Monthly Archives: December 2011

To Sleep or Not to Sleep?

Christine Uyemera, SEAS ’13

As the end of the semester draws near, students have to make the ultimate decision: to sleep or not to sleep?

Finals week is the most stressful time for everyone (minus those few lucky freshmen or seniors who got away with taking only three classes, pass/fail classes, or classes that give the option to drop the final exam grade). Between projects, papers, gift-buying, hanging out with friends before going home, and the finals themselves, it often feels like there aren’t physically enough hours in the day to get everything done that we need to. How can we possibly make good grades and still be sane? What is the right combination of sleep and other things? There are three main approaches that three different types of students take to solving this equation:

1. Sleepless Sallys: One option that some  students consider is to give up as much sleep as possible to make time for everything else. This is normally manifested in multiple all-nighters, sometimes consecutive ones, with 1-2 hour “power naps” sprinkled into the schedule and taken only when absolutely necessary (typically these naps are involuntary). Sleepless Sallys can be found with a Vente Starbucks coffee at any given time. Although they might complain about their workload, friends of Sleepless Sallys can see it in their eyes. They have semi-permanent setups in Van Pelt/Houston Hall/ Huntsman and will probably be living there 20-24 hours of the day. A typical day for a Sleepless Sally begins at the library during either day or night and has no clear end, despite the so-called sunrise and sunset.

2. Balanced Bettys: Despite students’ constant insistence that they have no idea how so much work piled up, and there’s no way they could have ever gotten it all done before now, there are always students who actually started the project the day it was given out/read the chapters every week before lecture/followed the timeline for the research paper. At least enough to where Reading Days and Finals week is manageable. Finals week is truly no big deal at all to Balanced Bettys, who spend a scheduled, moderate 2-4 hours per day working or studying and are free to do their Christmas shopping in the mornings and go to end-of-semester BYOBs with their friends at night. Balanced Bettys are probably in the College, and will almost certainly protest that they are just as stressed and busy as anyone else.

 

3. Party Pats: Finally, there are the students who put immediate happiness before all else. Party Pats pull all-nighters in a different way. They wouldn’t be caught dead staying up late for schoolwork and spend ample time on their holiday shopping and end-of-the-year friend-visiting. They will spend a few hours here and there looking at course material when they can’t find anyone else to hang out with or they need a break from the TV show marathon they’ve been watching. However, the majority of any project-doing or exam-studying is done the night before or the day of. Party Pats can exists in either extreme academically: they will either make the A+ on the exam regardless of the amount of time spent studying or fail the class completely. Either way, Party Pats live by the phrases “oh ,well,” and “whatever…”

All three of the these student types have their pros and cons. The choice is really dependent on what kind of student you’ve been all semester, your personal expectations, and how much pressure you can take before going insane. Freshmen will be struggling to decide who they are going to be while upperclassmen have known from day one of finals week. Regardless, come December 22nd, it will ALL be over and we students can go into hibernation mode for a few weeks before starting all over again.

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Filed under Academics, Christine U., Student Perspective

Sweeten Fifteen

Author: Leigh Ann P. and Aimee L.

It’s that time of year again!  That time when you say, “I can’t work out on the elliptical machine today because I ate too many cupcakes.  And I brought some cupcakes home so I’m going to eat more cupcakes.”  Or, “It’s too cold to walk the one block to the gym.  I’m going to drink some eggnog instead.”  Or, “I’m not going to have my usual Houston Hall salad for lunch since there is a giant pile of cookies, cakes and tortilla chips right behind my desk.”

You probably already experienced the Freshman Fifteen in college.  This is what causes the Sweeten Fifteen.

This is the culture of Sweeten during December and it doesn’t change much throughout the year.  There is a constant influx of food infiltrating our 2nd floor counter – an endless barrage of party leftovers and gifts from kind, generous, good-looking alumni – and it ultimately ends up on our collective spare tires (but, so worth it, kind and generous alumni!).  It is a mere three feet away from our desks, and it catches our eyes, destroys any shred of willpower we have, and asks us to stop staring and just give in.  We’re still a couple of months away from our annual exercise competition (which Emily S. and Cecilia R. smoked in 2011), and if you are anything like us – you know, normal(ish) – you are probably experiencing a similar struggle with holiday eating, so we put our heads together and came up with a few exercises you can do in the office during a break to ward off that extra holiday poundage!

