Wharton Venture Fellow Romel Singleton serves as the chair of this year’s program, which gives him a say in choosing the next dynamic and deserving group of Venture Fellows. The student leader and peer mentor program is possible through philanthropic support from a generous community of Wharton alumni and friends.
“The program sends you to some corner of the world. During winter 2023, we had a team in Antarctica and another in the Atacama Desert in Chile. I was in New Zealand, where I co-led tall ship sailing on a 70-foot boat. I stayed on that boat for nine days,” Singleton says.
“During the hiking ventures, we’re all carrying everything we have on our backs and sleeping in tents for a week. You explore how you interact with your peers and show up as a leader even when you’re not at your best. You become thoughtful about how this applies to the business world.”
“As the chair of the selection committee, I’m leading the process of selecting the next group of students. I’ve taken a lot of ownership in that, because I care very much about the legacy of the program. For instance,” Singleton says, “I’m working to balance out the group. Venture Fellows is very outdoorsy, so we’re bound to get a lot of applicants who grew up doing outdoorsy things. But this might imply certain things about your upbringing. So, I’ve put a lot of thought into how we can give everyone the equal opportunity to shine. I want to make sure everyone has fair representation, despite how the application might look. I’m proud of that and excited to see how it works out.”
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