Black Wharton executive board commences 50th anniversary events with College Hall photo shoot

The Black Wharton Undergraduate Association’s Executive Board hosted a photo shoot to celebrate the organization’s 50th year at Penn on Sunday.

The Nov. 2 event, which took place outside College Hall, commemorated Black Wharton’s decades on campus and was attended by student leaders of the organization’s subcommittee. In an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian, Wharton senior and Black Wharton president Leah Elesinmogun described the event as representative of the organization’s larger purpose. 

“We’re able to really make an impact within the Black community at Penn when it comes to professional development, family, recruiting, internships —just any advice a Black Penn student would need,” Elesinmogun said. 

College junior and 50th Year Celebration Chair Zora Edwards similarly told the DP that the organization hopes to celebrate Black Wharton’s history and connect alumni with current students. 

“We’ve invited a bunch of alumni to come and celebrate fifty years of Black Wharton and [are] showing them what we’ve done, what we’ve achieved, but also celebrat[ing] that history,” Edwards said. 

The group’s upcoming anniversary has drawn significant attention and engagement from alumni, but Edwards said that Black Wharton’s strong post-graduate network has benefited members beyond the organization’s 50th year. 

According to Wharton junior Anikwe Duru — who serves as a co-chair of the Howard E. Mitchell Memorial Conference — Black Wharton’s alumni network has created “a pipeline that they’ve built over the course of the years.”

Florence Onyiuke, a senior in Penn’s Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business, also noted the group’s connections with the greater Philadelphia community. 

Onyiuke, who serves as co-director of Black Wharton Consulting, said the group “is more about wanting to give back to Black community members in West Philadelphia" in contrast with other on-campus consulting clubs which attract “people who really want to go into the consulting industry.”

For the Executive Board, celebrating 50 years on campus is an important reminder of Black students’ presence and progress. 

“I think the 50th year is a testament to Black excellence at Penn,” Gbemi Olarewaju, a sophomore in Penn’s Life Sciences and Management program sophomore and HEMM co-chair said. 

Duru added that the group’s work “speaks to the legacy of Black Wharton at this school,” adding that it was an “incredible honor” to serve in a board position. 

Elesinmogun expressed a similar sentiment, adding that “it’s definitely a privilege to be President during the 50th year.”

“I definitely will say that I didn’t understand the gravity until I got into the role,” Elesinmogun said. “Even just hearing everyone’s story about how Black Wharton has impacted them for the past 50 years, and the presence it has here on Penn’s campus has made this experience such a privilege, and I definitely don’t take it for granted.”

Though the event celebrates Black Wharton’s past, many Board members pointed to the group’s future. 

“I know I’m going to be involved when I graduate, which is very exciting,” Edwards said. “Fifty years in, we’re not even halfway. We’re going to keep doing this for as long as we can, up until Penn shuts down.”

---