Yearly Archives: 2011

May 6, 2011 · 2:18 pm

Proud Penn Voices

Author:  Kelly Graf

Alumni Weekend 2011 is just a week away and the buzz on campus is both hectic and exciting. Tents are starting to pop up on Hill Field; golf carts are whizzing around delivering supplies; and the meetings, oh the meetings!

With four Alumni Weekends under my belt, I often find myself simply ‘going through the motions’ and not really thinking about what this day means to Penn and its proud Penn alumni. Until Saturday. Every year, as I step onto campus the Saturday morning of Alumni Weekend, I am immediately filled with a sense of pride and anticipation. I man The Penn Fund booth at Penn Fair on College Green and I ask any alumni passing to share their stories with me.

This is Proud Penn Voices – a video project using Flip cameras and curious staff members (including yours truly) to document the memories of our Penn alumni. The results are always either hilarious, touching, meaningful or all of the above. I have heard stories from our Old Guard alumni about lighting trolley tracks on fire (yes, there was once upon a time a trolley that rode right through campus). I have listened to couples reminisce about going on their first date to Smoke’s or a fraternity dance. I have even heard young alumni refer to faculty members who motivated them and inspired them to be greater than they thought possible.

These are the moments when I realize how special Penn truly is. These people share their stories with me out of the kindness of their hearts and their love for Penn (ok, we give them a free t-shirt too). And the stories they tell – whether meant to be funny or sincere – are never less than inspiring and are always full of Penn Pride.

To check out some of The Penn Fund’s Proud Penn Voices videos, visit here.

Want your own free Proud Penn Voices t-shirt? Visit The Penn Fund booth on College Green during Alumni Weekend and share the love!

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May 5, 2011 · 5:25 pm

I Remember…AOL Instant Messenger

Author: Elizabeth K., C’04

When I started my freshman year at Penn, the only thing I used the internet for was AOL, and all that was good for was e-mail, instant messenger and (nerd alert) checking out The X Files fan page. Before school started, I got a Penn email address and I thought it was really cool to have e-mail that wasn’t an AOL account. Penn even gave me six choices for my email address. Unfortunately, both my first and last name were too long for their eight-character limit, so I went with “ehk2” because I thought it sounded nice and was easy to remember. Turns out, you can never get rid of your Penn email account. Not even if you come back to Penn five and a half years after graduation and join the administration. Thanks, 18-year-old self, for my less than professional work email address. Anyway, when I got this sparkly new ehk2 email, I had no idea how you would check email that wasn’t on an AOL account, or how the internet existed without AOL and a telephone line. To me, AOL was the internet.

While I was setting up my dorm room, an IT guy came by and explained our cable internet access. I didn’t understand and asked him how I would get online. He patiently explained that I was always online. I still didn’t get it and even my technologically-clueless Mom had to chime in and help him. The poor IT guy needed to see so many students that day, and here I was, needing my Mom to explain to me how the internet worked. I asked him how I could access my AOL X Files fan site, at which point he just gave me the phone number for the help desk. Sooner or later (probably later) it clicked, and I felt like I had won the lottery! No more weird staticky dial up noises while waiting to hear “Welcome! You’ve Got Mail!” Email arriving on my computer screen whenever it wanted to! And, best of all AOL INSTANT MESSENGER.

AIM Sign in screen

AOL Instant messenger, or AIM, was the chat part of AOL, except you could access it without signing onto AOL and be on it all of the time, except when you turned your computer off. You could also leave status messages. So, when you went idle your name would appear in italics and your status would say, “In class” or “Dinner with Terri.” A lot of people (not me) would leave AIM up all night long, with the status, “Sleeping.” It seemed absolutely necessary that your AIM friends should know where you were at all times. Another great thing about AIM was building your chat list as you met more and more people. A key part of a new friendship with someone was exchanging AIM names.

The Buddy List

AIM was great, but it also meant that you had to use your email name from your AOL email. I got my AOL account in 8th grade, and my name was “PBGiggle.” At fourteen, I thought this was brilliant, and I don’t have nearly enough space here to explain why. Suffice it to say that by 20, I felt like an idiot. So, I made a bold move junior year and changed my AIM name to “EdashLiz” (E-Liz, get it?). Because AIM was so omnipresent during college, our AIM names became part of our identities, and changing from PBGiggle to EdashLiz was like growing up. A lot of my college friends still call me “Edash.” AIM names also taught you things about people. For instance, my friend JUDE831 loved the Beatles and to this day I still remember that her birthday is August 31st. Another friend’s AIM name was fish3333, because she loved to swim (a habit she didn’t keep up in college). I probably never would have known of her swimming past without her AIM name. So much information in just seven to ten characters!

Eventually, when jobs and “real life” hit, AIM fell to the wayside, but I still miss it. I miss the excitement of seeing a boy I liked or a friend I hadn’t talked to in awhile sign on. I miss everyone’s colorful, fun status message for Spring Fling (“Flinging!” “Spring Fling!” “Fling, baby!”) It seems like students today use facebook chat, which I understand – it’s probably easier and you don’t need to remember some weird iteration of someone’s name in order to talk online. Plus, I’m part of the Facebook revolution (more on that in the next blog post) so I think it’s hypocritical to complain about it. But, part of me is sad that today’s students won’t experience the magic of AIM. After all, what would I call my best friend from Penn if she wasn’t “TBelle?” Not by her actual name – that’s just ridiculous.

