By Kim Gallant

Next fall, hundreds of M&T alumni will converge on Penn’s campus to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of the Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology. I am proud to be part of that community, as a member of the Class of 2008. It is hard to believe that five years have passed since I shared in the 30th Anniversary, when I was just a year out of the program. The 35th is more than just another five year reunion—it truly is a celebration of multiple generations of M&T at Penn. In fact, I recently met a current M&T student whose mother is also an alumna of the program!

As a young Penn alum, these last five years have served as a transition between being fresh out of Penn’s safety net to being well on the road to establishing a career and a family. The 35th will be an opportunity to reconnect with many of my friends and classmates that are experiencing the same exciting developments. Lately, it has been quite thrilling to catch up with old classmates and hear about new jobs, upcoming or recent marriages, and children bringing joy and new challenges to their lives.

Arguably the most significant mark of the generational transition we are currently witnessing is the retirement of our own beloved Dr. William Hamilton (or Dr. H, as we all know him). Dr. H really is the father (or grandfather, depending on your age and perspective) of the program. He has touched each of us in our own way and every M&T owes him a great deal of gratitude for helping to found and develop the program into what it has become. He is a pillar of the Penn community, and an inspiration to us all.

So, while always excited for the opportunity to catch up with the generations of M&T alumni that I have had the privilege of joining since graduating, what I am most looking forward to at this gathering is one last victory lap with Dr. H before he passes the torch to the next generation. I look forward to seeing all of my fellow M&Ts there to share in the celebration.

Kim is an Associate in Commodity Institutional Sales at JPMorgan in New York. She graduated from M&T in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics from Penn Engineering as well as a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School with concentrations in Finance and Entrepreneurship & Innovation. She currently sits on the M&T Program 35th Anniversary Steering Committee, as a member of the Attendance subcommittee.