Do you ever walk by something and think, “Wait a minute…that wasn’t there yesterday!” The newly renamed Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has shiny new signs at The Robert Wood Johnson Pavilion and inside the Biomedical Research Building (BRB) II/III. I walk through these buildings on a daily basis on my way to and from work, but I rarely take the time to look up at the building signs. The shiny letters caught my eye the other day, and they give the buildings some new sparkle.
Outside of the Biomedical Library
Inside the Biomedical Research Building (BRB) II/III
I jetted up to Boston for an alumni event with Eric Furda this Monday. While that event will be a future Locust Walk Talk entry, some of the particulars of the day inspired me to pursue a nostalgic topic for my Top Penn list today.
I had scheduled 6:05am flight to Boston. I rushed to the gate and learned there was a major delay with the flight. While I was waiting in line at the counter to learn about the delay’s impact on my travel I saw a fellow classmate and reunion planning committee member, Christine, heading down to her gate for an early morning flight too. We said “Hi” and waved, like two ship passing the night.
While finally en route, I cursorily scanned the invite list, so I didn’t notice that surprised that laid in store for me. Finally in town and at the Boston Marriott Copley Place, I set up the event and I remained oblivious to my future good fortune. As I was checking in attendees, someone called my name and I knew that she wasn’t reading my name tag. It was one of my Class’s Vice Presidents, Ari. We caught up a little as I checked her in and directed her into the reception.
Before the Dean arrived, I looked up and saw yet another classmate. I shared with Clé, who was on the reunion planning committee also, that I saw Christine in the morning. We also had a nice moment to chat before the program started and I was generally energized by seeing three of my classmates unexpectedly that day.
At the end of the program, I was able to chat a little longer with my classmates and we all were pleased about our very mini-reunion. Musing on our last quinquennial reunion, we all had remembered how good the song list was. I know from my days in Classes and Reunions how diligently our student volunteers, College House Alumni Ambassadors (CHAA) , worked to come of with a good list of songs for our DJ to use to plan the reunion’s music. I remember in one meeting that we, the committee, suggested that the CHAA students look up the top singles from our last year at Penn. That would be a great source of songs that would be evocative of our senior year. They did it and it brought us back to 1995.
Reminiscent from seeing my classmates, I looked up the 10 Billboard Hot 100 songs for our last year at Penn. This list ranks the best-performing singles in the United States on a weekly basis. Ending with the best performing single of our senior week, I give you the last Ten Hot 100 number-one singles for the Class of 1995.
10. “Bump n’ Grind,” R. Kelly
9. “The Sign,” by Ace of Base first hit the best single list on March 12, 1994, and ran for four weeks until R. Kelly dethroned it. After a month of “Bump n’ Grind,” “The Sign” came back an bumped R. Kelly from the number-one position and earned the top spot in time for the Class of 1994’s senior week.
8. “I Swear,” All-4-One held on for eleven weeks as number one during the summer before our senior year.
7. “Stay (I Missed You),” Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories
6. “I’ll Make Love to You,” Boyz II Men ruled the airwaves for 14 weeks, defining our fall semester.
5. “On Bended Knee,” Boyz II Men
4. “Here Comes the Hotstepper” Ini Kamoze
4a. “On Bended Knee,” Boyz II Men took a break for two weeks for “Here Comes the Hotstepper” and resurged back on the list. Our senior year was the year of Boyz II Men; their two singles were on the list for a total of 17 weeks!
3. “Creep,” TLC
2. “Take a Bow” Madonna, and, if you know me, you know that I’m very happy to include her!
As the class of 1995 donned its graduation robes and lined up in Superblock (now known as Hamilton Village), the Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of the day was:
1. “This Is How We Do It” Montell Jordan, which is a great song for the Class of 1995, and this is the song that heralded us onto College Green as we marched in the parade for our 15th reunion.
I am so excited to attend my first Alumni Award of Merit Gala during Homecoming Weekend featuring arts and culture this year. The Gala, sponsored by Penn Alumni, is a celebration of Penn’s most passionate and dedicated alumni volunteers, and awards are given for outstanding service to Penn.
The Alumni Award of Merit and Young Alumni recipients are chosen by Penn Alumni’s Awards & Resolutions Committee, which is comprised of former winners. These winners are always super accomplished and impressive, and they have contributed so much to the Penn community. Reading their bios always inspires me and reminds me there is always more to give back to the Penn community.