AIM Chat

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May 4, 2011 · 6:54 pm

A Real Penn Education

Author: Matt Gould, W’14

Whenever I have the opportunity to sit down with somebody new I ask them, “What do you want to accomplish while at Penn?”

I have a lot of faith in this question. It is tricky and frankly, I judge people based on their response.  In my eyes, there are multiple ways to answer the question correctly, there is only one to answer it incorrectly.

Way too often, people tell me that during their time at Penn, they hope to become knowledgeable in insert subject here.  Although I agree that at the end of our four years, we should have worked to earn a diploma, I feel that every student who believes their college experience is about that diploma is selling himself or herself short.

It is students like Megan Schoenberg and Genevieve Deutch who wanted something of their own and founded their own fraternity, Alpha Delta Phi Society at Penn or students like Chadwick Prichard who, outside of the classroom, designed his own Facebook app.

When I become a Penn alumnus, I don’t want to reminisce about what I learned in my finance courses, but rather I want to be able to look back and say, “I can’t believe I did that!” Knowledge and experience—that’s what makes a Penn education great.

P.S. My experiences at Penn includes cheering on our athletic teams to victory as the Quaker mascot…

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May 4, 2011 · 6:08 pm

Working at Penn Can Be Tough on the Waist Line

Author: Emily Siegel

It’s 4 PM on a typical Tuesday afternoon.  I’ve managed to eat well all day.  I’ve faithfully ignored the candy dishes around the office that call my name as I pass by.  I’ve avoided diving into the homemade treats that seem to show up every day on our free-for-all counter.  Just a little bit longer and I can make it home to the safety of my temptation-free kitchen.  I look at my calendar and see that I have one last obstacle:  Finals Study Break with our PASS & Linking Legacies students.

I psych myself up to avoid whatever chocolaty-goodness this event is bound to throw my way.  In my head, I hear Bob and Jillian telling me to “focus on the people, not the food.”  But then they arrive.: a stack of four pizza boxes filled with warm, delicious cookies.  And not just any ordinary cookies…Insomnia Cookies.  Bringing with them all of their straight-from-the-oven, gooey on the inside, and perfection on the outside wonderfulness.

My only hope now is that the students ordered four boxes of sugar cookies (not my favorite). Those,  I could easily ignore.  But no, they were filled with all of the favorites temptations:  chocolate chip, M&M, chocolate-chocolate, and peanut butter.  Obviously, my plan changes from ignoring them to having just one.  But who can do that?  If I have a chocolate chip cookie, I need to round it out with a peanut butter cookie.  But then my pallet misses the chocolate already and wants a sample of the M&M.  And then, before you know it, I go from eating no cookies, to devouring three of them in 10 minutes.

Luckily, I am never alone in this.  The students and other staff at the event are always right along with me.  And really, who can blame us for giving in when cookies look this good…

Good to the Last Crumb

This may be the cookie coma talking, but Insomnia Cookies might just be my favorite start-up by our Penn alumni yet!

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May 3, 2011 · 12:02 pm

Fisher Fine Arts

Definitely the prettiest library on campus – Fisher Fine Arts Library. The inside is breathtaking, but I’ll save that for another day. I spent about 10 hours a week here my first semester not because I was a fine arts student or needed any of the amazing art books there, but because I’m vain and think I work better in aesthetically pleasing places.

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May 2, 2011 · 9:39 am

Year of Games

Author: Aimee LaBrie

Since Penn has announced the fall 2011-12 Penn Reading Project text, Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World by Jane McGonigal, we’ve been trying to brainstorm here in Alumni Relations about how we might use this idea for programming for Homecoming Weekend featuring arts and culture (save the date if you haven’t already: November 4-6, 2011).  Obviously, there’s the natural tie-in with the football game, Quakers vs. the Princeton Tigers, but we want to think of other programming/ideas/games that we could integrate into the weekend that centers around games. It could be cerebral stuff, like discussions about game theory and the gaming culture.  Lisa V.. who is the director of alumni education at Penn Alumni, has already come up with a few topic possibilities for classes: robotics, sports in history, sports and the economy, gender and equality in athletics–just to name a few of her initial thoughts. But we could also maybe do something with actual games–a human checkerboard, an interactive treasure hunt across campus, flag football between alumni classes…Anyway, I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas about what you’d like to see or do for Homecoming Weekend that’s related to the idea of games. Also, take a look at the new website for Year of Games. It’s really awesome.

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Filed under Aimee L., Alumni Programming, Alumnni Education, Homecoming Weekend featuring arts and culture

April 29, 2011 · 3:47 pm

What’s Your Favorite Thing About Alumni Weekend?

Take the poll today!

