Aaron Karo knew just several months after starting his job on Wall Street that his true calling was not in business.
"While I was working, I said to myself, 'I can't tuck my shirt in anymore,'" said Karo, a burgeoning comedian who graduated from Wharton in 2001. "I needed to be untucked and unshaven all the time."
Since that time, Karo has gone on to write a follow-up book to his original best seller entitled Ruminations on College Life, which started from an e-mail he used to send to 20 of his best friends starting during his freshman year in the Quadrangle.
The book, which tells funny stories and anecdotes from Karo's time at Penn, has served as what he calls an "unofficial guide" to college for students across the country.
"I think he has a pretty accurate portrayal of Penn and most other schools," said College sophomore Lindsay Zucker, who read his first book. "His stories became much more real once I got to Penn."
Since its start in September 1997, his online column has grown to 40,000 subscribers, and it is e-mailed every other Monday.
His new book, called Ruminations on Twentysomething Life and available through Simon & Schuster publishing, will be released on May 3, and Karo is expecting success similar to that of his first book.
"This book pretty much picks up where the last one left off, which was the end of college," Karo said. "It's all about the early 20s, or as I like to call it, the 'Whatever Years,' and deals with living with my roommates and drinking and trying to pick up girls."
The 208-page compilation of stories is organized into topic chapters and is a mix between tales from his online column and some brand-new material written specifically for the book.
After graduating from Wharton in 2001, Karo worked in equity research at an investment bank on Wall Street for 13 months before deciding to follow his developing career in comedy.
"I really had no intentions of [going into comedy full-time]. Even though I had the material from my college column, I still wasn't sure about everything," Karo said.
However, after his first book continued its success and he was offered a second book deal, Karo knew it was time for a career change.
"I would not change anything in terms of working there. It was a great experience and gave me some perspective on the real world, and most entertainers haven't had that," Karo said.
His success blossomed after the growth of the online column and the rising sales of his first book, which is now in its seventh printing.
"People always ask me about the book, and it really means a lot to me how popular it has become," Karo said.
Since then, Karo has completed work on his new book and is currently touring in support of it. He recently performed at both the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin. Karo also put on a show last fall at Penn's Steinhardt Hall.
"I would love to come back to Penn next year. It's almost like coming home," he said.
Karo, who tours both college campuses and comedy clubs, is also currently working on a possible TV show spinoff from his popular book and e-mail series.
He recently finished a pilot script for the show and has a deal with 20th Century Fox. It is currently called The Whatever Years.
"Basically, it's a pretty similar concept to [Ruminations on Twentysomething Life], and right now we are just looking for a network to pick it up," Karo said.
For now, however, Karo will continue to promote his new book and can only hope it will see the same popularity as its predecessor.
"I'm working harder now than I did on Wall Street," he said.