The Club Award recipient is chosen by the Global Alumni Network Advisory Board. Two years ago, the Penn Alumni Club of Philadelphia received this award, and those of us in Philadelphia are still excited about it.
The two awards that are near and dear to my heart are the Class Award of Merit and the David N. Tyre Class Communications Award. The recipients of these two awards are chosen by the Alumni Class Leadership Council. As a member of the ACLC, I have worked closely with many alumni classes during their reunion years, and it is a wonderful feeling to see classes receive recognition for their hard work. The Gala is open to the whole Penn community — alumni, family, students, faculty, staff and friends – and I hope to see you there.
A confession: I wasn’t that cool in high school. (I know you are shocked by this given that I’ve divulged my love for the X Files on here). But wait – I wasn’t a nerd either – I was in that in between category, mainly reserved for people who cared too much about school to ever be cool. I had a lot of friends and a fun social life but I was in the smart classes and didn’t party. In any case, I really did like high school. I still have great friends from that time in my life and wonderful memories. However, I knew when I got to college, things would be different.
Here’s one of the unspoken, great things about Penn. Probably 80% of the people at this school were not cool in high school. But then we come to Penn, a place where it is okay to study and work hard, a place where it’s okay have a conversation about nerdy things and where there are so many people and groups that you don’t have to worry as hard about fitting in. There is no cool clique or popular crowd because there are just too many people for that to make sense. Additionally, most of the students here were like me in high school – “nerdy” by default but social and fun. So, what did I decide to do with this newfound sense of belonging and “coolness?” I rushed a sorority.
I am sure most of my high school friends were taken aback by the thought of me in a sorority. Girls who watch The X Files and take Calculus for fun are not the type of girls who are supposed to join sororities. I didn’t care. I wanted to try it out – I wanted to be part of a world that seemed completely inaccessible to me when I was a high school freshman, singing second soprano in choir and performing in the shows (yup, I’m dropping nerd alerts along the way as you keep reading). So, I signed up for rush and was on my way!
Let me tell you – for an extrovert like me, rush was amazing. We recently learned in a seminar at work that the difference between extroverts and introverts is that extroverts derive energy from interacting with large groups of people, whereas introverts are drained by it. Sorority rush, to me, was like drinking five cups of coffee, and I don’t drink caffeine. I put my black pants on and met new person after new person, after new person. It didn’t stop at the girls in the sororities! I met the girls who stood near me in line, the girls in my rush group, the girls who were preffing (a word for the last round of rush) the same houses – so many new people! It was awesome…until I got rejected from a couple sororities I liked. But, I bounced back, kept going, and found my home at Chi Omega.
With some of my Chi Omega sisters at our 5th Reunion
Of course there were parts of the process that weirded me out. At some rounds, when the sisters talked about how much they loved their house, they would cry. I didn’t like that. One of the sororities dressed up as hippies for the first round. As someone who shopped solely at the Gap and maybe Arden B when I was feeling “wild,” I cut them immediately. But those experiences were few and far between.
I know that rush might sound silly. Parading around campus in black pants meeting lots of girls and having nothing more than superficial conversations does not seem particularly productive on the surface. But, sorority rush taught me a lot about life. It taught me how to have a conversation with almost anyone, something that comes in very handy in my job in Alumni Relations. It taught me to be polite (you never wore a watch during rush because if you glanced at it while talking to someone it would be rude). It taught me, when I was on the other side of rush, how to work as a team. (Just ask me, I still remember our dance to “Funky Cold Medina” which became “Funky Chi Omega.”) And, it taught me how to face rejection, keep my head up, and how to have faith that in the end things work out.
Sorority rush also led to one of the most defining experiences in my Penn life – serving as Panhellenic Council President. But, I’ll save that for another day! Now, I’m off to a work meeting where I will no doubt have a great conversation with someone and not glance at my watch.
On November 4, 2011, Penn Club Los Angeles will once again be acknowledged with the Club Award of Merit during Homecoming Weekend featuring Arts and Culture. This great honor is due in large part to the herculean efforts of our Club President, Melissa Wu. Melissa leads a wonderful group of alumni and she creates incredible events that build the Penn community in Los Angeles!
