Category Archives: Alumni Perspective

August 24, 2011 · 6:50 pm

Anniversary Spotlight: Penn’s Asian Alumni Network Turns Ten

Author: Cecilia Ramirez, C’05, SP2’10

The University of Pennsylvania’s Asian Alumni Network (UPAAN) will be celebrating its tenth anniversary this upcoming school year. Founded in 2001, UPAAN was created to develop and maintain an international network of Asian and Pacific Islander (API) alumni, support the academic and career development of API students and to facilitate the exchange of ideas and information between API alumni and API students at Penn.

Commemoration of this anniversary will begin this Homecoming Weekend, and will feature an exciting lineup of events including UPAAN’s Seventh Annual Mentoring Exchange, a special networking happy hour, a presentation  from the winner of the Asian Pacific American Heritage Wee,k and a 10th Anniversary reception all on Saturday, November 5, 2011.

Laura Lin (ENG’02), Vice President of UPAAN, said, “UPAAN is pleased to honor this special anniversary with a celebration of the strength of our API alumni community over the last 10 years. We are looking forward to developing an even stronger community and network for over the next ten years!”

Another reason this Homecoming Weekend will be extra special for UPAAN is because Calvin Chen (C’97, W’97) President of UPAAN, will be presented with the distinguished Young Alumni Award at the77th Annual Alumni Award of Merit Gala on Friday night, November 4, 2011. Calvin, who has been involved with UPAAN since the beginning, expressed his enthusiasm for the events, “I am honored to be the recipient of the Young Alumni Award, especially during a weekend that is so special to UPAAN. I hope that all alumni will come out to celebrate.”

Be sure to register for Homecoming Weekend featuring arts & culture, Nov. 4-6, and join us to honor a decade of excellence from the Asian Alumni Network. It will be a great opportunity to connect with other alumni, mentor current students while celebrating this wonderful milestone!

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August 23, 2011 · 3:51 pm

I Remember…Freshgrocer

Author: Elizabeth Kimmelman, C’04

I know, I know.  This one seems kind of obvious.  I went to Whole Foods last weekend to get some produce and I certainly remember that.  Going to a supermarket is not a big event, right?

WRONG.  Unless you are a recent graduate of Penn and therefore think your campus always came with a convenient well-stocked (at times) grocery store, you know what I mean when I say that the arrival of Freshgrocer was an event worthy of a blog post.  When I was a freshman, Penn had no supermarket.  There was Wawa, and there was a sketchy Thriftway on somewhere around 43rd Street.  I never actually found out exactly where it was because I was too scared to go.  One of my friends went there with her parents during orientation week so she could stock up on Easy Mac and Elios pizza and I think it took all they had to not throw her in the car with them and take her back to North Carolina.

Since Thriftway was out, Wawa was my only option when it came to groceries.  I remember going there for my milk and cereal and pints of Ben and Jerry’s (freshman fifteen alert!) and then I’d supplement with the fruit food truck for some fresh produce.  Granted, an 18-year-old’s diet doesn’t require much more than that, but I didn’t have a choice in the matter.  One time I asked my best friend to bring me some fruit.  It was during Passover, I was sick and I really couldn’t eat much.  The fruit truck line was too long (so she claims), so her only other option was bringing me fruit jelly slices that her parents had given her to eat as a treat during Passover.  My poor swollen tonsils just couldn’t handle it.  Penn needed a supermarket, and fast.

Luckily, with about a week left to go freshman year, our prayers were answered.  Freshgrocer opened at 40th and Walnut and I swear I had tears in my eyes and heard angels singing as I stared up at that glistening building.  It was a miracle, like every Penn student’s collective wish coming true.

My best friend (of fruit slice fame), another friend and I were done with our finals early and decided we needed to celebrate the new supermarket.  So, we went to Freshgrocer and pretty much bought everything we could on our student budgets.  I mainly remember buying a giant baguette, tons of cheese and grapes.  We had a picnic in the quad and were so happy!  Freshgrocer led to other happy times, like visits to their candy wall during finals studying and before movies, late night food runs, and dinners of their surprisingly yummy hoagies.  That supermarket meant so much to us, because we knew what it meant to be at Penn without it.  And, despite some shutdowns because of rodent problems, ridiculously long checkout lines and a layout that was nearly impossible to navigate, we loved that store.

