Category Archives: Alumni Perspective

August 16, 2012 · 7:01 pm

Get Ready to Come Home (to Penn)!

Author: Lisa Vaccarelli, C’02, GED’10

You’ve saved the date (October 26-28).  Now, take a look at all the great programming taking place over Homecoming Weekend featuring Arts & Culture.  The website is up and registration is open – space is limited for some events, so sign up now to save your space.  For those who need a cheat sheet, here are a few events not to miss.

Get back in the classroom and participate in dynamic discussions with faculty and fellow alumni at one of these Classes without Quizzes: [ARTHUR ROSS GALLERY IMAGE and/or CLASS IMAGE]

  • Frank Furness and the Evolution of the Modern Library (Saturday)
  • The Power of Suggestion/The Pleasure of Groove: New Developments in Contemporary Jazz (Saturday)
  • Masters of Light: French and California Impressionists (Saturday)

Tour Penn’s Architectural Masterpieces with Dr. David Brownlee, Frances Shapiro-Weitzenhoffer Professor of the History of Art:

  • 19th Century Architecture (Friday)
  • 20th Century Architecture (Saturday)

Explore the beautiful grounds of the Barnes Foundation, recently relocated to Center City Philadelphia, with renowned landscape architect and PennDesign professor Laurie Olin (Sunday).

Kids of all ages are invited to Morris Arboretum’s Bloomfield Farm Day, with tours of a working 18th century grist mill and plenty of family-centered entertainment (Sunday).

And finally, be ready to cheer the Quakers on the certain victory against the Brown Bears. Can’t wait to see you there!

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Filed under Alumni Perspective, Alumni Programming, Events, Homecoming Weekend featuring arts and culture

August 13, 2012 · 4:04 pm

Penn Students United For A Better…(What are we for again?)

Author: Lynn Carroll, C’93

Penn has more student groups than you can shake a stick at.  A quick glance at the Penn Registered Student Groups site  showed 629 groups, listing everything from the Alexander Hamilton Society to Zymurgists of Penn Dental (link:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/201638156576351).  If you put two Penn students in a room for 2 minutes, they’ll form a group and start fighting over who gets to be president.

Despite the fleeting nature of student activities, some groups have stood the test of time, like Mask and Wig or the Penn Band.

Lookin’ fine in ’89 (1889, that is) and talkin’ jive in ’25!

Alas, most student groups don’t have such long legacies.  In a salute to all the groups whose presidents, mission/vision/values statements, and bylaws have faded from memory, I thought I would highlight a few that we miss oh, so fondly.  They are presented in roughly chronological order; feel free to add your own elegies in the comments.

Zelosophic Society: Looked like a hip, happening group of fellows back in 1904, I bet they were the cat’s pajamas!  I wonder what happened?

Students for a Democratic Society: An anti-war student activist group that made a significant impact nationally by organizing the 1965 March on Washington.

Save Open Space: This group protested the building of hideous Meyerson Hall at 34th and Walnut in the ’60s, now (ironically) home to the School of Design.  Unfortunately for them (and for the architectural beauty of campus), they were unsuccessful.

Albino Squirrel Preservation Society: And I quote…  “We, the members of the University of Pennsylvania chapter of the international Albino Squirrel Preservation Society network, affirm our dedication to the constant pursuit of squirrel equality.”  I couldn’t have put it better myself.

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July 26, 2012 · 8:35 pm

Penn Serves LA

Author:  Kiera Reilly, C’93  (@KieraReilly)

Penn Serves LA’s first event at the Turning Point Shelter in Santa Monica, CA.

On Saturday June 9, Penn Serves LA hosted its first successful volunteer event. More than 20 Penn alumni and friends were on hand to serve dinner with dignity to the 55 residents of Turning Point Shelter in Santa Monica. Volunteers brought chicken, salad, dessert, decorations and more to prepare this memorable meal.

“We are thrilled that first event exceeded our expectations of interest from Los Angeles Penn alumni and their families,” shares Jane Gutman, CW’73, PAR’14, PAR’16, a founding member of the Penn Serves LA Committee. Jane, along with Denise Winner, W’83, Leanne Huebner, W’90, Aileen Level, C’99, GSEd’00, and others, have been putting their various nonprofit experiences and connections together to get Penn Serves LA together and running.

Penn alumni helping in the kitchen.

Making lunches for the Turning Point residents.

In these difficult economic times, many succumb to homelessness due to job loss and these shelters are key to getting them back on their feet. According the Institute for the Study of Homelessness and Poverty at the Weingart Center, an estimated 254,000 men, women and children experience homelessness in Los Angeles County during some part of the year and approximately 82,000 people are homeless on any given night. Interestingly, 32% of LA’s homeless have bachelors’ degrees (compared to 45% of the overall population) and 41% have worked in the previous year.

