What aspects of business are you passionate about?
I am passionate about sustainability, ESG [environmental, social, and governance] and DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion]. In my first-year summer internship, I worked at MSCI New York, and got to do cool stuff related to ESG. This past summer, I went to Soros Fund Management which is the leader in ESG within finance.
I thought the Turner ESG Fellowship at Wharton ESG Initiative was a great way to get involved and combine my professional interests in ESG and personal passion for it. I’m interested in looking at climate hypocrisy risk, basically people saying they’re engaging in ESG and are not.
I founded the Penn Innovation Network, an ESG innovation club. It could only be created at a place like Wharton. Our board doesn’t just have undergrads. We believe in having a diverse membership and have grad students from Wharton and Engineering, plus the Graduate School of Education, Penn Med, and behavioral sciences.
I appreciate that Wharton is leading the business school world in terms of ESG and making these opportunities available to undergrads.
What has been your favorite class so far and why?
Finance 2380: Capital Markets with Prof. Mike Schwert. Mike was extremely supportive and a fantastic professor, and I am incredibly grateful for what I learned in the class, which really helped me with my summer internship at Soros Fund Management in New York. Additionally, I enjoyed working with my team during case assignments throughout the semester. FNCE 2380 is the best “theory + practice” course I have taken so far!
Which extracurricular achievement are you most proud of?
Being selected by Google to lead as the third Penn Chapter President of Google DSC@Penn. The Google Developer Student Club focuses on building Google developer communities and better understanding the Google technologies. Not only was this role highly selective, but I’m also delighted to be appointed as a non-computer science, non-engineering, non-science major to lead one of the largest and most rapidly growing tech-centric communities in the world. It was a happy surprise. I think Google was impressed or interested in my experience with expanding and leading clubs and my ability to build a community that was diverse, inclusive, and interdisciplinary.
I am proud to be a part of Google’s vision in thinking outside of the box. Google has invited me as one of the selected North America chapter presidents to their leaders’ Connect conference in Sunnyvale, California. I also had the opportunity to present at Google’s 2022 DSC North America Summit.
Hear straight from Sapphira on the best parts of the Google Developer Student Club:
Describe something you’ve learned that you applied to an activity, internship, or project.
In Wharton 2010: Business Communication, I had opportunities to practice concise communication in a presentation-style format. This was very helpful when I was invited to present at Siemens Marketing Masterclasses broadcasted globally. Keeping the presentation direct, concise, and targeted towards my audience ensured successful masterclasses and greatly pleased senior Siemens management.
Top 3 best things about Wharton and/or Philly
- #1 Best thing of Wharton is Philly / #1 Best thing of Philly is Wharton
- #2 Best thing of Wharton is its faculty and students / #2 Best thing of Philly is its diversity
- #3 Best thing of Wharton is its global #1 curriculum / #3 Best thing of Philly is its restaurants
Describe your Wharton/Penn experience so far in six words or less.
Amazingly practical and unexpectedly life-changing!
—Sara Hoover*
*Sara is the Communications Coordinator for Wharton’s Undergraduate Division.
Posted: November 4, 2022