Looking back, Freshgrocer was only the beginning of a 40th street expansion that continued long after I graduated.  There are now things like Bobby’s Burger Palace, Capogiro gelato, one of the prettiest CVS stores I’ve ever seen, Jimmy John’s, etc. lining Walnut Street between 39th and 40th.  Izzy and Zoe’s might be gone (I really don’t know how the students are surviving without their brunches) but the expanded Greek Lady almost makes up for that.  Don’t worry, Smokes is still standing strong.  But, there’s no doubt campus has changed, and definitely for the better.  To think, my classmates and I were there when it started, standing in a checkout line for 15 minutes waiting to buy some cheese!

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August 19, 2011 · 8:19 am

My Top Penn List: National Register of Historic Places on Campus

Author: Casey Ryan, C’95

As a member of the GAN alumni network staff, I contribute periodically to the Did You Know?, the weekly Penn update to our Regional Alumni Club Leadership.  We review Penn news, read local newspapers, scan recent and upcoming news magazine shows and more for the leads for our stories that we start off with our stylized phrase: “Did You Know…”, like in the following:

Did you know… that Philadelphia is the site of one of only 21 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the US? Independence Hall was bestowed this honor since it was “directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance.” Obviously the “works of outstanding universal significance” are the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, all of which have influenced lawmakers, politicians and governmental charters around the world.

Independence Hall

I bring this up because I was recently watching Anderson Cooper 360° and someone made a passing reference to UNESCO World Heritage Sites. I figured that I should read up more on World Heritage Sites, having been to a few like the above mentioned Independence Hall, Great Barrier Reef and Delos.  Since I was using Wikipedia for my research, I searched on so many links, and, as was mentioned in a prior entry, I ended up on an interesting reading journey. I eventually landed on the entry on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania from my starting point of the Independence Hall Wikipedia article.

Independence Hall is the centerpiece of the Independence National Historical Park, a United States National Historical Park.  This NHP, in turn, is on the National Register of Historic Places. Did you know what else is on this register? The University of Pennsylvania Campus Historic District.  This is a significant part of campus is bounded by portions of Woodland and Hamilton Walks, Convention Boulevard,  32nd, Walnut, 36th, Spruce, and 39th Streets. This area comprised of 28 contributing properties.

The Fisher Fine Arts Library, Interior (number 9)

Here are my favorite ten historic contributing properties:

10.          The Quadrangle (a.k.a. University Dormitories) – 1895-1910. The popular dormitory building just had to be on my list.

9.            The Fisher Fine Arts Library (a.k.a. Furness Library) – 1888-1891, and Duhring Wing, 1914-1915. This library is one of the pure architectural gems on campus designed by Frank Furness.

8.            Irvine Auditorium – 1926-1928.  Though there is a false story about the blueprints being an alumnus’s failed thesis, this building holds a grandiose charm.

Towne Building (number 3)

7.            Veterinary School and Hospital – 1906, 1912. Another quadrangular historic building of note on Penn’s campus that hosts Pennsylvania’s only veterinary school (also mentioned in yesterday‘s post).

6.            Richards Medical Research Laboratories – 1964. Like Furness, the Richard Labs are notable for having a famous designer, Louis Kahn.

5.            University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (a.k.a. University Museum) – 1895-1899; additions, 1912, 1929, 1979, 2002. The original proposal for the museum had planned for the building to be 3 times its size, but it was

250 S. 36th Street, "The Castle" (number 2)

4.            Franklin Field – 1904, 1925. The first double tiered collegiate stadium needs to be on this list.

3.            Towne Building – 1903. The astronomy class that I had in this building always had a feel of being the stereotypical Ivy League setting, so I needed to include the building.

2.            250 S. 36th Street (a.k.a. “The Castle” -Tau chapter of Psi Upsilon Fraternity) – 1897–1899. The lead house on Locust Walk dominates many traditional shots to demonstrate college life.

Irvine Auditorium, Interior (number 8)

1.            College Hall – 1871-1872. The oldest building on the register which house the Office of the President and of the Secretary is the administrative and symbol heart of campus.

An honorable mention goes to the building that houses Alumni Relations, E. Craig Sweeten Alumni House (aka Delta Tau Delta), 1914.

College Hall (number 1)

For a complete list of all 28 buildings, visit Wikipedia’s University of Pennsylvania Campus Historic District entry.

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August 16, 2011 · 8:02 am

Penn Saving the Planet, One Bike at a Time

Author: Stephanie Y., C’08

When I was an undergrad, I knew a number of students who rode their bikes regularly whether it was for commuting (biking to classes), for fun (biking to and from downtown), or for exercise (biking along the Schuylkill River and on Kelly Drive). Now I work full-time at Perelman School of Medicine (formerly known as Penn Med), and I am always pleasantly surprised to see how many employees also ride their bikes to and from Penn.

