Kevin is always wrong
Oliver, one of the Exchange at Penn Correspondents, shares his experience here at Penn during the Fall 2026 semester. Follow along with the group of correspondents on our blog and look out for their images on the @exchangeatpenn Instagram feed.
It’s the first week of class, I’m sitting in a new classroom, and the professor is about to start teaching a topic that’s completely foreign to me.
“Good afternoon class.”
“Good afternoon.”
The first 30 minutes are spent discussing ‘the process’ instead. It’s not about class content or course structure, it’s about how our learning environment will operate, and why the way we’ve approached studying all these years might be completely wrong. The professor’s name is Kevin, and at the end of this class the biggest takeaway he leaves us with is… Kevin is always wrong.
In short, his point was: The more you think you are correct, the less you will update your opinion when conflicting information appears, the more likely you are to actually be wrong. Thus, the best way to eventually be right is to always assume that you might be wrong.
“I believe good teachers introduce new thoughts, but great teachers introduce new ways of thinking.” [Adam Grant, Think Again]. Kevin is excellent and his class exemplifies much of what there is to love about this place. Some of his other gems include:
“Investment banking is the second most important social enterprise on the planet”
“HR as a department is almost always value destroying”
As the leaves lining Locust Walk turn from green to brown and T-shirts become increasingly harder to wear outside, I’m reminded of how the first half of exchange has already flown by. From sleeping under a picnic rug in the first few days to faculty boat parties and trips to Puerto Rico, there’s been so many unexpected experiences and lessons jam packed into these first two months.
First, it was about getting used to all the new things about the American college experience. How frat houses are scattered around campus, Locust Walk never seems to sleep, and living in a dorm gives me the dangerous luxury of waking up five minutes before class. Life is great, not because dining hall food makes my day but because I’m always bound to run into someone familiar there. College athletes are always repping their team merch in class, and there’s plenty of random campus lore just like in the movies (don’t sit with Ben Franklin!).
Then there’s the opportunity to meet new people. This semester’s exchange cohort tops 200 students, which means there’s someone here from seemingly every corner of the world. Having travelled a decent amount previously, I came in with the impression that I had a fairly global perspective already. I was wrong, and have since enjoyed the privilege of learning how to pronounce ‘Sciences-po’, why ‘Spoons’ (British pub) is one of the greatest institutions on this planet and how a ‘gap year’ for American medical students might not exactly be full of vacation as I would’ve assumed. All of the random conversations that come with being in a new place are supercharged by the American tendency to hold endless social gatherings on campus – there always seems to be another event happening somewhere, and with that comes more interesting people to meet. You just never know when you might bump into freshmen doing magic tricks to get votes in student elections, or perhaps Joe Biden’s granddaughter.
But don’t forget the variety within campus too. Coming in as a senior, I wanted to explore more interesting subjects, and the selection did not disappoint. The expertise available in niche industries from real estate to climate has allowed me to dive into several unique fields that are only offered here at Wharton. Product Design allows me to think creatively, Climate and Financial Markets shows me how our environmental future can be connected to bonds, and Advanced Topics in PE reminds me of how well connected this school is to the world of finance.
My favourite module is Negotiations, where Professor Blum is teaching the class for his 32nd year. After scaring off half the section in week one by revealing that the big assignment may include writing a ~160 page long journal across the semester, the classroom has become a smaller, tighter community which I very much enjoy.
Was staying the right decision? Only time will tell.
And if the classes aren’t enough to keep you busy, there’s an equally overwhelming student club scene with everything from pre-professional to performing arts, volunteering and cultural groups. I followed local underclassmen in the club application frenzy this semester, and ended up joining the Wharton Investment and Trading Group and Wharton Undergraduate Energy Group. Both have been great ways to meet new people.
The recruiting culture here is quite intense, from attendance-tracked information sessions for club applications to sophomores arranging professional coffee chats after midnight. Watching freshmen come up with stories on why they want to do investment banking three weeks into university makes you wonder how anyone survives the finance pipeline. That being said, when you have the global head of Goldman Sachs M&A giving a talk at Huntsman on a random Tuesday, it’s also hard not to appreciate the opportunities here.
But if you can juggle all of that, my favorite discovery about Penn is how it can always reward those who take action. Asking again can open closed doors, and whether it’s research, auditing classes. or attending exclusive events, plenty of opportunities are simply a conversation away.
I wasn’t sure if I was coming to Penn for a learning experience or a holiday. Turns out both were off the mark, the real value so far has been in diving into the uncertainty headfirst, keeping an open mind and seeing how I grow. But with half a semester to go, I’m hoping that there’s still plenty more to be wrong about, because remember:
If Kevin is always wrong, then we probably are too.