Select a Wharton MBA course; co-curricular opportunity or extra-curricular engagement that you are interested in. Tell us why you chose this activity and how it connects to your interests.

International development, female entrepreneurship, and social enterprise—it is evident from my personal and professional experiences that I am committed to them all. This will translate at Wharton through my participation in the International Development Club, the Board Leadership Program, and Wharton Women in Business.

My involvement will extend beyond these groups as I focus on leading Out4Biz. As an openly gay woman, I feel it is my imperative to be involved in the leadership of this group. The lack of lesbian role models in business is disappointing; our scarce numbers in MBA programs, concerning. As women are securing greater numbers of top executive positions at U.S. businesses, I want to work to ensure that out lesbians are among those women. At Wharton, I can make a difference through leading one of the largest and most influential LGBT MBA groups in the country.

I understand the responsibility of leadership—I was the co-founder of my high school’s Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) and I served on the board of College’s GSA, the Queer Journal, and a Greek House with the most LGBT students on campus. Independently of these organizations, I worked to create a community of lesbians and a space where we could socialize, dialogue, and exchange ideas. I reached out to women I had never met and brought together a seemingly disparate group—art majors, varsity soccer players, sorority girls, etc. We laughed over our different College experiences and we learned from each other. The underclassman gained perspective. The upperclassman created a home.

I have held leadership positions since 2009 at the Ali Forney Center (AFC), a nonprofit serving LGBT homeless youth. In addition to being on the Oasis Planning Committee, I spent evenings with the AFC kids in their temporary housing. Most of the kids AFC serves were abandoned by their families when they came out. As a result, shame is just the beginning of their association with their sexual orientation. I volunteer at AFC to show these children another side of gay life—a side where being gay doesn’t impede your goals and stop you from living your dream.

Mary Smith (WG ’13) recently told me that Out4Biz is one of the largest student groups on campus, with members of all sexual orientations. As the leader of Out4Biz, I will continue to build those community ties not just at Wharton, but across the Penn campus. Further, my experiences have shown me that role models make a difference. Therefore, I plan to initiate a formal mentoring and training program where Out4Biz members mentor both undergraduate and graduate LGBT students across Penn about the intersection of their sexuality and professional lives. Additionally, Out4Biz members will train allies about creating a business environment that is safe and inviting for LGBT people.

Wharton students are tomorrow’s leaders. They will soon set standards for their teams, offices, and companies across the globe. What I want to start at Wharton will hopefully reverberate across all of those companies and create positive change for the LGBT community worldwide.