The bike racks by my building are always full by 9am, so people who show up five minutes late to work have to lock their bikes to trees. This does not seem environmentally-friendly to me, but as you can see, people do it!

The bike racks in front of my building are not even the most crowded on campus. You should go see the bike racks outside the Biomedical Library – I don’t even bother looking for a spot there.

So, you can imagine I was thrilled when I heard through the grapevine that some Penn alumni classes are working with The Penn Fund to donate new bike racks to Penn. Let’s hear it for Penn Alumni! Their mission is in line with Penn’s Green Campus Partnership and Reducing Emissions Initiative. Even though there are already many bike racks on campus, we definitely need more!

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August 12, 2011 · 3:08 pm

Remembering Winter in August

Author: Kiera Reilly, C’93

Back in the summer of 2008, as we worked on the Penn Alumni Travel catalog for 2009, I couldn’t stop thinking about the cover photo we chose. It was a wintry scene from Salzburg, Austria.

Although I have lived in California for over 10 years, I’m originally from the East Coast and miss the snow and romance of a “White Christmas.” So, as we continued working on our catalog, through many revisions and printers proofs, I kept thinking about going to Austria. And once our brochure was printed and many extra copies were in my office taunting me daily, I had to take action.

I convinced my boyfriend that we needed to visit the holiday markets in Austria that December. As a California native, the allure of shopping outside in the cold was lost on him, but he’s a good sport and finally agreed to join me.

We started in Vienna, spending a few days exploring Austria’s capital. We saw the famous Lipizzaner Horses of the Spanish Riding School (no photos of the horses during the show were allowed), visited St. Stephen’s Cathedral, and sampled Austrian pastries at Demel Café. We ate wiener schnitzel and enjoyed eating sausages stuffed in rolls at food trucks with the locals. At the last minute we purchased standing room tickets for the Vienna State Opera to see Wagner’s Götterdämmerung. Although standing is definitely not the ideal way to experience opera, I ended up staying for the entire show because the sound of the orchestra and singing was so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes. Of course, we also visited some of the holiday markets in town and sipped warm Glühwein as we wandered the market stalls.

Spanish Riding School

L:ipizzaner Horses

Holiday Lights in Vienna

Ornaments

Sipping Gluhwein

We next took a train to Salzburg and stayed with one of my sister’s college friends who had been living there for several years. She provided lots of insider tips for us, and took us to a traditional Austrian dinner on our last night, complete with shots of schnapps to finish our meal.

We hiked up to the Hohensalzburg Fortress, which towers over the city, and were treated to spectacular views. While the weather remained warm for most of our trip, it worked to our advantage as we were never too cold and spent most of our days outside. One surprising find was when we took a Sound of Music trip, and along the way passed by the headquarters for Red Bull!

Red Bull Headquarters Outside of Salzburg

Austrian Countryside

Of course, there were more holiday markets to visit in Salzburg, but I also enjoyed shopping in some of the local stores.

Thousands of Ornaments on Display

Lederhosen, Anyone?

Finally, on the last night, it snowed. And as the snow fell on the quite town at night and glistened under the twinkling lights of the markets, I was happy.

Do you want to visit Austria’s holiday markets? Penn Alumni Travel is offering a trip to the markets in Germany and Austria this December 6-13. For more information, go here.

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August 11, 2011 · 2:58 pm

Safety On-Campus

Author: Lex Ruby-Howe, C’07

With New Student Orientation (NSO) now just three weeks away, the campus is starting to busy with preparations for the hive of activities that welcome new and returning students to Penn’s academic and social life.

Last night, representatives from the hubs and centers across campus headed to Bodek Lounge to present their wares to the 100 or so pre-freshman program (PennCAP) students, in a hope to orient them to the soon-to-be-alive campus and all it has to offer.

While the excitement of joining their 2400 peers at NSO looms, some of those students will, after a summer of relative freedom, be stepping into a somewhat restrictive environment.

The City of Philadelphia has experienced several spontaneous, and somewhat destructive, flash mobs this summer, and is taking action to ebb the flow of youth to the streets. These mobs have seen hundreds of young folks taking to the streets, and in some instances causing damage to businesses and storefronts.

The Mayor’s Office is enforcing a pre-existing city-wide curfew. The curfew will be most heavily implemented (and policed) in Center City and University City. Details of the curfew can be found here –but minors under the age of 18 must be inside from 9 PM-6 AM every day, or accompanied by an adult 21 or over.

Mayor Nutter Presenting the New Curfew Plan

After a presentation by a detective from Penn’s Department of Public Safety at the resource fair last night, the PennCAP students became concerned they’d be stopped or face punishment when walking back from class each evening. Penn’s Divison of Public Safety is making sure any individuals under 18 who are Penn affiliated have as much information about the curfew as possible, and act responsibly if they are challenged. They are taking measures to ensure students always carry identification, and if stopped suggest the students mention their participation in the PennCAP program and should not face any problems.

