“The M&T Immersive Trip challenged all standards of hands-on education. When I wrote my Penn application back in Beirut around Summer ‘16, I never thought there would be an experience that towers above the idealistic expectations I had of my time in the US. I never thought I’d be touring the Tesla factory with 55 of the most intelligent, driven, and innovative college students in the US and the world. I did not imagine meeting great industry leaders such as Michael Grimes, whose executed legendary deals I would read about in depth in the Financial times, or asking insightful questions to Eric Friedman, the CTO of Fitbit, or Michael Seibel from YCombinator.
The M&T Immersive trip reignited in me a feeling of such childlike wonder about the world of technology. A feeling I only remember having way back in middle school when I first stumbled upon our small makeshift robotics team. I was reminded not only of the unseen power of the education I was receiving at Wharton and SEAS but more importantly the community I have joined by being in M&T.
After all, the main reason I transferred to M&T is the vibrant community of students that give the program’s name its worldwide gravitas. This Immersive trip allowed me to see an outstanding part of the M&T community beyond the 200 students currently in the program. I realized how deprived M&T students were from the greatness of these alumni, who we interact with much less than their peers in NYC.
I was always proud to be a part of M&T, but after this trip I can’t shake the feeling that M&T has become an integral part of me. I am eternally thankful to all those that spent countless hours working to make this trip happen.”
– Maher Abdel-Samad, M&T’21