Post by Suzie Kim

As 2025 comes to an end, I’m feeling very bittersweet as I reflect on this past year as VP of Philanthropy - Community with Wharton Women’s Executive Board. Wharton Women has and always will be one of the places that make Penn feel like home, and I could not imagine my college experience without the wonderful people I’ve come to know through this club. This year on board has felt particularly special as the work my team and I got to do not only impacted members on campus, but also our local Philadelphia community. While leading the Dollar Scholars and Dressing for Success committees this year, I’m thankful to have met so many great friends and am so proud of the amount of thought, time, and energy we put into planning events together throughout the year. While we introduced countless initiatives, big and small, I’d love to highlight a few that felt the most meaningful. Across both committees, we: ⭐ Launched Wharton Women’s first in-person financial literacy workshops with high schools in over five years and introduced a new college prep curriculum ⭐ Planned and hosted Dressing for Success: Catwalk to Career, our annual philanthropic fashion show that bridges creativity, philanthropy, and women in business. We welcomed Kate Bartlett as our keynote speaker, collaborated with student organizations like The WALK Magazine and Off the Beat, and raised over $2,150 in total for The Wardrobe. I loved co-leading this event with Amelie Zhang. ⭐ Hosted our March GBM: Fighting Against Food Insecurity with Khwaish Lakhiani and the Evolve committee, where we created over 90 food packs to donate to Project HOME ⭐ Co-sponsored Take Back the Night with Penn ASAP to advocate for women across the world who continue to experience violence and whose voices remain unheard ⭐ Hosted an Industry Insiders: Social Impact Panel with Himakshi Shastri and the Alumnae Relations committee, where we welcomed three panelists to share their stories and shed light on their unique and underrepresented career paths I am especially grateful for the community partners who gave us their time and trust in building these collaborations and long-term relationships, including The Wardrobe, Clarifi, Cristo Rey Philadelphia High School, Lankenau High School, and Project HOME. Lastly, I would love to give a huge shoutout to Su Ah Kim and all of the Wharton Women Board this year. I’m so inspired by how much innovation and passion every person on this team brought, and even more so how we showed up for each other. Even when some weeks felt long (including when we had 5+ days of events in a row), they never once felt boring, and I knew I could always count on my teammates. I’ve made some of my closest friends for life through Board, and they're now some of the first people I turn to for advice. I am endlessly grateful for this community, and I can’t wait to see what next year will bring! Beyond excited for Lina Yang and the 2026 Board 🥳 WWL (Wharton Women Love), Suzie