This past Friday, JHP@Penn hosted its annual Spring Mentoring luncheon at City Hall! David Cohen, the Senior Executive Vice President of Comcast Corporation, and chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, and his philanthropic and successful wife Rhonda, treated us with a keynote speech about their impressive and complex lives. Students were struck by their insight about balancing personal, family and business life as well as service to the community. Their impressive career experience as well as current civic involvement was awe inspiring.
The students were also joined for lunch by high profile mentors, including Wayne Kimmel (SeventySix Capital), Stephanie Stahl(CBS3), Dan Erlbaum (Finch Brands), Jake Stein (RJMetrics), Michael Fiebach (Fame House), Yael Lehmann (The Food Trust), and Boris Kalandar (MentorTech Ventures).
Rachel Kupelian, one of the two lead interns who planned the retreat reflected,”This year’s mentors were especially unique. Every mentor emphasized the importance of following your passion, even if that means taking a risk. It’s never too late to change your career path, so every person you can meet in a new field is really an asset.”
After the luncheon, the students trailed behind Menachem as he led us to the sparkly and beautiful law office of Stephen A. Cozen, the founder and chairman of Cozen O’Connor. Mr. Cozen greeted us in one of his shiny conference rooms, enthralling us with his story of success. His story was empowering and fascinating as he explained he grew up as a “poor South Philly boy,” and with passion and dedication he was able to become a force to be reckoned with as well as a kind and caring philanthropist. He left a lasting impression on the students, as it was truly an honor to have had the time with him.
