Wharton Business school - University of Pennsylvania
In the summer of 2020, I was given the opportunity to attend the University of Pennsylvania’s online business program. My time in the program exposed me to the technicalities of business. The program specifically targeted how businesses were to be affected by the Corona Virus Pandemic, as well as how the business world was put into a state of limbo for a prolonged and unprecedented period of time during the first weeks of the outbreak. There were two courses that divided the Business school’s summer program. The “Future of the Business world” involved all students contributing to group projects and lessons, this was where we would meet with different students from around the world and listen in on lectures provided by Wharton. The second course, which was called, “Wharton Global Youth Meetup”, was primarily an individual source of educational teaching. There were many research papers and forms of analysis that I had to review, including the artificial nature of corporate rivalry. This was especially apparent in researching steak sandwich rivals in Philadelphia (Pat’s and Genos).
This was where I attained one of my most memorable badges from the Wharton Business School – the scavenger badge (a badge is proof of completion for a certain project that had to be done individually or with a group). I reached a conclusion when researching this specific rivalry. The two businesses articulated the competition between one another, where they both benefitted from being rivals, financially aiding both establishments.
Our final project before graduating was one that required the creation of a prototype that combated the fear of COVID-19 spreading, and make society feel safer and more secure. My group and I created a prototype that was centered around disinfecting products bought from grocery stores. The project required a variety of different roles to be filled. All aspects of the prototype were to be investigated. This included how we would secure the finances for the prototype, the functionality of the prototype, and the reason behind the creation of the prototype. This was the perfect cap to our time spent with Wharton Business school, which strengthened my insight into the importance of business which I found to be relevant to the law. It gave me the commercial awareness I felt was lacking during my internship experience.
Brewster Academy
The Brewster summer program was my first-time attending school outside the United Arab Emirates and away from home. From an academic perspective, Brewster strengthened my fluency in the English language. There were four classes in Brewster academy that were divided up by English proficiency. I was put into the top class – the Patriots – where I excelled in all standards that I was assessed on. The four classes were: Reading, Culture, Writing, and Test-Preparation.
The reading course was one that was designated to reading specific short stories and poems. I started off the program by scoring 92% on the diagnostic exam. On the final exam, I scored 95%, and felt that the readings from The Paper Menagerie, Tigers on the Tenth Day, The Lottery, Flowers for Algernon, and We Should All Be Feminists helped in the development of my reading, annotating, debating, and analyzing skills.
Culture class was fixated on understanding the culture of the United States and comparing it to what is normally seen in the United Arab Emirates. The course was numerous in its activities, and primarily focused on being able to speak your opinion and collaborate with your peers. I noticed great strides in my ability to speak with those with a difference of opinion and understand the differences with cultures around the world.
Undoubtedly one of the highlights of my time in Brewster was the writing course. Writing was something that I really wanted to test myself in when entering Brewster academy. I truly believe that I developed myself greatly as a writer due to this course. Our teacher gave us certain activities that capitalized on what was required in excelling as a writer and helping in developing as such. There were activities that perfectly resonated with this lesson’s criteria called “Snapshots”, eventually leading to drafting the college essay. This writing course instilled in me the foundations in which I wrote my College essay and personal statement – both of which I take as major contributors to being accepted to a majority of my desired universities.
The test preparation course was one that focused on familiarizing oneself with the IELTS English proficiency exam. The course regularly tested one’s abilities in the four aspects of the exam: Writing, Reading, Listening, and Speaking. My teacher constantly gave feedback and comments on what I should improve and revise. The course helped tremendously when I eventually took the IELTS exam and scored an 8.0.
There were regular debates and group activities that were constantly a part of the school’s curriculum. My experience in Brewster instilled in me independence and self-reliance. I was able to interact, socialize, and adapt in such alienating circumstances. The program also involved university visits and exploring American culture. This benefitted me in many ways, one of which was the development of my overall character as a student, collaborating with my peers and being able to accept other people’s points of view and difference of opinion.