*Disclaimer: The illustrations below are a rendering of Leigh Ann P. and Leigh Ann P. only.  Any resemblance to any other person living or dead is merely coincidental.  Unless that person is Kate Middleton, in which case, wow, THANK YOU!

Try sitting on a large exercise ball instead of a regular office chair!  This is fantastic for your core.  Leigh Ann P. tried this at work a few years ago and the ball put her just slightly too low for her desk.  But – if you have an extremely long torso, this may be just the solution for you!

You could simultaneously balance a common office supply, such as a stapler, on your head while walking backwards up and down your office stairs.  Jillian Michaels would be so proud of you for multitasking with your different muscle groups.  What could possibly go wrong?

Marge T. suggested dropping a box of paper clips on the floor and forcing yourself to pick them up one by one.

What do you do to stay in shape during the holidays?  Do you have any other office-related workout suggestions?  Let us know in the comments!

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Filed under Aimee L., Food Fiends, Leigh Ann P., The Sweeten Life

Holiday Spirit at Sweeten

Author: Mari Meyer, GSE , C’12

As my first semester as a graduate student at Penn winds down, I recall fondly the days that my brain felt like THIS, instead of like THIS.

Fortunately, campus is glowing with festive holiday cheer, and all of the wonderful people here at Sweeten make this extra tough time as a student feel just as lovely as ever.  Not to mention that they do a really good job of feeding us student staff (as you’ll see below). Here is just a quick sampling of the festive holiday spirit that’s alive and well throughout Sweeten.

Ben and wreath welcome visitors as they walk through the door.

Holiday treats appear on the second floor as if by magic, fattening us up like geese.

 

Chrysanthemum + Piano = Joy

Popcorn Tin! As usual, the caramel and cheese-flavored pieces disappeared first.

Mini tree decorated with Rubik's cube.

From all of us at the Sweeten Alumni House, have a happy, healthy holiday season.  See you in 2012!

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Filed under Mari M., Student Perspective

Remembering Travels to Egypt

Author: Kiera Reilly, C’93

Penn Alumni Travel visited Egypt in January 2010. Given the Penn Museum’s strong collection in Egyptian antiquities, coupled with leading researchers and professors, we wanted to include Penn professors on our program. We were lucky to have the husband-wife team of Penn Egyptologists Jennifer Houser Wegner , Ph.D., C’91, and Joe Wegner, Ph.D., G’89, and their son Alexander join us. Joe is Associate Curator, Egyptian Section, Penn Museum and Associate Professor, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. Jen is Associate Curator, Egyptian Section, Penn Museum and Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. They gave lectures during the trip and provided additional insight as we visited the ancient sites.

Our group had a wonderful time exploring the ancient antiquities of Egypt, and we were fortunate to also have a local alumna meet us in Karnak when we toured the temple there. She showed us some closed to the public areas and explained how they are trying to preserve and put the temple back together (large portions of it are just piles of rocks).

At the end of our trip, when we were back in Cairo, we met with Dr. Zahi Hawass, Ph.D., G’93, GR’87. Dr. Hawass at the time was the Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Council on Antiquities.

When the revolution happened in Egypt earlier this year, our group was very concerned about our guide and her family. I remember during the trip when she was asked about politics and government she would tell us that no one really pays attention because “nothing will change.” Mubarak’s son was being groomed to take over for him and things would continue as they are. What a difference a year makes! As the news developed, we all sent her messages, worried about her and her family living in Cairo. Her first message to us sounded desperate and fearful about what was happening. Then a few weeks later when Mubarak had stepped down, her tone was much more jubilant and hopeful.

Hopefully, we will be able to return to Egypt one day and explore once again its many wonders, but this time with a democratic government.

Cairo Mosque – the group at a mosque in Cairo

Travelers in front of the tombs at Abu Simbel

At Karnak, legend has it that you walk around the scarab several times (I think 8) for good luck

The Karnak temple is only partially preserved. We were taken back to this section where everything is just in pieces. Archaeologists are trying to figure out how to put it back together.