Recently in Los Angeles, the Penn Club hosted author and alumna, Rachel Friedman, who read from her travel book, The Good Girl’s Guide to Getting Lost. In it, Friedman says, “…sometimes travel and being adventurous do not fit with the model I hold of myself, …but it does not coexist with how I picture myself—a sheltered, scared, predictable kind of girl, definitely not a girl who has adventures. I come from rooted people; people who prefer chlorinated bodies of water and career paths.”
Travel allows us distance from our normal life and a separation that allows us to notice what is truly important. Without such a perspective, to know what to keep and to continue in life’s path may prove more difficult. Travels allows us all to step out of “normal” life, to see other cultures, meet people, learn languages—expecting to learn about others while really it is we who become transformed.
During the question and answer session after a book reading earlier this month, Friedman talked about travel as an important and essential part of education. In her book she also asks: “What’s the right way to go about … our lives? Should you do what you love, what’s outrageous and unpredictable, and worry about the future later, or plug away at a steady job first and go off and have your fun when you retire?”
I commend Melissa Wu and the entire Penn Club LA alumni board for bringing together the community and for allowing me as co-author of the blog, “We Said Go Travel,” to participate in this special occasion. Congrats again to PENN CLUB LA!
While I was on vacation, I got the following tweet:
Earlier that day, I had a difficult choice to make upon returning to Dublin from our driving tour of the Irish countryside. Do I continue with my parents to see the literary treasures at Trinity College (which I had seen before) or go to the Guinness Storehouse (which is missed seeing 12 years ago) without them? We had spent most of the vacation together and I wanted to see their reaction to the Book of Kells, the illuminated manuscript of the four Gospels in Latin and one of Ireland’s national treasures. Yet, I had made this thorny decision before and missed out on the Storehouse because of it.
So, beer won out this time for me over books. Sounds like the stereotypical decision of a college student, no?
While I was at the Guinness Storehouse on the tour, getting my serendipitous second Guinness (a random fellow and former rugger seeing me in my Dubai rugby t-shirt handed me his ticket for his free Guinness at the end of the tour,) my parents saw my brother’s good friends and my follow Penn alumnus two kilometers away from me at Trinity. I knew that Matt was going to be in Ireland; he told me that he and his wife had made rather last-minute plans to visit the country and I shared some tips before we all embarked. However, there weren’t too many days that we were going to be in the same place at the same time.
It was a lark that my parents ran into Matt and his wife, Emily. My folks had finished their tour of Trinity and the Book of Kells and Matt and Emily had missed the last tour. Heading in opposite directions, all four of them quite literally bumped into each other. Or so Emily explained later to me.
Looking toward Trinity College from the Gravity Bar of the Guinness Storehouse
During my trip, I had gone out of my way to make sure that I chatted with strangers at the bars. However it was rather funny that I didn’t meet many locals. There were Germans and Australians, Irish tourists from the more rural counties and even some Philadelphians. Only once in Killarney did I meet a local – born and raised in the town, he was traveling in a group with a Filipino and a German.
On my last night in Dublin City Centre, I meet Matt and Emily at the Porterhouse Central, one of the five restaurant and bar fronts of Ireland’s largest genuine Irish brewery. This place was packed with locals and only a few tourists. As we shared our stories of Ireland and our lack of meeting locals, we were swept into one table’s hens night, a.k.a. bachelorette party, who chatted us up since they heard our accents. Another table was celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary and their first “date night” out since the birth of their son. Yet others that we met were out for a night on the town. Throughout it all, Matt and I continually were asked how we knew each other (since Matt and Emily were obviously married) and we told everyone that we knew each other through Penn.
Matt, GEN’08, and I, C’95, having enjoyed a few pints in Dublin
Many of the Dubliners that we chatted with were impressed with Penn and they knew that it wasn’t Penn State. They asked us if we had visited Trinity and wanted to know more about our experiences in college compared to theirs. All in all, the craic was grand!
I’m always amazed how our tight connections as alumni and the reputation of Penn are well received all around the world. Fortunately, it took me a night in Dublin to remind me how great being an alumnus of Penn is.
