Wharton@Work

February 2025 | 

Charting a Future in Finance with Wharton Academy

For Jaden Palmer-Waldron, a sophomore at Morehouse College and a Philadelphia native, the opportunity to attend Wharton Academy’s Fundamentals of Corporate Finance and Valuation helped him solidify his career choice in private equity. He entered the two-week certificate program, held on Wharton’s campus for undergraduates and recent graduates and taught by top-ranked Wharton faculty, with only basic financial knowledge. But he left with a deeper understanding of the field, marketable skills, and a competitive edge.

Jaden explored diverse interests during high school at Germantown Friends School, including singing, saxophone, and sports, and thought he might pursue a career in music, traveling and playing jazz around the world. When he got to Morehouse, he initially planned to major in psychology, drawn by his interest in understanding human behavior. “But when I found out finance was more than just math and numbers — that it tells a story — I knew this was the right field for me,” he says. “A career in finance makes sense because of who I am, my personality, and what I want to do for my family. Finance gives me the chance to create a great impact on the world and provide a return on investment for my parents, while working in an environment I’m passionate about. Plus, there’s so much networking involved. Who you know and how you leverage your network can make all the difference.”

Corporate Partnerships Provide Opportunities

Jaden was one of 20 scholars chosen for a fellowship to the Corporate Finance program by global private equity firm Warburg Pincus. Lena Elguindi, the Academy’s director of partnership programs, says Warburg Pincus’s commitment to the success of these students is “closely aligned with Dean Erika James’s vision for making Wharton accessible for all, giving opportunities for experiencing some Wharton magic.”

The partnership is one she is actively working to recreate with the Academy’s other offerings, including the new AI for Business; Social Entrepreneurship; and Data Science, Statistics, and Coding through Sports Analytics. “These programs are focused on what Wharton does best,” she continues, “on the topics students want to explore and on current marketplace needs — the jobs that require constantly changing skills, so our students can bring new knowledge into the workplace even in an entry-level or internship position.”

“Although we have had students from more than a dozen countries and 16 institutions in the U.S.,” says Elguindi, “we are actively working to recruit students from a wider cross-section of schools and majors, because we know the value of peer-to-peer learning, especially when it includes greater diversity in perspectives and experiences.”

Developing Career Skills

Program Manager Danielle Bruno says fostering peer-to-peer connections is an intentional focus of the Academy. “Most of our students haven’t yet developed some of the softer skills they will need to succeed in their careers, including critical thinking and networking. We offer sessions that specifically target those skills, and have outings to sporting and cultural events to help them develop a network of peers beyond their home university and their home country.”

She says the Wharton Academy team is also working to help students expand their networks across cohorts. “It could be as simple as connecting with past participants in the Corporate Valuation program on LinkedIn or having past participants come back to the classroom to share their experiences with a new group of students. That's the vision. Once you're part of the Wharton network, you have all the resources associated with it, not only to make you more marketable, but also to but make you a better employee.”

For Jaden, the exposure to peers from diverse backgrounds, including recent graduates from Mexico already working in investment banking, was a program highlight. “We keep in contact, motivating each other to push for higher limits and become the best we can be in this industry,” he says. “When I got a summer internship with Warburg Pincus, I posted about it on LinkedIn, and some of them reached out. We have even talked about finding housing together in New York.”

Developing Financial Expertise

But it was the classroom learning that provided the greatest advantage. “One of my key takeaways was learning how to evaluate a company from top to bottom — dissecting financial reports, understanding the key components of market share, and seeing how a story is created from those elements,” he says. “I never thought about a company’s value as a story shaped by people’s experiences and perspectives.”

Despite initial nerves about the program, Jaden quickly felt at ease. “Coming into Wharton as a minority, I knew a lot of people who look like me don’t get this opportunity. I was definitely timid at first, but Professor Michael Roberts made me feel comfortable in my skin and reassured us that no question is a dumb question. He was spectacular, making everything understandable for everyone in the classroom. It was also amazing to hear his story and learn why he’s passionate about teaching finance to underrepresented communities.”

Jaden’s advice for others considering a Wharton Academy program? “It’s demanding, but the benefits are worth it. You’ll learn so much about the subject and yourself. It’s a unique opportunity to see if a field is right for you, and because it’s Wharton, it opens doors. If you can do it, don’t pass it up.”