Close to Karnak is Luxor temple – we finished our tour there at dusk.

The famous Pyramids at Giza, and also the Sphinx.

We were not allowed to take a group photo with our Penn banner in front of the pyramids, so we took individual shots.

At the end of our trip, fellow alumnus Zahi Hawass came to speak to our group and autograph one of his books.

Our group at the traditional galabia party (that’s the outfit we’re wearing) on our ship on the Nile.

The Karnak temple – this shot was taken mainly to capture the woman with a burqa walking by

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Filed under Alumni Perspective, Kiera R., Penn Alumni Travel, Photos, Travel

I Remember Facebook…Part II…When I Knew Everyone’s Name and No One Had Babies

Author: Elizabeth Kimmelman-Schwartz, C’04

Last year, I had a meeting with a Penn student about an alumni project she was working on.  Our discussion turned to how things have changed since I graduated from Penn even though it wasn’t that long ago.  I told her what it was like when Facebook arrived at Penn for the first time, and she told me how helpful it was when it came to connecting with fellow students before college starts.

I told her, “Just wait until you get older.  Facebook will start to get really weird.  First, people start getting married.  Then, someone pops up in your newsfeed who you haven’t heard from in awhile, his profile picture is a baby and you realize that the crazy guy you knew in college is a DAD.”

To which she replied, “Oh, that’s really funny, because when someone I know has a baby picture as a profile picture, I just assume it’s them as a baby!”

I’ve never felt older.

I miss the days when all Facebook was about was what classes you were taking, who your friends were and whether you were in a relationship or not.  With growing up and living lives, it turns out that simple things like social networking become much more complicated.

First up on the complications list:  names.  I got married over a year ago and, ignoring the outraged feminist within, finally took my husband’s name at our one-year anniversary.  However, my name on Facebook is Elizabeth Kimmelman Schwartz.  Why?  Because no one knows who Elizabeth Schwartz is!  I barely know who Elizabeth Schwartz is!  (Honestly, will that name ever feel like mine or not look weird to me?)   How can I expect other people who don’t speak to me on a daily basis to keep my new name straight?

For the record, this is NOT my wedding photo...

The name change thing has led to some confusing Facebook situations.  Like, when someone pops up on my newsfeed and I think, “Who the heck is that and how did we become friends?  Do I care about the fact that she just watched a “‘Clarissa Explains it All’ marathon on Teen Nick?”  (Answer:  Yes, I do.)  Or, I get a friend request and delete it thinking, “I don’t know that person,” when in reality we were best friends in second grade and I really would have liked to reconnect with her.  Imagine our volunteers who make facebook pages for their reunions!  They can’t add you to their fun reunion pages if they don’t know who you are.

Also not my second grade class.

Ladies.  I implore you.  Don’t get rid of your maiden name on Facebook.  The whole point of Facebook is to reconnect with old friends.  How on earth will people find you if you don’t have the name on there that you’ve had for twenty-plus years?

Secondly, babies.  So, while it’s weird to get a friend request from someone who you think you don’t know because her name is different, it is ten thousand times weirder to not talk to someone in awhile and then learn from Facebook that he or she is a parent or parent-to-be.  Remember in college seeing that crazy guy in your class who would go shirtless to football games in forty degree weather, paint his chest red and blue and run up and down the stadium? And you’d find yourself wondering, “God, I wonder what his future children will be like?” Or, if you were in a meaner mood, “I am really scared for his future children.”  Well, guess what?  He has kids and you can learn all about them on Facebook!

This IS my favorite mascot!

The other thing about the baby factor is that your newsfeed becomes clogged with status updates about children, none of which a non-parent like me can relate to.  It’s either about how hard it is being a parent, or sappy like, “My little angel smiled at me today and my heart burst with sunshine and rainbows.”  I de-friended someone once who wrote intricate details about her child’s poop.  Not cool, and I’m pretty positive if that baby knew what was going on (which s/he will one day) s/he’d be pretty embarrassed.  Mark Zuckerberg – I’m telling you – start Facebook for Babies.  BabyBook.  It will be a huge hit.

Not my baby.