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April 29, 2011 · 9:00 am

My Top Penn List: Largest Alumni Clubs

Author: Casey Ryan, C’95

Anyone who has spent any time in Philadelphia should be familiar with “Move Closer to Your World,” the television news music jingle made famous by its use on Action News on Channel 6, ABC’s affiliate WPVI-TV. Since Action News has been the highest-rated station in Philadelphia for four decades, the theme has become a large part of the Philadelphia consciousness especially the first four lines.

“Move closer to your world, my friend
Take a little bit of time
Move closer to your world, my friend
And you’ll see…”

Taking the advice from the song, for my Top Penn List, I wanted to share with you the 10 largest Penn Alumni Communities with clubs, so you can engage closer with your Penn world wherever you are.

10     First, we travel outside of the States, to our largest international club, The Penn Club of United Kingdom, London, UK

9              Penn Alumni Club of Washington D.C., Washington DC.

8              Penn Gold Coast Alumni Club Website, serving Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beaches, FL

7              Miami Alumni Club, Miami, FL

6              Penn Club of Boston, Boston, MA

5              Penn Club of Northern California Club, San Francisco, CA

4              University of Pennsylvania Alumni Association for Southern California (aka PennClubLA) serving Los Angeles and Orange County, CA

3              Penn Alumni Club of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA

2              Metro New Jersey Alumni Club, Northern New Jersey

1              PennNYC, New York City, NY (in addition, Penn Club of Westchester and Rockland Website, University of Pennsylvania Club of Long Island Website and Penn Club of Fairfield County service the needs of Penn alumni in the NY/CT metropolitan area).

For those who would like to reminisce about their Philadelphia days, enjoy the classic Action News theme song also with images circa 1995.

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April 28, 2011 · 8:12 pm

Hey Day and the Final Toast: April 2011

Author: Lex Ruby Howe, C’07, GED’13

Penn students celebrated the 95th annual Hey Day yesterday, with the Class of 2012 advancing to “senior” status as the senior Class of 2011 were welcomed into the Penn Alumni community at the third annual Final Toast.

The Class of 2012 Processes Down Locust Walk

The Final Toast featured a beer-garden, food from Penn’s famous food trucks – Magic Carpet, Sugar Philly, and Guapo Taco by Jose Garces – as well as the Mask & Wig Band, the Bloomers Band, and DJ Rico.

Juniors and Seniors Converge

A special appearance by President Amy Gutmann made the event truly remarkable. Gutmann joined the Mask & Wig band on stage for a brilliant rendition of “Son of a Preacher Man.”

Final Toasters with Dr. Gutmann

Many on campus are calling this one of the cleanest and safest Hey Days they’ve seen in years – the tradition of celebration is coming back!

The Tradition Continues

You can view the latest photos from Hey Day here. Enjoy!

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April 27, 2011 · 6:34 pm

Practice Rooms

Author: Bart Miltenberger, C’97

Many moons ago (1993-1997), when I was an undergrad here at Penn, I played trumpet in the jazz ensemble as well as in a few other extracurricular bands. I wasn’t all that serious about playing music back then – I did it just for fun. Because of my novice status though,  I often wished I had a place to practice. But back then, Penn didn’t have a lot of space for practice. Oh, yes, there was a music building, and there were three practice rooms in its basement, but those rooms were beyond creepy (roaches, cobwebs, sewage pipes) and acoustically disastrous. Sometimes, I resorted to finding a boiler room in a dorm to get in my trumpet-practicing done. Needless to say, I didn’t get around to it all that much, and hence, I didn’t really improve.

Now, things are much different on campus. There are actual undergraduate music majors (in my time, most of the music majors focused on composition versus a particular instrument), and many of them are playing way above the level I ever achieved as a student. And perhaps most importantly, since the Music Building has been renovated (!), there are multiple places for students to get in the hours of practiced needed to reach that higher level of skill.

There are now five practice rooms with regularly-tuned Yamaha upright pianos. This is one my favorite one of those to play in:

Practice room on the second floor of the newly-renovated Music Building

This room was a gift made in part by my old boss, former Alumni Relations AVP, Bob Alig. The room itself was dedicated in honor of Paul Williams, the former president of Penn Alumni. Thanks for the nice room guys!

Here’s a look inside the room:

Here’s a look inside – nice piano!

If the rooms at the Music Building are in use, two more practice rooms are available on the fourth floor of the renovated Fisher-Bennett Hall. And, if you’re really lucky, the Rose Recital Hall (also located on the fourth floor of Fisher-Bennett) will be available and you can practice your trumpet in a fabulous, large, and acoustically-pleasant room. If it’s unlocked, there is a wonderful Steinway grand piano in the Recital Hall.

If that room is taken up by classes, there is always the option of the ten practice rooms in the basement of Irvine Auditorium. Still another option is signing out a practice room at Platt Performing Arts House. The rooms there are multipurpose. You might be practicing in a room that was just used for a dance lesson or an Indian music ensemble.

Again, all of these practice spaces at Penn are relatively new. The University has certainly made a commitment to the arts at Penn. This is great for the whole Penn community.

Now. There’s a trumpet waiting to be practiced. I recommend starting with long tones:

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