at school. At this point there is just one question left - which cohort is up to the challenge of earning the title of inaugural Champion of the new Cohort Cup? It's up to us, and the Class of 2011, to soon find an answer.