Facebook started out as a fun place to stalk, to learn more about people in your classes, and to find fellow Penn friends in the different cities you moved to after graduation.  But then life changed, and facebook changed right along with it.  So, Penn students – enjoy this Facebook while you have it!  Turns out, like most things about college, it’s not how the real world works!

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Filed under Alumni Perspective, Elizabeth K.

In the Final Stretch

Author: Emily Siegel

Today marks the first day of finals for students.  Whether it’s cramming for a test or putting the final touches on a paper, or (let’s be honest), just starting it, this week marks a stressful time of year for them.  It has many of us here in the alumni office reflecting on our own college finals experiences and thinking about the crazy things we used to do to cope during this stressful time.

Food was the most obvious theme.  Everyone had memories of either junk food, delicious food, or lack of food during finals.  Drew, C’09, always started out her finals’ days by making the trek out to FroGro to stock up on, in her words, “an exuberant amount of snacks.”  Her favorites included Frosted Mini Wheats, fruit snacks, and granola bars.  Lex, C’07, opted for food of the delivery kind…preferably Greek Lady who would drop off directly to the library.  Casey, C’95, was lacking in food during finals…those were the years the library banned food and any attempt to bring it in was often foiled by the confiscating library ladies – it was tough being a student in the 90s!

Besides food, space seemed to be the other important factor in getting through finals.  While Drew and Lex opted for the library (Drew being a member of the “Rosenparty” and Lex preferring the 5th floor music section), like me, many others avoided the library altogether.

Casey was always on the quest for the perfect studying place, but after hours of searching, often returned home defeated; having still not studied.  Leigh-Ann preferred the floor in her apartment, opting to remain comfortable in her pajamas for as long as possible.  Mari, GSE ’12, our grad student, is a bit of a wanderer these days as she seeks out space. While the library has been a great refuge for a majority of the year, it is now everyone else’s preferred stomping grounds, making it much less appealing to her.  I preferred the camp of switching up space as often as possible, thinking it somehow kept my brain fresh.

And you can’t forget the distractions – no one can possibly study and write papers 24/7 without a little unwinding time!  Lynn, C’93, found refuge in the Shakespeare Garden just outside of Fisher Fine Arts (Furness Building).  With benches surrounded by trees and quotes of Shakespeare on the stepping stones, it was a very calming place and offered some solitude from the crowded library.  Leigh-Ann preferred to procrastinate from studying by cleaning her apartment with her roommates.  Her apartment was never as clean as it was during finals – everyone knows cleaning is way more fun than studying!  And then there’s Mari, who unwinds by reading celeb magazines, thinking about how much more glamorous that life would be than the one of a final’s student.

Our newest addition to the office, Liz, just might take the cake with distractions.  In addition to running outside of the library and doing jumping jacks and cartwheels, she would take frequent trips to the bathroom and make faces in the mirror attempting to make herself laugh.  After that, she’d slather on some suntan lotion and head back to her corner of the library, the scent reminding her that better days were ahead!

And that truly is the hope for our students today – that better days are ahead.  Until then, embrace finals!  Stays focused, well fed and hydrated, and remember to infuse some distractions into your day.  Finals don’t last forever; eventually you get a job and have different kinds of deadlines.

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Filed under Academics, Emily S.

Food Justice

Author: Lisa Marie Patzer

For Thanksgiving, I made my annual trek back to Colorado to visit family and friends.  This is one of my favorite holidays because my brother-in-law, a bona fide “foodie,” makes the Thanksgiving meal a true event.  This year, he made hand braised bananas, mushroom stuffed onions, organic turkey, two different kinds of homemade cranberries, pecan, walnut and apple pie; the list of food goes on and on.

Braised Bananas

And he is very particular about the ingredients, making sure everything is fresh, locally grown and when possible, organic.  My two nieces and nephew are developing not only a refined palette for well-prepared food; they are learning the importance of food selection and preparation.  Maggie, my 13-year-old niece, illustrated her awareness of food politics when she labeled the recent legislation passed by congress making pizza a vegetable “doublespeak.”

This family education about food is somewhat atypical, especially in neighborhoods where access to affordable, locally grown, organic food is limited.  Three representatives from the Agatston Urban Nutrition Initiative (UNI), a program of University of Pennsylvania’s Netter Center for Community Partnerships, recently spoke about the issue of Food Justice on The Green Hour, a radio program about health and environment.

