Wharton Leadership Ventures 25th Anniversary
Since 1999, the Wharton Leadership Ventures (WLV) has challenged our students to lead through uncertainty, connect deeply with others, and discover their own capacity for impact. The lessons learned on these expeditions stay with our participants — for life. This year, WLV marks an incredible milestone — 25 years of transformative experiences that have extended the classroom, putting students in ambiguous and challenging environments to create experiences that participants and Venture Fellows (VF) can draw on for a lifetime, both personally and professionally.
To celebrate, we have launched the 25th Anniversary Fundraising Expedition. This expedition will strengthen and sustain WLV for the next 25 years of impact, supporting new expeditions, expanding access, and ensuring the VF program's sustainability in perpetuity. Through this expedition, we aim to:
- Expand the Venture Fellows Program, empowering more students to lead and facilitate transformational experiences.
- Develop new Ventures and Intensives, building and sustaining partnerships with world-class expedition leaders as well as fire, EMS, military, and space organizations.
- Increase access for students with financial need, ensuring all Wharton students can participate in these life-changing expeditions.
- Honor our founding leader, Professor Mike Useem, whose bold vision launched Wharton Leadership Ventures 25 years ago.
We hope you will join us on this fundraising expedition, learn something new and/or reconnect with WLV, and, most importantly, understand the value of experiential learning and its impact on our students.
Thank you for helping us lead from the front,
The Wharton Leadership Ventures Team,
Mike Useem, Jeff Klein, Jules Roy, Erica Montemayor, and Kellie Vetter
Watch our WLV 25th Anniversary Video
What are Leadership Ventures?
Leadership Ventures are goal-oriented immersive experiences designed to facilitate self-discovery, leadership development, and character building. Participants experiment with different leadership approaches, receive real-time feedback, and step outside of their comfort zones to overcome physical and mental challenges in team-based, high-pressure environments.
There are two types of Leadership Ventures: Expeditions and Intensives.
• Expeditions are outdoor, experiential learning treks that provide genuine environments of uncertainty and challenge. Expeditions range from 6 to 8-day overnight trips and can be physically intense.
• Intensives are consolidated and immersive group-based experiences ranging from 1-2 days. They provide genuine environments of uncertainty and challenge.
Who are Venture Fellows?
The purpose of the Venture Fellows (VFs) is to seek and facilitate growth in ourselves and Venture participants. We aim to do this through responsible outdoor adventuring and leadership development activities in experiential settings. We lead by example to find ways to serve and improve the communities around us.
VFs are Wharton students - undergraduate and graduate - focused on the highest standards of self and peer development. Their tasks include:
• Logistics management to make the Ventures happen (each VF is generally tagged to one Venture)
• Coach participants to support their learning process and help achieve their goals
• Lead by example within the Wharton community to demonstrate the VF ethos
• Promote the WLV program and be a strong brand ambassador
•Utilize skill sets and find impactful ways to improve the WLV program and leave it better for future classes
“You go faster when you are alone,” says Wharton Leadership Ventures alum Serhan Seçmen WG'06, “but you go farther when you’re part of a team.”
Thank you for your support!
We’d love to hear your story! Click the button below to share Why You Give and what makes this campaign meaningful to you.
McNulty Leadership Program
The Wharton School
Wharton Leadership Ventures
https://leadership.wharton.upenn.edu/
wlvalumni@wharton.upenn.edu