It’s Mr. Holland’s Opus meets Stand and Deliver; it’s Drumline meets Dead Poets Society. It’s not a movie about a band, or their music. It’s about the man who inspired them to greatness by making them believe that they could be great. They proved him right. Then, 30 years later, they got together to show him that they remembered what he’d taught them. And I’m not just talking about the music.
The Director’s name was Conrad O. Johnson, Sr., otherwise known as “Prof.” He led the Kashmere Stage Band to undreamed-of heights for an all-Black group of Houston, Texas public high school students in the early ’70s. I’m talking the kind of heights typically found in fairy tales and made-for-TV family drama. But this is all true. Through interviews, rehearsal video, and amazing footage/photos from the band’s heyday, this documentary – Thunder Soul, named after one of the group’s songs – tells the story of the band’s formation, the success they achieved, and the 2008 reunion where alumni came together to play for their “Prof” one more time to say thank you.
The true story of Conrad Johnson & the Kashmere Stage Band. “He gave them everything. Now it’s time to give back.”
Shout out to Executive Producer Jamie Foxx for helping to make this movie possible. Read this article for his thoughts on the film, and why he was so compelled to be a part of it. It’s a good thing he was; it has already won two “Best Documentary Feature” awards, and nine Audience Awards. And counting?
I was fortunate enough to attend a screening of Thunder Soul in Philadelphia (alumni, you will get a chance at Homecoming 2011 if you can’t find it near you before November). It is not often I believe that everyone I know, as well as everyone I don’t know, should see a particular film. But you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll groove, and you’ll leave knowing you’ve just experienced something powerful. And, if you happen to have ever played in a school band, or if you happen to care about kids having arts programs in school, or if you happen to enjoy ‘70s funk, well, then. So much the better. You will like – dare I say, even love – this movie even more.
But you’ll also like it – dare I say, even love it:
If you’ve ever had, or not had, the chance to show someone how much they meant to you.
If you have ever been a part of a team, in any form.
If you’ve ever taught someone how to do something, then felt the rush of pride in seeing them run with it.
If you’ve ever learned how to do something, then felt the exhilaration of running with it.
If you’ve ever run back to say, “Thank you.”
If you’re now thinking about the people you should be thanking.
If you’ve ever been in the minority, and been made aware of it by others (as if you didn’t already know).
If anyone has ever had low expectations of you that you went on to prove wrong.
If anyone has ever had high expectations of you that you went on to prove right.
Don’t let the fact that movie popcorn costs $75 keep you from going to the theater. You can always eat something beforehand.
You know the kind of movie you wished for, and that you said you’d support if it were out there? That anyone, from any background, can see and enjoy? That you can take your family to see, and that everyone, of every age, will actually like? That portrays a diverse array of African-Americans as thinking, feeling human beings rather than as insulting caricatures? That shows positive things happening while still being real? That is uplifting and inspiring without being cheesy? This is that movie, so here’s your chance to support it: find where it’s playing, and see it. Then tell someone about it.
And go ahead, get to that first “Thank you.” You’re about to make someone’s day.
I’m always surprised how much Penn students love tug of war. The annual sorority tug of war competition in the Palestra is always quite the spectacle, and this year, the College Houses battled it out at the Penn Park Field Day. Being a College House lifer (I lived in Rodin College House all 4 years), I was really excited to see all the College House gear at Penn Park. Check out Rodin’s awesome yellow headbands. I wish we had those when I lived in Rodin! I also loved Hill House’s “We’re too cool for A/C” t-shirts (not pictured). Very clever.
Rodin College House and the power of the yellow headbands
Rodin College House, Part II
Stouffer College House
Teams of 10 competed in the single-elimination tournament, and Stouffer College House won it all. In fact, the championship round was Stouffer A vs. Stouffer B, so they got 1st and 2nd place. They managed to win without the power of matching headbands or matching t-shirts. Very impressive. I hope everyone has checked out Penn Park. It’s absolutely beautiful, and I can’t wait to play on the new tennis courts and run the Penn Park Homecoming 5K on Saturday, November 5, 2011.
Stouffer College House – Penn Park Tug of War Champions (pictured with the Michael G. Housman College House Cup)
Who doesn’t love a game show? It brings out our competitive spirit, our drive to win a pretty-shiny thing, and provides a chance to show off our innate skills.
