As a leader in global business, Wharton is committed to sustaining "a truly global presence through its engagement in the world." What goals are you committed to and why? How do you envision the Wharton MBA contributing to the attainment of those goals.

Sample One

When I first stepped foot on the African continent 10 years ago my life was forever changed. I was entranced by the diversity of her wildlife and by the generosity of her people. However, the delicate balance between the land requirements of rare and increasingly threatened species and the needs of the fastest growing human population on the planet, is among the most fragile anywhere on earth. Ensuring that both wildlife and people have enough resources, enough land, and enough food is a daily challenge. I have committed my life to conserving Africa’s unique biodiversity for the long-term benefit of her people. We are losing roughly 13 million hectares of forest annually, an area the size of Florida. Further, one species goes extinct every 20 minutes and our warming climate poses additional, yet unknown threats. Despite the $8 billion spent annually on international conservation, it is clear the current mechanisms for protecting biodiversity are insufficient. Everything I have done in my life, from my Masters in Conservation to the past six years with GreenWorld has been to conserve Africa’s wildlife. In my experience, careers in conservation focus on the scientific aspects of conservation. Unfortunately, scientific solutions are not always compatible with short term economic interests of communities and governments, and therefore rarely get the support they need to be implemented. Conservation scientists are passionate about wildlife but are often ill-equipped with the essential management skills that are critical to achieve their lofty goals. In addition, many conservation groups are run by scientists who are learning key management skills on the fly. In Africa, poor management of conservation efforts combined with the realities of working where corruption and nepotism are rife, leads to gross inefficiencies and a waste of precious financial and human resources. Sadly, passion alone is no longer enough to ensure the safety of this planet for ourselves or our children. With a Wharton MBA, I hope to change this paradigm through the application of business, financial, and management concepts acquired in the core MBA curriculum; ultimately pioneering a new wave of thinking about the conservation solutions being designed on the ground. I seek to make radical changes in the effectiveness of conservation organizations and across the industry. Nearly all of the root problems in conservation are grounded in macro-economic theory and I hope to learn ways to quantify these problems and craft solutions to them. I have worked with a range of different groups, including high-level government ministers, village chiefs, scientists, loggers, and local women’s groups. When we are working to identify and establish new national parks, the principal questions on their minds are not what species are endemic to the park or what types of ecosystems it contains, but how many jobs will be created and what types of revenue streams will be generated. Conservationists are notoriously poor at ‘selling’ conservation strategies and quantifying the benefits that will accrue from protecting pristine habitats. With a Wharton MBA, I will learn how to effectively market the benefits of African biodiversity to different constituents. Upon completion of my MBA, I aim to work for a green consulting firm such as Planet Blue, which helps organizations become more sustainable by reducing their overall environmental and carbon footprint. In time, I would like to be among the emerging ranks of Chief Sustainability Officers, applying the scientific and managerial skills as well as the experience I have acquired in practice to bring about change in a major multinational company. In the long term, I plan to develop my own organization with a specific focus on conserving African biodiversity in highly threatened regions on the continent. For both my short and long term goals, Wharton is the best place for me to pursue my goal of transforming the conservation industry. First, Wharton’s global network and breadth is the best in the world. Second, many Wharton alumni with whom I have spoken describe the ‘family’ style connections among Wharton graduates, which appeals to my values regarding the importance of community. The Initiative for Global Environmental Leadership (IGEL) merges perfectly with my previous environmental background and my future goals. I would like to assist companies not only in minimizing their environmental risk but also in reducing their footprint in order to build a more sustainable business. The Environmental Sustainability and Value Creation course will help me achieve this goal. Courses in Risk Analysis and Environmental Management and Cost-Benefit Analysis will also assist me in convincing companies and governments that incorporating sustainability into business models and political decisions is truly profitable for corporations, shareholders and local communities. Further, the annual IGEL green conference hosted at Wharton will provide me with the opportunity to make the key contacts within this rapidly growing industry. In addition, I’d like to be involved with several clubs and community events. As an avid rugby player, I am excited about the possibility of organizing an overseas rugby tour during my time with the club. The Wharton Social Impact club is what is truly appealing to me, particularly the Net Impact conference that students organized at Wharton last year. I hope to bring a similar style conference to Wharton, focusing on private sector sustainability and climate change under the umbrella of the Social Impact Club. In sum, I feel that the ethos and reach of the alumni network, the world class courses offered, and the conferences and clubs hosted at Wharton are all an ideal match for my goal of transforming the conservation sector. Time is of the essence. Our climate is warming, and our population is growing despite diminishing, finite resources. We must learn to live not only within our financial limits, but also within our ecological limits. Global conservation organizations will never have the capacity to do this alone; we need support from the best business minds to tackle this problem. For me, a Wharton MBA is a key step towards reversing this trend and truly altering the trajectory of life on earth.