PennClubLA’s Snehit Neenakri, GEN’09, and Jane Gutman, CW’73, PAR’ 14, PAR’16.

The Penn Serves LA goal is to volunteer our services as Penn alumni, parents and family to contribute to needy nonprofits in our community. Penn Serves LA is regularly scheduling service events whereby Quakers can proudly work together to service the Los Angeles community.   We are working in partnership with PennClubLA, Wharton Club of Southern California, and the Southern California Regional Advisory Board.

Serving food from the kitchen.

The next Penn Serves LA event is September 22 The group will serve lunch at The Midnight Mission. More details will be available soon, and the event will be promoted via emails and through the local Penn and Wharton clubs.

The Penn Serves LA committee is seeking more LA-based alumni, parents and students to support our initiative. If you have interest in learning more, or in joining us on September 22, please contact pennserves@gmail.com.

All photos (c) Kiera Reilly.

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Filed under Alumni Perspective, Alumni Programming, Clubs, Events, GAN, Kiera R., Penn Clubs, Penn Serves LA, Photos, Volunteering, West Coast Regional Office

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July 24, 2012 · 1:50 pm

Poconos Sunrise

Author: Stephanie Yee, C’08

I spent this weekend in the Poconos celebrating my Penn classmate and good friend’s upcoming nuptials. Sometimes, a quick trip away from the city is the perfect getaway. I woke up on Sunday just in time to watch the sunrise. It was breathtaking. The lake house was the perfect place to relax and to reunite with old Penn friends and to meet new ones. Here are three photos, each taken several minutes apart.

Sunrise at 5:34 AM

6:41 AM

7:06 AM

 

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July 20, 2012 · 11:46 am

Maria Popova, C’07, Curator of Interestingness

Author: Lynn Carroll, C’93

Maria Popova, C’07, is an “interestingness hunter-gatherer obsessed with combinatorial creativity.” She blogs at www.brainpickings.org and tweets prolifically @brainpicker (to 200.000+ followers, I might add).  Chosen as one of the 100 Most Creative People In Business for 2012 by Fast Company, she ravenously consumes the printed—and electronic—word, curates a selection of gems from mountains of past and present information, then adds her insights as an editor – completing this process three times each day for her blog.

When not writing for her blog, the Atlantic, or Wired UK, she is a “Futures of Entertainment” fellow at MIT.  One of my favorite posts of Maria’s is Words to Live By:  5 Timeless Commencement Addresses which includes snippets from, or links to, Commencement addresses by J.K. Rowling, Steve Jobs, Robert Krulwich, Meryl Streep, and Jeff Bezos.  Enjoy her blog, and don’t blame me if you’re not even the slightest bit productive at work for the rest of the day.

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July 19, 2012 · 12:01 pm

An Olympic Games Primer

Author: Lisa Vaccarelli, C’02, GED’10

As you can see from my colleague’s previous post, we have a little bit of Olympic-fever here in Alumni Relations.  But with the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games quickly approaching, what better time to reflect on this historic event through a Red & Blue lens?

For those curious about the origins of the Olympics, look no further than Thomas Tartaron, associate professor of Classical Studies.  As Tartaron explains in the latest issue of the SAS Frontiers e-magazine, some aspects of the event haven’t changed much at all:

Like today’s game…a major portion of the [Olympic games] lent itself to money making.  Feasting was a constant over the span of five days, punctuated with athlete fanfare and victory processions.  Greeks came by land and sea to attend the games, which translated into financial gain for those offering food and lodging.

Scene from Attic Black Figure Amphora , ca. 510-490 BC, depicting a boxing contest (‘pugme’). Two boxers wear soft leather ‘himantes’ or boxing gloves. The man with the long stick is either a judge or trainer. A naked youth stands by, holding extra ‘himantes.’ University of Pennsylvania Museum Object ID MS403.

Wondering how many Quakers have made it to the pinnacle of athletic competition?  A recent Pennsylvania Gazette article breaks down the numbers:

Excluding the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, a Penn student, coach, faculty member, or alumnus has appeared in every single Summer Olympics…According to an online exhibition posted by the University Archives and Records Center, Penn’s athletes have won at least 26 gold medals, 28 silver medals, and 28 bronze medals…In all, the University of Pennsylvania has sent nearly 200 athletes, coaches, managers, doctors, and committee members to the Olympics—competing in sports that include track, rowing, swimming, wrestling, field hockey, equestrian, fencing, rugby, and yachting and representing countries ranging from Canada to Belize to Great Britain and to Greece.

This year is no exception to this tradition. Susan Francia,C’04, G’04 who won a gold medal as part of the women’s eight boat at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, was selected for the same eight-person boat at the 2012 Olympics.