Well, the Penn Traditions program recently capitalized on the average Penn person’s competitive side and unveiled the Penn Alumni Spinning Wheel! Inspired by Penn’s academic theme year “Year of Games,” Penn Traditions decided to go big or go home. We went big – the spinning wheel measures 5 feet in diameter and 10 feet tall – it is a behemoth of Penn games. And it rocks!
The spinning wheel’s maiden voyage was at Penn Park Field Day on Saturday, September 17. Thousands of Penn students, alumni, staff, and community friends flocked to the park for it’s opening, and the line at our spinning wheel attraction didn’t end. For two straight hours they all lined up and waited for their chance at fame and glory. Ok, maybe just a Penn Scarf or T-shirt, but the jubilation on the faces of the winners told it all.
Contestants, or aka, participants, in the Penn Alumni Wheel of Glory had to answer a challenging Penn trivia question – questions based on the history and traditions of our alma mater, which for some provided a large road block to that coveted prize. Many of the participants were freshman, who hadn’t yet seen the running of Penn Relays, or watched the sea of red as the juniors processed in their hats and canes on Hey Day. But with fans around them, and upperclassmen to help, most walked away with a prize and a smile!
Me at the Wheel with one of our newest members of the Class of 2015
Test your own Penn trivia knowledge with these questions below: would you be a winner??
1) The Penn Coat of Arms includes the University’s motto quoted from Horace’s “Third Ode.” What is the motto?
2) How old was Ben Franklin when he died?
"Benjamin Franklin Drawing Electricity from the Sky" by Benjamin West (1738-1820).
3) Prior to its name change in the late 18th century, what did the University of Pennsylvania used to be called?
4) According to its creator, what does the crack in the button represent?
Know these questions, and when you find our spinning wheel at Homecoming you too might walk away a winner!
Answers to Quizzo questions: 1) Leges Sine Moribus Vanae, or Laws without Morals are Meaningless. 2) Ben Franklin was 84 when he passed. 3) The Academy of Philadelphia. 4) The Schuylkill River. 5) It was started in 1916.
I’m currently on vacation but I wanted to make sure that I still wrote a blog entry on schedule. In honor of Penn Park’s opening this weekend, I wanted to pay homage to my follow bloggers, Jason and Leigh Ann, with my Top Penn List’s Ten to Penn.
10.
It’s a quiet morning, right outside my apartment door. It’s sunny and a wonderful day to walk to work, snapping pictures on my iPhone for a Ten to Penn blog post. It looks like Roosevelt’s and Wharton MBAs survived another night together.
9.
Walking a mere block west, I see Penn on the horizon. What I didn’t take a picture of was the upcoming traffic on 76 since the trek is limited to 10 pictures and I wanted to focus on pictures with a strong Penn theme. It’s traffic like that which makes me happy I can walk to work.
8.
The Cira Center juts out behind 30th street and the old United States Post Office-Main Branch, the Art Deco building on the National Register of Historic Places that Penn now owns as part of the Postal Lands purchase.
7.
The pièce de résistance of this entry, Penn Park. Originally the asphalt parking lot of the Postal Lands purchase, it is a vibrant, verdant open space for our Penn athletes, students and community to enjoy.
6.
World Café Live is the home of WXPN, member-supported radio from the University of Pennsylvania and two live venues for music. I have been lucky to see my classmate, Gabriel Mann, C’95, of the Rescues, John Forté, Heart, Tori Amos and Carly Simon at shows here.
5.
I love this bold announcement of Penn on the side of the train trestle. “Welcome to University City.”
4.
Here’s the back view of the Cathedral of Basketball, the Palestra. Beyond to the left, you can see some of Franklin Field poking through and to the right, there stands Irvine Auditorium.
3.
Here is the construction site of the Krishna P. Singh Center for Nanotechnology, which promises the future collaboration, exchange, and integration of knowledge in this emerging field.
2.
Known more for designing the Gateway Arch and choosing Jørn Utzon’s winning plans for the Sydney Opera House, Eero Saarinen is the mastermind behind the architecture of Hill College House. I thought that I would take a more pedestrian view of the building since I don’t view the main entrance along my walk to Sweeten.
1.
Finally, I am at campus, stepping onto Locust Walk (though technically it’s Woodland Walk here.) I’m ready to start the workday, and I check in on foursquare to see if I remain the Mayor of the University of Pennsylvania.
Frankly Penn 