As a Wharton student, Jeffery looks for opportunities beyond the classroom to connect his multiple interests in business, technology and social impact. While he concentrates in Management and Finance at Wharton, he is also pursuing a minor in International Relations through the College of Arts & Sciences. He explores greater opportunities of social entrepreneurship through studying abroad, higher-level management courses, and the social impact lab at Penn. The intersection of these major academic disciplines gives Jeffery new opportunities to pursue business, while retaining a focus on social impact, all through Penn’s broad network of opportunities and resources. Before Jeffery’s classes kick off for the week, he stays active in Penn’s entrepreneurship community through many student-based groups and committees, like YouthHack. YouthHack works together to plan entrepreneurship-based events on campus, where they give student entrepreneurs the opportunity to talk about their business with other interested students at Penn.

During a semester studying abroad, Jeffery traveled to the Galapagos Islands to pursue a non-business related course in Philosophy. As he spent his time there and began to live and work within the community, he learned about the social impact of business and conservation on the islands and the debate on bringing in big business while remaining environmentally conscious. This ultimately led to a movement in eco-friendly tourism, as well as the piloting of a project working with local high school students to record the effects of human interference in the sea lion population. These experiences through the study abroad program helped shape Jeffery’s interest in social entrepreneurship and reinforce what studying business at Penn meant for him.

Jeffery also works with a student start-up group, YouthHack. As a group, they discuss how their start-ups are performing and how they can leverage opportunities together through their integrated networks while guiding them through the many entrepreneurship resources at Penn and throughout Philadelphia. Through Penn’s Center for Social Impact Strategy, Jeffery was able to continue his pursuit of social entrepreneurship by visiting the Grand Canyon in a hands-on learning experience with many social entrepreneurs engaging in their local communities.

Jeffery’s strong interest in the technology industry has informed much of his work and experience at Penn. Through higher-level management courses, like Management 214 (Technology and Innovation Strategy), and internships at companies like Mastercard and Capital One, he has been exposed to different management concepts that are strict to the technology industry, building new platforms, using network effects, and licensing out intellectual property. These skills have helped Jeffery apply strategy to business in impactful ways.