Yearly Archives: 2011

April 27, 2011 · 9:05 am

Winning

Author: Dan Bernick, SAS ’14

I lost.  I ran for Vice President of the Undergraduate Assembly and lost. My team developed a platform, mobilized an army of supporters, and sent thousands of emails.  I spoke with hundreds of students and learned a ton about Penn.  But still, I lost.

I had poured my heart into the campaign.  The following week was tough, and I began to question my involvement with student government.

Fortunately, I cheered up enough to go out and support my favorite team (Penn!).  While I shouted myself hoarse for our women’s lacrosse team, someone sat down next to me.  It was Penn President Amy Gutmann, cheering twice as loud as any of us.  I soaked it all in: looking out I saw my team, fighting tooth and nail for the ball; looking left I saw my friends, covered head to toe in Red and Blue; looking right I saw my President, putting us to shame with her enthusiasm; and looking up I saw the clear sky, perfect weather for an amazing night.

That’s when it hit me: Only at Penn can you lose and still be a winner.  Not two weeks after the election, I was watching a lacrosse game with our extraordinary President, rooting for the Quakers and chatting about plans for next year.  Penn is where I want to be, what I want to do, and why I want to do it.

At the Lacrosse Game with President Amy Gutmann

I cannot wait for the fall!

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April 26, 2011 · 7:45 pm

To Penn in Ten (Pictures)

Author: Jason Strohl

It’s beautiful out, so I decided to walk to work. I live in the Grad Hospital area of Philadelphia, up against Washington avenue, just shy of being in South Philly proper. It takes me about 25 minutes to walk to Penn and since there is a lot to see on my way, I thought I would share it with you.

This is the view from my front steps. You can see Liberty One and the Comcast Center in the background. Someday I am going to put a roofdeck on my house so I can see the skyline even better. It's really pretty at night.

Here we have the beautiful Anderson Yards little league baseball field, home of the Monarchs! Someone recetly told me that it is considered the nicest little league field in all of Philadelphia, and it is mere steps from my house! On my way home I like to stop for a few minutes sometimes and take in a game.

This is the corner of 18th and South Streets. Penn Medicine at Rittenhouse is located here.

This is the corner of 18th and Pine Streets, facing east. I took this picture to highlight the relatively new bike lane that was installed here. It stretches all the way from West Philadelphia to Front Street! For a cyclist like me this was a welcome addition to Philadelphia's streets.

The Southeast entrance to Rittenhouse Square. I love walking through here in the mornings because it gives me a taste of nature that I don't really have around where I live. Rittenhouse Square is also one of the best mid-day people watching spots during the warmer months.

This is a statue located in a fountain in Rittenhouse Square. Someone decided to decorate it festively for Easter. Personally I think it's an improvement, but I don't know much about art.

This was taken while I was crossing the Walnut Street bridge. Below you can see the jogging path sandwiched between the train tracks and the Schuykill river. The small building is a public bathroom that the city installed last summer. They are working hard to making the riverside a nicer place, and it really shows!

Again, this is from the Walnut Street bridge, but looking down on the contruction taking place on Penn Park, which is slated to open this summer. In the foreground you can see one of three footbridges that will take people down into the park. I'm very excited for a new green space so close by!

34th and Walnut Streets. Almost there!!

Finally we have the Sweeten Alumni House, where all of us in Alumni Relations work. I made it in under 25 minutes!

This was fun. I hope you all enjoyed traveling with me and I will see you next time!

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April 26, 2011 · 2:51 pm

New Eats on Penn’s Campus

Author: Stephanie Yee, C’08

May is quickly approaching, which means Alumni Weekend is right around the corner! Young alumni are always asking me why they should come back to campus for Alumni Weekend. They still keep in touch with classmates because they only recently graduated, and they most likely just came to campus during Homecoming last fall. First, I tell them about all the great events planned for Alumni Weekend, starting with the 3 P’s: parade, picnic, and parties! Then, I gush about the new restaurants and food trucks they have to try. Here are some of my new favorite food places at Penn:

Tyson Bee's Food Truck

Come back to Penn for Alumni Weekend and let us know what your favorite eats are!

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April 25, 2011 · 7:43 pm

Alumn-iPad

Author: Leigh Ann P.

 
Those of us who have worked at the registration tables at Homecoming and Alumni Weekend in the past have become all-too familiar with the archaic sounds of – what I call – the credit card stamper thingie.
 
*SQUEEEEEAK*CRUNCH!…. *SQUEEEEEAK*CRUNCH!
 
This is a device you may have seen in the early ’90s at your elementary school’s annual crawfish festival fundraiser; it’s a prehistoric adventure of capturing credit card information.  It leads to bottlenecking and sadness.
 

