Manali Desai shares reflections and gratitude from The Wharton School 15th year reunion.
A few reflections from my The Wharton School 15th year reunion this weekend.
Firstly, true friendships really stand the test of time. No matter how many years have passed, we somehow pick up exactly where we left off. Beneath the titles and professional achievements which are significant, are people who have lived through monumental life changes such as loss of loved ones, career pivots, layoffs, children, relocations, reinventions. What stood out were conversations about mental and physical health and how considerate, grounded, kind and genuinely supportive everyone continues to be.
Friendships forged during formative years evolve, but never erode. Grateful for my Cohort H, Leadership fellows and my India Club family for genuinely being there for each other!
Secondly, almost everyone seems to be working on AI in some form or other. There’s excitement, urgency, experimentation and an acknowledgment that nobody really knows where this wave will land. However, being ok with the ambiguity and being resilient stood out as two attributes everyone is trying to embody through the changes.
Thirdly, great professors are truly master craftsmen. The best ones created an environment where our experiences easily connected to their frameworks. They asked questions that forced reflection, drew insights from unrelated perspectives, and synthesized it all into something coherent and profound. Sitting back in those classrooms reminded me why lifelong learning is a necessity for reinvention.
Lastly, the value of places like The Wharton School isn’t only what you learn while you’re there. It’s the lessons and the people you carry with you long after you leave.