Black Wharton association hosts business forum

In memory of Howard Mitchell, the first tenured African American professor at the Wharton School of Business, the Black Wharton Undergraduate Association held a two-day forum last weekend on the job opportunities available to blacks entering the business world. The event -- entitled "The Howard E. Mitchell Forum" -- allowed participants from across the nation to take advantage of the esteem in which the business world holds the school, according to Wharton junior Miki Toliver. Drawing representatives from more than 15 major corporations, the forum's career fair allowed students to network and see how they might fit into the business world. Wharton sophomore Jamarr Delauney attentively watched and listened to the movements, posture and speech of Kaplan Molray, a 1994 Wharton graduate who returned to recruit as a company representative for Citibank. "I see someone who's overcome all the challenges already, who's been where I am now and has made it," Delauney said after a presentation by Molray. "I look at him and see the future and what I want to be." After hearing of Delauney's aspirations, Molray expressed the pride he felt about returning as a role model to give the students he once shared classes with an opportunity to look towards the future. Yuriel Layne, a Wharton senior and president of BWUA, explained that the interaction between Delauney and Molray reflected the absence of African American mentors in the academic community. Layne added that the importance of mentorship is crucial in the business world because it provides students with the chance to meet "someone whose been through what you're trying to do and you can see yourself being." Rafique Symonette, a Wharton junior and vice president of BWUA, explained that the small number of blacks with upper management positions in the business world make it difficult for black students to find a suitable mentor. "There are not many blacks in upper management and it is discouraging," Symonette said. "Traditionally many blacks have had a hard time being pushed in the right directions." Symonette cited the "velvet ghetto jobs" -- which typically place blacks in lower-level company divisions -- as causing the lack of black representation in upper management positions. Proctor and Gamble representative Bill Clawson, a 1992 Wharton graduate and a veteran of 25 career fairs, remembered the excitement and enthusiasm with which he approached company representatives as a student. "I can see the excitement of exploring goals and meeting the people that can help to achieve them," he said. "It's a reflection on easier times, looking back on the innocence you once hand -- it's different on the other side of the table." The BWUA -- which sponsored the 12th annual forum -- is open to students with an interest in business and a desire to learn the skills necessary to succeed in the corporate world. "It's about coming together with people with shared experiences to talk about," Wharton junior Jean-Pierre Lespinasse said. "It's an opportunity to learn how to act in front of corporate reps -- what things to do and what not to do."