Kristin Schwab, Youth Development Director, Matthew Johnson (19), Youth leader and alumnus, and Tiara Parker (16), Nutrition Educator, spoke about the Youth Development Program at UNI.  Matthew, now an alumnus of the Youth Development Program, first joined UNI as part of a gardening crew.  The gardening crew learns how to grow fruits and vegetables, harvest what they grow and teach others about urban gardening.  Tiara, currently a member of the cooking crew at University High School, interns as a nutrition educator, teaching healthy habits and inspiring people to get excited about cooking.  Tiara explained the Think AHEAD model. The acronym reminds people to choose foods which are affordable, healthy, easy, accessible, and delicious.

Based in West Philadelphia at W.L. Sayre and University City High Schools, the UNI Youth Development program provides paid internships to approximately 60 high school students during the school year and 100 students during the summer. UNI empowers teen interns to explore and identify solutions to the problem of urban American health disparities via their placement in either peer nutrition education or urban agriculture work sites.

By teaching healthy cooking classes, tending school gardens, and operating local farmer’s markets, UNI interns enrich their local neighborhoods, increase access to healthy food, and improve community and school health while building their leadership capacity and developing academic and job-related skills.

Additionally, interns involved in UNI’s Youth Development program play a lead role in advancing youth-led solutions to improving community food systems through participation in multiple regional and national networks and conferences.

In July of 2011, Matthew attended “Rooted in Community,” a 4 day conference of young people from various organizations.  Ty Holmberg, Bartram’s community Farm and Food Resource Center Director for UNI, helped organize the event.  He was quoted as describing the event as, “it’s a summit of youth from around the nation that have come to fight for food justice and have come as a network of young people to really change their food systems.  Not just in their community but nationally.”  One of the outcomes of the conference was the Youth Food Bill of Rights.

Youth Food Bill of Rights

As I prepare for my next holiday meal, I am going to use the UNI Think AHEAD Model to inspire my food choices.

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Filed under Food Fiends, Lisa Marie Patzer, Philadelphia, Sustainability at Penn, Uncategorized, Volunteering

Feline Finds from the Fine Arts Library Image Collection

Author: Aimee LaBrie

In case you were unaware, Penn Libraries offer an unbelievable collection of digital images–from sports collections, to old covers from The Gazette—the collection has over 6,000 art images and artifacts.  I enjoy all of the archives, but my favorite is most definitely the Fine Arts Library Image Collection; a digital space  with over 180,000 images and half a million slides.  You can search for images based on the artist, the century, the title of a work, or even by geographical location.

A search under “Chestnut Hill” yields  varied images of the Esherick House, while a search of “contemporary artists” pulls up photos of Claes Oldenburg’s The Clothespin and Labyrinth by Robert Morris.

Of course, this made me immediately wish to do a search under the terms for one my favorite mammal: cats. This particular query resulted in 51 finds. Here are the top five.  You can conduct your own search for images, text, or other info by visiting this particular collection, or by going to Digital Penn today.

1. Saddest listing, except really, it’s not, because Ancient Egyptians  believed that cats were holy, which is why they were mummified. I concur:

Mummifed Cats from Egypt, circa 525-332 BC, from Paris: Louvre AF 9461

2. Least Likely Friendship to Occur in Real Life:

Monkey and Cats detail,Yi Yuanji 2nd half 11th century (Chinese), Taipei: National Palace Museum

3. Cat Torture (as drawn by da Vinci):

Sketches of a Child Holding and Playing with a Cat, a Cat (recto), Leonardo da Vinci, London, British Museum, inv# 1857-1-10-1

 

4. Cat as Meatloaf (i.e. no visible legs):

Calico Cat under Peonies, detail, Song Dynasty, Taipei: National Palace Museum

5. Cat Misbehaving:

Cat and Flowers, Eduard Manet, Paris: Bibliotheque Nationale

BONUS! Cat Showing Holiday Spirit:

LaBrie Archival Collections, circa 2011

Happy archiving!

