Wharton, Dream to Reality in T-Minus a Couple of Days…

“Mom, Dad, I’m going to Wharton!” That’s how the conversation went that Nov. 6, 2013, morning. 

I needed to be pinched then, and I still do. 

Five months after that phone call, on April 6, 2014, I start my adventure at Wharton in the study of Strategic Planning — one of my favorite topics to learn about. 

Being taught by Wharton’s professors, alongside motivated, driven, bright CU minds is something I’ve looked forward since Tim McAlpine announced my name as the winner. This day has been waited for with much anticipation and I haven’t even started to think about packing my bags. I just barely got my suits to the cleaners in time to have them ready to go. I think I need a personal assistant, but that’s a whole other blog post…

In the months, weeks and days leading up to Wharton, I’ve been super busy. Winter and spring of 2014 has proved to be one of the busiest of my life — in a good way of course — and this trip to Wharton is the professional highlight of the year thus far. 

Looking forward to the class ahead, I haven’t completed all of the reading yet, but I still have a few days and some air time to fulfill the requirements. (Never fear, my highlighters are ready!) Regardless, I’ve already been dreaming about how I can use the lessons to be learned in conjunction with the Buy Local program here at Maps. Lately, there have been some exciting times in my head surrounding the Buy Local program!

My hopes for the CEO Institute at Wharton is to be the biggest sponge, ever. This is a once in a lifetime experience, and I plan to be focused on thoroughly understanding my studies and networking with those around me. Both the academic portion of the CEO Institute and the relational side are invaluable experiences. 

After looking at the class roster and everyone’s titles, I realized I’m very much in the minority—no CEO, CFO, or SVP after my name—but that will only make for a very rich experience as others will be bringing their own expertise and wisdom to the class room. With all that is about to happen, all huddled into a classroom for one week, and with the platform of learning that is Wharton, I can’t wait to soak up everything that comes my way. 

I know these topics, experiences and relationships will be applicable to any role I have within the CU, and I look forward to coming home and running with the wisdom I gain from the Wharton experience.

Amanda