You can also pay us using clams or other shells.

 
If you’re like me, you may associate this level of technology with something my generation calls the Zack Morris phone.
 

Kelly? Meet me at the Max after school!

 
But not anymore!  The Penn Alumni Weekend registration team has stepped into the twentieth twenty-first century and we will be using iPads to process payments at Alumni Weekend next month.
 
My husband and I purchased iPads last week (thank you, anticipated tax refund!).  So far it has been money extremely well-spent.  They have drastically changed our technological lives as we know them.  I mean, look at how many tomatoes I’m growing in my Smurf Village.
 

La, La, la-la-la-laaaa, Laaaa-la-la-la-laaaaa

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April 22, 2011 · 10:48 am

Fling Has Flung!

Author: Molly Sloss, SAS’14

That’s right, this past weekend was Penn’s most famous celebration—Spring Fling. The entire student body crowded the quad for fried Oreos and student performances. We flocked to Franklin Field to party with Fiasco and Flo Rida and on Sunday morning shared in the mournful act of putting our neon back in the closet.

Photo credit: The Daily Pennsylvanian

As a freshman, my first fling was certainly memorable. I got to wear my neon purple leggings without judgment for the first time. I took the weekend off from homework. But the most important thing about fling was that I was doing it with 10,000 other undergrads. This was the first time I’d seen Penn’s student body come together as a whole. The energy was inescapable.

There was a moment at the concert when I had to take my eyes off of Lupe Fiasco, and turn around. I looked behind me and saw 3 sections full of students, screaming an a capella version of “Superstar,” all waving their arms at the same time. All of us. Together. Of all the things we could be doing together, jammin’ to lupe fiasco isn’t the most impressive. But at that moment, I didn’t feel like a freshman, or an Urban Studies major, or a student in the College. I was just a Penn student, on equal ground with everyone else, partaking in possibly the most quintessential Quaker experience ever. And it felt fling-tastic.

Check out the fling-stivities video and slideshow to see for yourself!

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April 22, 2011 · 9:00 am

Penn Alumni Explore the World

Author: Kiera Reilly, C’93

As the Director of Penn Alumni Travel, I have been fortunate to see much of the world, traveling with fellow Penn Alumni and friends on Penn Alumni Travel programs. While the sites we see are often iconic, sometimes, it’s the stolen moments of unexpected serendipity that stay in your memory and make each trip special.

In the summer of 2005, we were on the Historic Countries of the Baltic cruise. The itinerary included stops in Gdansk, Poland, several former Soviet republics – Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, as well as St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Copenhagen and Stockholm. It was a wonderful trip – a small ship with 100 passengers from various institutions around the U.S., including Penn. Everyone seemed to get along well, no matter your alma mater. I still remember climbing to the top deck late one night (with the infamous white nights of summer, dusk started around 11 p.m.) to find a few of the Penn travelers sharing Cuban cigars with alumni from LSU.

St. Petersburg

I had never been to Russia before, so arriving in St. Petersburg was fascinating. It was hot, and humid, and the city just shimmered. Since our ship was small, we were able to dock relatively close to the central part of the city. As we took a bus to tour the major sites, there were young brides and grooms everywhere, taking photos against the city’s landmarks.

Bride and Groom

Everyone seemed to smile when we saw another pair of newlyweds.

The Happy Couple

We toured the Peter and Paul Fortress, visiting the tombs of the czar and his family. We had an early morning tour of the Hermitage– the architectural details of the building itself were amazing, not to mention the vast art collection.

The Hermitage

We traveled outside the city, visting Petrodvorets, (Peterhof Palace), which lived up to its reputation as being the “Russian Versailles”, and Catherine’s palace, Tsarskoe Selo,, walking through the recently restored Amber Room (no photos allowed). En route, it was fascinating to see the Soviet architecture – such beautiful palaces and museums from long ago contrasted with the blocky modern buildings of the former USSR.

Peterhof

Catherine Palace

All these sites were amazing to see, but it was something I experienced not on the itinerary that remains lodged in my memory. The cruise director on our ship had lived in Russia for several years, and she shared tips about St. Petersburg with the passengers – where to have lunch, what to do if encountering gypsies, and suggestions for places to visit, including a Russian Orthodox church service. Intrigued, I decided to visit the church not far from where our ship docked. Christel Pailet, Director of UCLA’s travel program, decided to join me.  The cruise director informed us that orthodox services go on for hours, so she said we could stop in, stay as long as we liked and leave on our own timeline. She also recommended that we cover our heads and shoulders. We brought along a shawl and set out – about a 10 minute walk from our ship.

