Przem Macholak (C’19 W’19)
Alumni Spotlight by Jeslyn Li (C’26 W’26)
Przem Macholak is from Poland and was a part of the Huntsman Class of 2019, where he was a German target and concentrated in Business Economics and Public Policy (BEPP).
During his time in the program, Przem made the most of the resources offered by Huntsman and the university, pursuing two language studies in Germany during the summer after his freshman year (along with his semester abroad at the Goethe University Frankfurt) and being a Perry World House Student Fellow. Paired with his Huntsman academics, these interdisciplinary experiences allowed Przem to meet people from all walks of life and exposed him to many different perspectives. When speaking on this, Przem emphasised the importance of showing up and connecting with others, since many of his most valuable lessons were learnt from attending office hours and (free) take-your-professor-to-lunch meals. As a testament to this, he offered the example of his connection with Professor Richard Ingersoll, who welcomed Przem to his graduate and PhD level classes in education and sociology at Penn GSE. Granted, this was after Przem persistently reached out to Prof. Ingersoll over the course of two semesters and, finally, decided to approach him in one of his classes.
Przem’s professional career reflected his formative undergraduate experience. Starting with his junior summer, Przem interned at AMR International (acquired by Stax in November 2022) in New York City, but also briefly worked for the government in Poland. Upon graduation, Przem joined Bain & Company in its Washington D.C. office, where he gained valuable experience in a wide range of industries and continued to meet people who shared his interest in public policy. During the pandemic, Przem was able to travel back and forth between Poland and the US, which, in hindsight, accelerated his later decision to move back to Poland permanently.
In his third year at Bain, Przem took the opportunity to pursue his externship in Poland, where he had originally hoped to pursue work in education. However, with the escalation to the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2022, Przem found a more urgent cause in providing care to the children caught in the crossfires of this conflict. After hearing about others who have welcomed and housed Ukrainian refugees in Poland, Przem was determined to support Poland’s humanitarian response to the conflict and joined a friend at the Polish–Ukrainian border.
Thus, Przem joined Fundacja Happy Kids, an NGO that is revolutionising—or rather deinstitutionalizing—the foster care in Poland and creating new standards of care for orphaned children. At the border, Przem led the Ukraine Crisis Response for the NGO, coordinating and providing shelter for more than 1,500 Ukrainian children and their guardians, whilst providing medical care and educational facilities. This operation was soon noticed by large corporations and the government, which allowed Przem to mobilise 60 people in joining this cause. When asked about his experience at the border, Przem described this experience as being very tough physically, but also emphasising that “rarely in your life, do you feel such a clear sense of mission and purpose. […] Despite the horrors of the war, […] you see this beauty of friendship and solidarity and helping others.”
After this experience, Przem knew he wanted to stay in Poland and decided to pursue his masters at the College of Europe in Natolin, a formative year-long program packed with meeting policy makers and watching The West-Wing. Thereafter, Przem convinced a friend from the NGO to run for the upcoming Polish elections. This was no easy journey, from gathering a group of 15 people to sleeping on mattresses in an apartment to help Przem’s friend run her campaign, but the hard work paid off and she became the youngest person in parliament and the only person of color. This experience further established Przem’s hope to help young people to break into politics. This goal to have a systemic impact led Przem to his current role, where he is the Deputy Director at the Ministry of State Assets, where he is able to marry his consulting skill set and humanitarian experience in making an impact on the Polish economy.
Przem reasons that his decision to return to Poland is driven by his gratitude and appreciation for the country, as well as his search for impact. Looking back at these experiences, his advice is to not be afraid to do things that aren’t easy: “a lot of the problems in our world require interdisciplinary responses, […] leverage our global perspectives, our empathy, go and do.” It might feel intimidating at first, but just take the first step and, of course, don’t forget to build those connections along the way. He also highlights Huntsman as being a challenging, yet defining experience. Today, he continues to stay engaged with the Program community, whether the trip to Kenya this winter or the many housewarming parties for those who move across the pond.
