Under 30 summit brings alums back to Philly

The Penn alumni who attended the Forbes Under 30 Summit this week are proof of the university’s mission: educating young people to make positive changes in the world.

The Under 30 Summit, held in Philadelphia from Oct. 19 to Oct. 22, invited over 1,000 professionals under the age of 30 from a variety of fields to meet and share ideas. The summit’s agenda included presentations and information panels as well as parties and a music festival. Influential speakers included Malala Yousafzai and Monica Lewinsky, among many others.

Summit attendee Joyce Meng graduated from the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business in 2008 and pursued a graduate degree at Oxford after receiving a Rhodes scholarship. She then founded Givology, an online philanthropy platform that connects donors to grassroots education projects around the world. Givology is entirely volunteer-run and has currently raised $430,000. For her accomplishments, Meng was honored on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list in the education category this year.

Meng believes that her college experience played a large role in her success. Attending Penn “opened my world,” she said. She cited Penn’s “intellectual community” and “feeling the power that I could actually do something” as prime contributors to her achievements.

In her advice to current students, Meng emphasized the importance of a solid work ethic. She also highlighted the ability of all young people to make a difference in today’s world: “If you don’t see a solution in the world today that satisfies your vision for change, you are completely empowered to go turn it up.”

2009 College graduate Bing Chen also attended the summit. He worked for YouTube as the global head of creator development and management and was recognized by Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Hollywood and Entertainment category in 2014 for work including content development for YouTube. He was also the company’s first brand manager.

Currently, Chen works at media startup Victorious as co-founder and chief creative officer. His Penn background, he said, was important to his success. He emphasized Penn’s focus on interdisciplinary knowledge as well as on pre-professional opportunities as key factors in his professional growth.

Like Meng, Chen offered advice for students looking to reach early success in their careers. His recommendation: “You should be yourself and do what you truly love.”

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