This is the church where Christel and I attended a service as seen from our ship

From the outside, Russian Orthodox churches are beautiful and massive. Inside, this church seemed small and intimate. It was dark, with only minimal light streaming through small windows.  There were maybe 15-20 people inside. There were no pews so everyone stood. There was chanting coming from above, from monks or priests we couldn’t see. It seemed like the chants were coming from the heavens. Every once in a while, the worshippers would bend over and touch the floor with their hands. Christel and I stood in wonder, watching, listening, not understanding anything being said or chanted but transfixed by the spirituality of the service.

Then, we noticed what we assumed to be a priest. He was standing slightly off center on the ground level. He was speaking in hushed tones with a woman who was clearly upset. Tears were streaming down her face. He seemed to be comforting her, or maybe it was a confessional, we could only guess. Then, he would stop speaking to her, say some words aloud for the service, and resume speaking with her. After about twenty minutes we left, fascinated by what we had witnessed. We wondered why this woman was so upset and what the priest was telling her for comfort. Other worshippers came and went while we stood and watched. When I saw Christel recently, she said it was one of her most memorable travel experiences. I couldn’t agree more.

This year, Penn Alumni Travel is visiting the Baltics again. I look forward to visiting these countries as I join the Penn travelers on the May 31 departure. Two famous historical figures will come aboard the ship for lectures – Lech Walesa and Mikhail Gorbachev. Plans are underway to repeat this trip next year, and as these departures sold out very quickly, you should make your reservations early!

Kiera Reilly, C’93, Director, Penn Alumni Travel, in front of St. Petersburg’s Church of the Spilled Blood

View more photos from Penn Alumni travel here.

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April 21, 2011 · 2:44 pm

Project 1/30 – April

Author: Kelly Porter O’Connor

Some of you may have heard of Project 365 – where you take one photo a day to document your life. Well, this is project 1/30 where I will take a photo (or two) to document one day a month at Penn.

With a little thing called Alumni Weekend around the corner, the majority of my month is spent in the good old Franklin Building, which is indeed not the most desired place to spend your warm spring days! At the first sign of a sunny day I somehow find my way to Locust Walk. Yesterday just happened to be that day. Featured here is the image I selected to represent April. What does it mean to you?

Spring on Locust Walk

For me, this image represents one of the most beautiful days, when campus really comes alive. Daffodils are in full bloom, the sun is shining and Locust Walk is flooded with the bustle of our Penn community. The prayer tent is up, observing this week’s holidays, student-led tours for potential freshman are at every corner, folks are out on the Green enjoying the sun shining through the trees, and, of course, we get our first sightings of flip flops (and for some, the lack thereof…)!

The first true sign of spring: flip-flops

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April 21, 2011 · 9:14 am

Every Step is for Owen

Rachel Marchand, C’12

April 26, 2010 will be a day that I will never forget.  I had just walked in to Van Pelt Library to escape the torrential downpour that was engulfing Philadelphia that day.  I had a 10-page final paper due the next day and had plenty of snacks from Wawa to get me through the long night that lie ahead.  Just as I was finishing my opening paragraph, my phone began to vibrate.  My little sister in my sorority had sent me a text that I will never forget, “Rach, Owen Thomas died today.”  In utter shock, I refused to believe that she was telling the truth.  She must have heard a bad rumor or I hoped it was a cruel joke, when in fact he was completely fine and alive in his Baltimore Avenue home.  I’ve never wished for someone to lie to me more than in that moment, because my little sister had in fact told me the truth. My beloved friend Owen Thomas had died that day.

I met Owen the first day of my freshman year, when I realized the red-headed football player lived two doors down from me.  He was and still is one the most amazing people I have ever met in my entire life.  Not only was he a great and loyal friend, he was captain of the Penn football team and a student in the prestigious Wharton School.  He excelled both on and off the field, and everyone that knew him loved him.  I remember having to find and tell my friend, Jackie Haas, the news of his death in the middle of the second floor lounge of the library, and both of us unable to accept the news.  We both believed that he just had to be alive.  A few minutes later, the rumors were confirmed.

The Penn community lost an amazing person last spring and every step since that day we have walked in honor of Owen.  We all hung on to each other for love and support in that difficult time.  The football team went on to win the Ivy League Championship this season in honor of #40, and my friends and I wanted to do something to honor Owen as well.  We decided to plan a commemorative walk to remember Owen and to raise money to be donated to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.  We had the walk this past Sunday on Franklin Field and raised over $16,000.  It was a beautiful spring day in which we all gathered together to laugh and cry about the good times and the bad.  I will never forget that day, and I hope that we made Owen proud and will continue to make him proud each day.  Knowing Owen made me a better person, and he will forever hold a place in my heart, where I carry him each day.