The campus community should be glad that safety is of the utmost priority. The students will no doubt benefit from the actions the City of Philadelphia is taking to make sure our their 2400 undergraduate students peers are safe come September too.

City of Philadelphia Curfew Map

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August 10, 2011 · 4:02 pm

I Spy… PENN!

Author: Nicole Oddo, C’05

On what is just a typical day of orientation and training at my office, we gather in the lobby for a roof tour.  Now of course, going up to the roof does not sound like work, but part of my job is exposing our summer associates (interns) to Philadelphia. Considering I work in one of the great skyscrapers of the Philadelphia skyline, it is an amazing introduction.  This will actually be my first trip.  Seeing as after three years my ears finally stopped popping everyday on my commute to the 43rd floor, I’m a bit nervous.  How much space do we really have up there?  Why did I pick such a windy day?  Is it easy to fall off the roof? Will I get everyone safely back?

We ride the freight elevator together to the top. Armed with cameras (including the old school disposable version), we are ready for this tour.  And the view is absolutely spectacular.

As I walk around the roof, I’m greeted by a familiar sight.

Penn.

Here from the roof, I have a new vantage point of the familiar landmarks – Huntsman Hall, High Rise East (now Harnwell), Franklin Field, Irvine Auditorium, and a pocket of trees (Locust Walk) in the middle of campus.  Several other Penn alums are on the roof as well and we stand there pointing out buildings.  While so many parts of the city have special meaning to me now, Penn is at the heart of all of it.  After all, without Penn, I would have never made it to Philadelphia!

Enjoy a few of my other photos from the roof.

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August 9, 2011 · 9:00 am

Locust Walk Talk: Penn MBA Panel Partnerships

Author: Casey Ryan, C’95

Last month, I traveled to DC to attend a club-hosted event, sponsored by Kaplan Test Prep: the MBA Admissions Panels.  Through the work of an alumnus serving on our Alumni Programming Committee of the Penn Alumni Board of Directors, he made the connection with the test preparation company to give our Clubs the opportunity to partner together to offer this informative discussion to our alumni.  This event started as a single discussion in Boston and has evolved into a multi-city panel event.

Hosts and sponsors of the MBA Panel

Our young alumni who are contemplating going back to graduate or professional school are looking for advice on how to apply.  We are able to offer this chance those thinking about business school.  Working with Kaplan, we invite admissions officers from Harvard Business School, Kellogg School of Management, MIT Sloan Management, Stanford Graduate School of Business, and Penn’s own Wharton to explain the application process, as well as talk about the aspects of admissions process.

Kaplan and Club Members working registration

Moderated by a new member of the Penn Alumni Club of Washington, DC, the admissions officers elaborated about many of the facets on the process, including test scores, essays, work experience, volunteer work, MBA interviews and more.  After the conversation, our moderator asked questions submitted to the panel by attendees prior.  These questions went into more depth about specifics and the panel noted how very thoughtful the crowd was.  At the conclusion of the panel, the speakers are available for our attendees to get more information about specific programs and talk one-on-one.

Congressional Room of the Washington Hilton fills up

Currently, the Penn Alumni Clubs in Washington, Philadelphia and New York work with Kaplan to present this event. In DC, the event was a success with 300 alumni and friends in attendance.  Club members and Kaplan employees were busy checking in all those who signed in on-line as well as taking care of the walk-on registrants.

The advice that I gleaned from the panel was that most people who apply to these selective MBA programs have the skills and the rigor to do the work.  The fact remains that more people apply than there are spots in an incoming class, so one needs to differentiate oneself from the applicant pool.  Honest, thoughtful and well-written essays are the key to telling the story about how one would both stand out and fit in at the Business School of choice.

Attendees listening and taking notes

I think this advice can be relevant to all us, regardless future aspirations, as long as we aim to be honest, thoughtful and clear in our objectives, we will stand out and be able to work together to get the goals for which we’re striving.

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August 5, 2011 · 9:02 am

Bastille Day, Philadelphia-Style

Author: Nicole C. Maloy, W’95

July 14 is known as Bastille Day in honor of the French Revolution-launching “storming” of Paris’ Bastille prison in 1789. On Saturday, July 16, 2011 I got to witness Philadelphia’s version of the holiday. It’s safe to say that it deviates just slightly from the original; ours has waterguns, Darth Vader, and TastyKake.