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Filed under Aimee L., Campus Life, Library

My Ten Penn List: Bookstore Gifts for the Holidays

Author:  Casey Ryan, C’95

I’m assuming that most of you, like me, are in the middle of holiday shopping.  I’m busily trying to get all of my gifts sooner rather than later .  However, I eschew the malls and do most of my shopping on-line.  Usually, I get free shipping on my purchases or I find some good discount codes on Retail Me Not. When my packages arrive, our front desk receptionist will buzz me or e-mail me to let me know and it’s like I’m the one who is receiving the gift as I knock one more name off my long list.

To balance out my on-line purchases, I will venture out into our little neighborhood in West Philly and visit the nice little shopping area along Walnut Street.   There’s Douglas (for Mom), GAP (for my nephew and niece), American Apparel (for my friends) and CVS (for wrapping paper and cards!)  Lest I forget, there’s also the Penn Bookstore.  Luckily for me, my brother and sister-in-law are Proud Penn Alumni (C’99 and GEN’06, respectively) and my folks (including a CGS’97 alumna) still love wearing Penn gear.

Here are my choices for Penn-themed gifts at the bookstore. I’ve including the link to each item since you probably can’t just hop down to campus for a quick purchase.  Though, you can order it on-line and have it mailed to your office.  When your receptionist buzzes you, you can feel as good as I do when the mail comes.

Remember the Penn Bookstore Official Site is a Barnes and Noble site. Many B&N coupons, gift cards and promo codes can be applied to your purchase.

10. Alta Gracia Hoodie for $27.73
There’s nothing like a good hoodie to have around the house for a lazy day of watching movies or snuggling up with a good book.

9. Storm Duds Large Golf Umbrella for $28.98
I love a golf umbrella to keep me dry on a rainy day.  Though I don’t play, I appreciate the cover it provides.

8. Penn Gear Polar Fleece Full Zip Jacket for $33.73
A fleece is a good choice in jackets. It can be warm separately or paired up with a windbreaker or a vest when it’s colder out.

7. Penn Legacy Adjustable Twill Hat for $19.98
I love a good, simple split P hat to wear.  I wear it everywhere – to sporting functions, on road trips and out Holiday shopping when I forgot that I’m avoiding the malls.

6. Penn Men’s Wristwatch with Leather Strap (or Women’s) for $109.98
Keep the time with Penn on your wrist.  Stylish and functional, it keeps in line with Franklin’s appreciation of the most useful and the most ornamental

5. Penn Foam Basketball for $14.98
For a less serious gift, a foam basketball is a great toy for the future Penn student as well as young at heart alumnus or alumna.

4. Penn Business Card Holder for $42.98
Tasteful and reserved, this card holder exhibits Penn Pride in a confident manner.  I know there’s a Princeton joke that I could make here about how orange isn’t reserved.  However, I’ll be nice; it is the holidays.

3. Varsi-Tee Blanket for $124.98
I think that this is a great and different Penn accessory… so much so that I want this! So, Mom or Dad, if you’re reading, I would love to open this up when we exchange presents…

2. Penn Hydro Nalgene Bottle for $32.98
Be green and health-conscience in one fell swoop.  Let everyone at the gym know that you went to Penn.

1. Penn Yikes! Rolled T-Shirt for $14.99
A gift for all budgets, this Penn T-shirt is comfortable and durable.  Choose your favorite color and almost literally wear your Penn Pride on your sleeve.

So, those are my seasonal Penn-related recommendations. I would love to hear other ideas from those of you who have started your holiday shopping early this year.

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Filed under Alumni Perspective, Campus Life, Casey R., Top Ten

On the Road Again with Engaging Minds in New York

Author: Jason Strohl

On Friday, December 3, I had the pleasure of joining over 400 alumni at the most recent Engaging Minds event at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City. Four of Penn’s brightest professors engaged the audience in discussions ranging from how corporations benefit from data mining our digital identities to the attempt to control the ever-growing cost of healthcare in the United States to a quiz designed to measure confidence levels in decision-making.  If you were unable to attend, videos of each of the lectures are available on the Making History website, along with additional information about each of the speakers. Also, check out the Engaging Minds page for a preview of events coming to San Francisco and Los Angeles in early 2012. We hope to see you there!

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Filed under Academics, Jason S.