People Who Went To Penn: Geraldine Laybourne

Geraldine Laybourne graduated from Penn in 1971 with a master's in Elementary Education. Diploma in hand, she created Early Bird Specials, an independent company that produced programs for children.

Early Birds Specials teamed up with Nickelodeon, where Laybourne made sure that 90's kids had a collective identity they could always fall back on. Unless they didn't own a TV. Or had immigrant parents who made them watch Russian cartoons. Under Laybourne's reign, Nickelodeon became the first global network to profit from ad sales geared towards children.

After her stint at Nickelodeon, Laybourne teamed up with Oprah to create Oxygen Media, programming intended to target younger women. She was the company's CEO until 2007 when it was bought by NBC Universal. In 1995, Laybourne was the youngest person to be inducted into the Broadcast & Cable Hall of Fame, and she was named one of the 25 Most Influential People in America by Time Magazine. And get this—she managed it all without a degree from Wharton! (There may be hope for you yet.)