And now, let the games begin!

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July 13, 2012 · 6:45 pm

Hurrah, Hurrah, A-Antarctica

Author: Nicole C. Maloy, W’95

As Philadelphia finds itself at the beginning of yet another heat wave, and as much of the nation has experienced record heat this summer, I thought I’d take you on a little trip with me through time and space to someplace just a bit cooler. In February 2008, I was fortunate enough to host a Penn Alumni Travel trip to Antarctica. Coolest moment (no pun intended, but it stays): being out on our Zodiac raft when three humpback whales decided to hang out with us. I casually asked the Naturalist driving us if there was any history of whales overturning a Zodiac raft. He shrugged. I tightened my life vest. A few of my video clips of those whales are below. I will never forget this trip, and my temperature has dropped a few degrees just looking at these photos again. May they have the same effect on you.

I love that the coats they gave us match our flag! If they’d been certain other colors, I think some alumni might have braved the cold for this photo.

One of my favorite shots of the trip. This Gentoo penguin chick walked up, stopped and looked at me before moving on.

Molting Adelie penguin chick teaches me a new dance.

This penguin chick walked right up to this guy and stopped. I tried to tell him, but he was too focused on taking photos of the penguins in front of him to hear me. So I started taking photos. Then his wife, approaching with that group on the left, starts pointing down at his feet. Then he looked down…

Oh, hello.

Three humpback whales befriend our raft. The woman sitting next to me is really, really excited about it.

Humpback whales are identified by the patterns on the underside of their tails. One of the Naturalists asked for this video because she didn’t think they’d seen this one before. And here I was thinking it was cool enough just to see it dive!

The ice. I still can’t believe I saw this with my own eyes.

Bottom of the world, Ma!

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July 10, 2012 · 12:38 pm

Magic Carpet Food Truck at SAP’s Summer Picnic

Author: Stephanie Yee, C’08

Magic Carpet is one of my favorite food trucks on Penn’s campus, so I was beyond excited when I saw it at SAP’s 40th Anniversary Newtown Square Summer Picnic. Really, I was giddy. I had no idea they did catering and special events.

The theme of the picnic was “Gourmet Food Trucks,” so Magic Carpet was not the only truck there. There were two other Philadelphia-based food trucks parked next to Magic Carpet, but I didn’t even bother looking at the other menus. Magic Carpet was there, so obviously I was eating there. It always seems like a life-and-death situation when I am trying to choose only one item from their expansive menu, so luckily, they had a limited menu for the SAP picnic. We ordered one Magic Meatball sandwich (tofu meatballs with red sauce, cheese, and salad) and one Sloppy Jason sandwich (veggie chili with cheese and salad). As they were making the sandwiches, I told them how excited I was to see them at the picnic because I frequent their truck at 36th and Spruce. Really, I was gushing. The sandwiches were delicious, and it was great seeing a part of Penn’s community 13 miles away from Penn’s campus.

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July 2, 2012 · 11:20 am

Travel as a Currency of Freedom

Author: Lisa Ellen Niver, CAS’89

Today, George and I depart for our second “big trip.” Four years ago, we left in July 2008 for an eleven-month journey with very limited plans. I was so nervous. We leave this time with so much more experience in our relationship, our travel styles and our knowledge of each other’s dreams.

“Traveling is one way of lengthening life,” according to Benjamin Franklin. When I was at Penn, I always marveled at Benjamin Franklin’s life. He did so many different things from politics to inventing and was also a traveler. I would like to chase as many of my dreams and inventions as Benjamin Franklin did and I know while we are traveling I will have time to explore many new places and cultures.

Our adventure begins in Bali, Indonesia the largest archipelago on the planet. We plan to visit the Toggian Islands of Sulawesi and the Banda Islands. I cannot wait to go snorkeling in the clear blue waters and relax on the gorgeous beaches. We promise to send photos and videos if there is Internet and electricity! Sign up for our newsletter and get an email from us twice a month with our latest news! You can always check our website for our latest posts.

As Andrew Evans says in Ben Franklin, Traveler:  Benjamin Franklin’s example [to us all]: a patriot is someone who travels and broadens their minds through travel.

I wish you a Happy Independence Day and I hope to follow his example and use these travels as a tool for learning, to enhance my teaching and to share it all with you.

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June 26, 2012 · 10:50 am

Golf in Red and Blue

Author: Stephanie Yee, C08

Summer is the perfect time for outdoor activities like golf. There’s no better way to show off your Quaker pride than to dress in red and blue next time you’re out on the golf course. This display at Golf Galaxy just screams “Go Quakers!”

Plenty of red and blue outfit options to show off your Quaker pride on the golf course.

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