For Katie Wu, learning has always been something you do, not something you just watch.

Now at The Wharton School, she’s studying finance and artificial intelligence, managing the women’s volleyball team, and consulting with real-world clients through student clubs. But the mindset that drives her—intentional, engaged, and community-focused—started at Bay.

“I’ve always looked forward to adulthood,” she says. “At Bay, I learned how to take initiative and how to make choices that mean something.”

Katie grew up in San Francisco, where her parents have run a bakery in the Tenderloin for nearly two decades. Working there shaped her early understanding of hard work and empathy, lessons that deepened through Bay’s Poverty and Justice Immersive. “That experience helped me see that business can be a tool for justice,” she says. “It made me want to study economics and finance with more intention and care.”

At Bay, Katie said yes to everything—student leadership, basketball, and Immersives that pushed her outside her comfort zone. She also faced her fear of public speaking, learning to find confidence through repetition and support. “By senior year, I was the graduation speaker,” she says. “I knew I could do it because I’d already practiced in a place that made it safe to try.”

That same spirit guides her today. “Culture is the number one thing I look for—in a club, a job, anything,” she says. “Bay showed me how much environment and community matter—when you belong somewhere and the energy is right, you do your best work.”

“The value of a Bay education goes far beyond the classroom,” she adds. “It taught me to be all in—to participate fully in whatever I do.”