The son of two Wharton alumni, J.J. grew up in New Jersey, developing a love of language, culture, and tradition early on through his education in Jewish day schools. He studied Hebrew since kindergarten, even learning the Hebrew alphabet through children’s books before his native English alphabet. J.J. was first introduced to what he thought of as “foreign language” in high school when he started learning Spanish, since there weren’t enough students for there to be a class for his first choice, French. At the time, however, J.J. was more interested in music and participated in his high school’s a cappella group and choir.

J.J.’s life was changed forever when he was selected to participate in a high school exchange program in Santiago, Chile. The group was fortunate to secure a meeting with the American ambassador to Chile, who told them about life as a diplomat: meeting with high-level officials, learning new languages, changing countries every three years, and more. Alone among the visiting students, J.J. was enraptured by the ambassador’s description of the life that he had and knew immediately that he wanted one like it, filled with language, travel, and interesting adventures. During his college search, at a regular Penn information session, J.J. heard about the Huntsman Program and its dual focus on international studies and business through the lens of cultural understanding and language. “As soon as the admissions officer started talking about it,” he said, “I knew the program was exactly what I was looking for—a way to learn practical, real-world skills, while still engaging in the pursuits that I was most passionate about.”

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