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April 20, 2011 · 7:32 pm

Up in the Air: Penn Pictures from Around the World

Author: Hoopes Wampler

There are over 25,000 Penn alumni living outside the United States.  While that is only roughly 8% of the total Penn alumni population, these numbers are significant and represent a growing trend for Penn.

Tiananmen Gate, Forbidden City, Beijing

As head of Alumni Relations, I spend a fair amount of time “on the road” (or I really should say “in the air”) traveling to meet, support, inform and engage our alumni around the world.

The London Eye

Our international alumni have become key ambassadors in promoting the Penn brand abroad – and they do great work!  Penn is now truly a global institution and our alumni infuse Penn into their communities every day through a series of club events, student admissions interviews, professional networking seminars, and Penn celebrations and conversations.  With all deference given to Jacques Brel, Penn truly is alive and well – and living in Paris – amongst other places.

l' Opéra, Paris

I am especially looking forward to our return trip to Asia this May with visits to Korea, Taiwan and Singapore (remember your ABP – Always Be Promoting).  My visit this year represents a return trip to these great places, and I am looking forward to being immersed in these amazing international alumni communities once again.

Taipei 101, Taiwan

What I find most intriguing about international travel is the importance of learning about and working with the customs and cultures of each country. There is much to learn and each trip represents an opportunity to become more skilled at operating in the international environment. Even things like how to present and receive business cards are important practices and signs of respect in Asia. First impressions are important and you have to work hard to get it right.

The Great Wall

The easy part about international travel is receiving all the greetings and Penn passion from our alumni once we arrive. There is so much Penn energy in the world and alumni are incredibly proud of their Penn degrees. So I’ll go “up in the air” for Penn any day…

British Museum, London

Although, and for those who have seen the George Clooney movie of the same name, I am always thankful to arrive back home in Philadelphia and return to our beautiful campus.  Home is where the heart is and even when my heart is on the road – it’s always at Penn.

College Green, Penn

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April 20, 2011 · 6:36 pm

Campus for a Foodie

Author: Christine Uyemera, SEAS ’13

If I had to pick just one thing that I love, it would easily be food. Technology and sleep are close seconds, but a good meal has the greatest potential to make me absolutely satisfied with my life for the moment. Unfortunately, I don’t have the funds or time to eat delicious meals on a regular basis. This year I moved off campus and share groceries with my roommates (one of which who is vegetarian) in lieu of purchasing a meal plan. On a regular day I might eat oatmeal, some variant of an omelet and pasta (all vegetarian, much to the dismay of my carnivore instincts). However, on certain special occasions, my friends and I love to venture out into the world (really just University City) and spoil ourselves with something tasty.

Penn loves to boast the urban setting of our campus, and I think this is one of the main aspects of Penn that attracted me. City = lots of restaurants. Lots of restaurants = greater possibility of a fantastic meal. The offerings are incredibly varied in ethnicity, price, and atmosphere. Before coming to Penn, I had never considered food carts to be anything more than cheap, dirty food that people had to get sometimes when they were in a rush, but now I’ve discovered that they are cheap, tasty options for any time and any day. Magic Carpet, Koja, and Buis are three of my favorite. They offer Vegetarian Mediterranean , Korean/Japanese food, and sandwiches respectively, and you can get a good meal for $6 at all of them. The food cart culture is definitely a unique component of the eating experience at Penn.

Koja Truck

Apart from the food carts, there are also sit-down restaurants on campus that I love to go to any time I have the opportunity. Pari Cafe Creperie is located right in Houston Hall and makes one of my favorites since being here, a huge chicken pesto crepe.

Another fantastic place to get quite a few bites is a new addition this year near Hill College House: Baby Blues BBQ. This is where I escape my accidental vegetarian life and get my meat fix. My roommate and I were innocently walking down Sansom one night when the aroma of barbecued ribs pulled us into the restaurant like dogs. We ended up splurging and ordering full on meals (as opposed to the regular bbq pork sandwiches) and it was worth every dollar. Being from Georgia, I am a barbecue fiend, and the quality and flavor of the meat at Baby Blues was incredibly satisfying.

Baby Blues BBQ

One more restaurant that I have to mention in University city although it is not on campus (44th ish and Walnut) is another new one, Manakeesh. This restaurant/bakery serves lebanese “manakeesh” which are kind of like folded pizzas on pita-like bread with more delicious things on top. This restaurant is ridiculously cheap (which is dangerous to realize with an empty stomach) and everything is quality and authentic.

Manakeeesh

Writing this is making me really hungry, and these are just a few of my favorites. I wish I could write a blogpost about the restaurants that I love in all of Philadelphia, but I’ll save that for another day.  The take home point: college campuses in the city are the way to go for anyone who is excited by good food. And who isn’t?

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