Missing Wharton-Lauder MBA/MA Student Found Safe

A student in Wharton’s MBA/MA Lauder joint degree in international studies program who went missing shortly after arriving in Philadelphia — and just before beginning her studies — has been found safely, according to the university and her family’s posts on Twitter.

My daughter @KenniNdili_ is missing. She arrived Philadelphia May 10th to start her MBA at the @Wharton @LauderInstitute. She was last seen May19th. Time is critical, it’s been 5 days. #findkenni @EsteeLauder @PhillyPolice @CBSPhilly @NBCPhiladelphia https://t.co/FgopV2MFHV

— Njide Ndili (@NjideN) May 24, 2022

Kenni Ndili, 26, from Lagos, Nigeria, arrived in the United States on May 10 and had been missing for five days as of Tuesday, May 24, according to her mother, Njide Ndili, whose tweet had been retweeted by hundreds of people, including several of the missing woman’s classmates, as of early Wednesday. The missing woman’s mother also tweeted that “We are offering a reward of $10,000 for any information leading to her whereabouts. #findkenni ”

On Wednesday morning, Njide Ndili tweeted that her daughter had been found:

She has been found 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽 Miracles happen. All the prayers works. Thank you world. She was robbed as far as I could tell. Now rescued by a Samaritan and currently being transported to her brother. #kennihasbeenfound https://t.co/5cJecirNwD

— Njide Ndili (@NjideN) May 25, 2022

The Wharton School also posted an update to Twitter early Wednesday:

As of this morning, missing incoming @LauderInstitute student Kenni Ndili has been found safely. Thank you to everyone who spread the word about her disappearance. We are so grateful for her safety.

— The Wharton School (@Wharton) May 25, 2022

WENT MISSING MAY 19 IN PHILADELPHIA

The Lauder Institute’s MBA/MA joint degree is a 24-month program in which students study for a Wharton MBA and an International Studies MA from Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences. “Lauder’s mission,” according to the program webpage, “is to develop outstanding business leaders who look globally, engage locally, and act responsibly to have powerful impact in the world.” The program’s Class of 2023 (the class before Ndili’s) has 80 students from 40 countries.

Kenni Ndili had been missing since May 19 at 2:20 p.m., having been last seen at N. 37th Street in Philadelphia. She “was robbed, as far as I could tell,” her mother tweeted, and was “rescued by a Samaritan and currently being transported by her brother.” She was due to begin the Lauder MBA/MA program in June but it is unclear if she will now join her class.