Sample Two

According to Ernst & Young, investments in cleantech reached a record $4.7 billion in 2008, up 68 percent over 2007, and up over an astonishing 2,000% since 2002. Green energy and cleantech will define my generation, and I am committed to becoming a leader in the global energy revolution. My long-term career goal is to become a partner at a cleantech private equity firm in order to ensure energy for future generations, improve national security, and preserve our environment.

I want to play a leadership role in creating, discovering, funding, and nurturing economically feasible, price-competitive alternatives to dirty energy and to effectively guide capital to meet those aims. I am committed to cleantech private equity for three reasons. First, I’ve inherited my parents’ passion for protecting the environment. As entrepreneurs and scientists, my parents, both Chinese immigrants, built their lives around a laboratory dedicated to environmental testing. In 2005, I joined forces with my father to form Pacific Biodiesel; my involvement with biofuels gave me a firsthand view of the promise and potential of cleantech. Second, finance has been a passion of mine since childhood, when I tracked equities in The Los Angeles Times and opened my first digital trading account with allowance money. My childhood love of the market led me to study International Relations and focus on International Finance, adding an academic and professional dimension to my lifelong interest. Third, as a combat veteran, I am motivated to ensure that energy resources are abundant and sustainable, giving nations one less reason to go to war and to ask their men and women to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Wharton will prepare me to meet these challenges and has espoused a commitment to green energy and social responsibility that I try to follow in my own life, through its Initiative for Global Environmental Leadership. In June of 2009, Scientific American named the University of Pennsylvania among the top 25 Green Energy Leaders; it was the only academic institution to receive the distinction.

An MBA from Wharton will enable me to make the transition from management consulting to private equity. As a consultant, I have sized markets, analyzed SWOTs, and developed quantitative and qualitative research techniques. As early as 2007 I was leading projects on my own including a study to develop market penetration strategies and scenarios in the regional jet market for Spirit Aerosystems, a multibillion dollar aircraft structures manufacturer. Based on my recommendations, Spirit has expanded into a standalone aero-structures supplier, breaking out of its captive supplier position by broadening its customer base. My five years as a consultant coupled with my military training and leadership have provided me with a solid foundation from which to begin my MBA. A Wharton MBA will allow me to integrate the lessons I have learned in both pursuits and provide me with the managerial knowledge, cross-functional business acumen, and formal leadership training required of a successful private equity professional.

Wharton’s Finance and Business and Public Policy majors will be my focus. As a Finance major, I will learn from one of the best finance faculties in the world and study the intersection of finance and cleantech with the guidance of academic leaders such as Jeremy Siegel, an icon in finance and a thought leader in cleantech, and Sidney G. Winter, known for his insights into the convergence of capital markets and cleantech. In addition to a strong knowledge of finance, a solid understanding of Public Policy will be important in the cleantech sector, as many emerging cleantech companies have relied on government assistance to be able to compete with entrenched “dirty energy” companies. As a Wharton MBA candidate studying Business and Public Policy, I will be able to learn about regulation, oversight and policy from renowned professors such as Elizabeth Bailey, who is known for her research and commentaries on government regulation. In-depth conversations with several Wharton students, including the Veteran’s Club Vice President of admissions and the Energy Club’s Vice President of external affairs, have provided me with an appreciation for Wharton’s diverse and dynamic student community. Wharton is the right place for me to build the relationships that I will need to champion future cleantech investments. I look forward to playing a leadership role in the Energy Club and participating in cleantech treks, thereby laying the foundation for a successful career in cleantech. Wharton will prepare me to be a leader at the international level. As a military veteran, I look forward to joining Wharton’s Veteran’s Club. Wharton’s global mindset is evidenced by the fact that Wharton holds foreign veterans in the same regard as U.S. veterans. As a student at the Infantry Officer’s Basic Course, I had the pleasure of being a student liaison and guide to an officer from Swaziland. It was a tremendous cultural learning experience that resulted in a lifelong friendship. Wharton’s global network and mindset are well-suited to the pursuit of a career in cleantech, as clean energy strategies and private equity capital demand a global perspective.

I am very excited about Wharton’s collaborative learning environment, which enables students to benefit from the experiences, knowledge, and passion of their classmates. My military experience will allow me to flourish in this setting. As a mentor to officer candidates and a combat advisor in Afghanistan, I have excelled in the role of teacher and mentor and will continue to do so at Wharton. According to Benjamin Franklin, one of the founders of the University of Pennsylvania, if you put successful and intelligent people into one room and engage the group in a Socratic-style debate and discussion, great things will happen. Wharton embodies Franklin’s ideal, and I would be honored to be a part of this robust and energetic community and learning environment.