Page 39 - BEQ Magazine Iss 19

allies, faculty and the business
community. More than this though,
it gave me renewed energy and
confidence that we can truly move
the needle forward, creating a
diverse, equitable and inclusive WATCH
community not just at Wharton, BEQTV
but beyond. Each of us can be a
part of making the broader change Erika James,
Dean of The
we want to see, and it all starts by Wharton School,
carefully evaluating our own teams, speaks with
organizations and communities. students during
How will you play a role? WEDIG Week .
excluded from clubs’ social events or wearing Learn more about WEDIG at
club-branded Patagonia quarter-zips because groups.wharton.upenn.edu/wedig. 
of the cost was definitely impactful. But further,
students talked about actionable ways that clubs Javion Joyner is a rising senior at the Wharton School of the
University of Pennsylvania studying Business Economics & Public
could work to include FGLI students, and made Policy and Legal Studies & Business Ethics. Javion is a former
recommendations for the creation of specific FGLI co-chair and current member of the Wharton Equity, Diversity &
mentorship programs. Inclusion Group, a student organization dedicated to improving
As someone already passionate about DEI, underrepresented students’ belonging in Wharton. Follow him on
hearing various participants’ perspectives on the LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/javionjoyner/
reasons they care about the topic was especially
powerful. During a multicultural town hall event
with student leaders from several of Wharton’s
affinity groups, including Wharton Alliance for R e s u l t s f r o m . . .
LGBTQ+ students, Black Wharton Undergraduate
Association and others, students shared their
connection to DEI with a beautiful range of answers.
From constantly feeling like the “only one” in many
rooms to recognizing that being surrounded by
A p r i l 6 - 9 t h , 2 0 2 1
diverse perspectives makes each of us better in a
globalizing world, each of these influences gave yet 8 v i r t u a l e v e n t s , 1 7 0 + s t u d e n t s
another reason to stay actively engaged especially Hosted 8 virtual events that exposed/educated over 170 + students on
1
topics including how to be an ally, how to tell your story, and where to
after a fatiguing virtual semester. find certain DEI-related communities and resources on campus.
Though everyone was passionate about DEI for C o l l a b o r a t e d w i t h B A s t u d e n t s
M
different reasons, seeing people come together was Participated in a fireside chat with Dean James about her vision for DEI
2 at Wharton with MBA students from the ROE (Return on Equity) club.
both inspiring and a symbol of a community forming
Set the intention to continue to collaborate with ROE in the future.
where no one would be the “only one” in the room.
F a c i l i t a t e d p r o g r e s s i v e c o n v e r s a t i o n s
I saw the drive students and collaborators had to
Facilitated conversations with Wharton multi-cultural groups (ex: Black
collectively push our School and the business world Wharton, Wharton Latino, Wharton Aisa Exchange, etc) and all the Penn
3 Cultural Houses (ex: LGBTQ house, La Casa Latina, Makuu, etc). Set the
forward. WEDIG Week felt like a manifestation of the intention for more cross-community events in the future.
past struggles for DEI, combined with an analysis of
the present state of our School and inspiration to 4 5 + s t u d e n t s / f a c u l t y i n o u r v i d e o s
Inspired over 45 + students and faculty like Angela Duckworth, Adam
change its future. 4 Grant, Gad Allon, Katherine Klein, and Stephanie Creary to create 60-
Going into senior year, WEDIG Week reminded second videos articulating the value of DEI in Wharton community.
me that there is substantial work to be done. F i r s t o f m a n y W E D I G W e e k s t o c o m e !
Many people will need to get involved, including Uploaded the conversations during WEDIG Week online for everyone
5
to see! WEDIG Week can be used as a model for DEI festivals in the
future! Thank you everyone for the support!
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