Marie Antoinette with her royal guard… and Darth Vader with his imperial stormtroopers. OK, sure, why not?

Closer view. Marie Antoinette is the one who looks like a giant cotton swab.

When I first moved to Philadelphia, I wondered why I couldn’t find any snacks by Hostess. Twinkies are surely not an essential part of any diet, but it was strange that, here, they didn’t even seem to exist. I asked someone about it and learned that Philly’s preferred blend of sugar and preservatives comes under the local TastyKake brand.

It is fitting, then, that Marie Antoinette would trade in her usual “Let them eat cake!” for “Let them eat TastyKake!” and have her royal guard hurl hundreds of (thankfully, wrapped) cupcakes downward at the turbulent crowd.

“Let them eat TastyKake!” But first let them *catch* TastyKake.

Whenever the announcer said “Reign of terror,” the revolutionaries onstage (portrayed by the Old Fort Mifflin Historical Society) aimed Super Soakers at the crowd and fired upon us. It was very Rocky Horror, especially considering the costumes. Attendees had been encouraged to dress either as angry revolutionaries or aristocracy, and a costume contest took place onstage for those daring souls who actually dressed up (I was not one of them, sorry). This was not long after a very lively can-can number had gotten the crowd clapping along to the familiar music. At tables throughout the street festival, children made crafts with Fairmount Art Center, DiBruno Brothers gave out samples of French cheese, Fare offered tips on French wine, and people of all ages got their faces painted and picked up little French flags to prepare for the revolt.

It is fitting that a local re-enactment of the storming of the Bastille would take place at Philadelphia’s own Eastern State Penitentiary, which is now a museum (that includes the former cell of Al “Scarface” Capone). It hosts an annual haunted house that is consistently ranked among the best in the nation so, if you’re into that sort of thing, it might be worth a visit this Halloween. But, if you prefer your costumed craziness to take place outdoors, in July, during the light of day, then watch for next year’s Bastille Day Celebration in Philly. This unique, local spectacle is definitely worth seeing at least once.

If you’re going to be guillotined, you might as well enjoy one last bottle of champagne. I have to say, I like her style.

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August 2, 2011 · 1:59 pm

ACLC: Bringing Eight Decades of Penn Alumni Together

Author: Stephanie Y., C08

Everyone knows that Penn loves acronyms, and some of them can be quite long and confusing. In 2007, I joined the ACLC, the Alumni Class Leadership Council. Our acronym may be difficult to say, but our goals are straightforward. The ACLC is the governing board for the Penn alumni classes. We are a group of volunteer alumni leaders dedicated to strengthening ties between alumni and the University by acknowledging and reinforcing the importance of class affiliation. We mentor class presidents and reunion committees on planning their reunions, we help Alumni Relations plan Homecoming and Alumni Weekend, and we give out two awards annually to exceptional classes: the Class Award of Merit and the David N. Tyre Class Communications Award.

The ACLC has been a major part of my alumni experience, and my feelings about this incredible group were reinforced during our first annual ACLC retreat last Thursday. Our retreat began at 12 PM in Sweeten Alumni House with lunch and our guest speaker Dr. Santo D. Marabella. Dr. Marabella, also a Penn alumnus, spoke about “best practices” for boards of non-profit organizations. He had some good insights and recommendations that our board has already discussed implementing. Next up were group discussions and breakout sessions to discuss upcoming events and initiatives. Even though the executive board spent endless hours refining the agenda for the retreat, each session ran longer than scheduled because everyone was excited and engaged in the discussions. It was 5 pm before we knew it, which meant post-retreat celebration!

We walked over to Midatlantic Restaurant, one of my favorite restaurants on campus. Located at 38th and Market, Midatlantic is rarely packed. Students don’t often wander over to that area of campus, but they should. The food is delicious, the décor is unique, and the menu is always changing with seasonal specials (my favorite dish is the fennel soup). From our group’s three-course pre-fixe dinner menu, I ordered the corn soup, Midatlantic meatloaf with a side of creamy lima bean polenta and seasonal roasted vegetables, and Tastykake Butterscotch Bread Pudding. It was all delicious, especially the dessert. You can’t go wrong with Tastykake! The post-retreat dinner gave us an opportunity to get to know each other better. Some people even talked about non-Penn topics over dinner (wait, do we have lives outside of Penn?)

It’s rare to be able to interact with eight decades of people, let alone eight decades of people who have something in common, but the ACLC has brought together a wonderful group of Penn alumni volunteers who do not see age as a barrier. We benefit from the voices of alumni from all classes, and we hope to inspire other Penn alumni to strengthen their class bond through engagement, leadership, and their love for Penn.

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