Category Archives: Philadelphia

September 14, 2011 · 4:37 pm

Time for First September

Author: Nicole Oddo, C’05

There is a sense of beginning with the start of every school year, even when you are not a student (after a few years of grad school, I am happy to not have to think about textbooks, finding my classrooms, writing papers or a required selection of reading).

It’s a chance to start again and continue working on those goals on your to do list. It is also a chance to meet new people. Of course, one of the best things about September as a Penn alumna is First September.  This event happens in cities all over the world. It’s our way of welcoming the newest class of alumni, this year the class of 2011. I particularly like this event because I have participated and planned First Septembers in Phoenix, Chicago, and Philadelphia. When I returned to Philadelphia in 2008, I volunteered to help for that First September.  I worked the registration table and quickly had the chance to meet so many alumni in the area. In Chicago, we did Quizzo, a bar trivia event that we adored in college (and many of us still play!). I also remember setting up the first event in Arizona, at the Ritz Carlton bar. While we didn’t have many young alumni there, we had a great turnout of people new to the club and new to Phoenix.

So, regardless of whether you are the class of 2011, new to the area, or just want to meet new people at the start of another school year, join us at First September!

If you are in Philadelphia, we’ll be touring Yards Brewery and will have a chance to meet over a pint!

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September 7, 2011 · 8:06 pm

Penn Honors Lenape Land of New Penn Park

Author: Cecilia Ramirez, C’05, SP2’10

If you haven’t heard, Penn has been working on a beautiful new 24-acre park on the east side of campus and the official grand opening is scheduled to take place from Sept. 15-17, 2011. There is an amazing celebratory line-up for this big occasion including live music, free food and refreshments, field activities (including human foosball) and even fireworks! If you haven’t been back to Penn in a while, you will definitely be blown away by this.

During Homecoming Weekend featuring arts and culture at Penn (when we will crush Princeton,) you can also attend a special pre-game tribute ceremony to commemorate the land upon which this new park was built- land home to the Lenape people of our region. Both Penn and Princeton reside on Lenape soil, so we will pay tribute to the ancestors who cradled both of the schools that will be present for the Homecoming Football game. The Association of Native Alumni and Natives at Penn will be hosting this historic event and all are welcome to attend.

Penn Park stretches along 31st Street from Walnut Street to South Street and includes 12 tennis courts, a multi-purpose stadium for 400 spectators, 520 trees, a softball stadium and a multi-level elevated walk. The new space actually increases Penn’s green space by 20%!

Penn Park Event Rundown

  • Grand Opening Picnic: Thursday, September 15, 2011 (5:00 pm to 7:30 pm)
  • Field Day: Saturday, September 17, 2011 (4:00 pm to 6:00 pm)
  • Lenape Land Pre-Game Land Tribute: Saturday, November 5, 2011 (10:00am to 11:00am)

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Filed under Alumni Perspective, Cecilia R., Homecoming Weekend featuring arts and culture, Penn Park, Philadelphia

September 2, 2011 · 3:34 pm

T-shirts and track shoes and canes. Oh, my!

Author: Nicole Maloy, W’95

I’ve always said that one of the best things about working at Penn as an alumna is having one place to put all of my Penn stuff. In any other work environment, it might appear a bit odd, if not obsessive or psychotic. Yet here, it’s perfectly appropriate to have a shelf that looks like this:

At a university, this kind of thing is totally normal. This might not go over so well in, say, a doctor’s office. Especially the track shoes.

To be fair, this is not all of my Penn stuff. There is that whole matter of the shirts and other wearable items I’ve collected between the fall of 1991, when I arrived as a freshman, and the fall of 2011, as I greet the incoming class of 2015. (2015?!) The collection started well before my first semester, though. Its origins go back to the previous December, when I discovered I’d been admitted via Early Decision.

I got home from school and picked up the mail on my way in. My grandmother was staying with us at the time, so she was home. She sat on the couch, pretending to be calm as I opened the letter from Penn, took a deep breath, and began to read it aloud. I got as far as, “We are pleased…” and then started jumping up and down, doing the happy dance. Upon reflection, I am so glad she was there for that. I know how proud she was.

She was, perhaps, slightly less proud when I picked up the phone to call my Mom at work.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Hi.”

“I got the letter from Penn.”

“Yeah?” More pretending to be calm. It’s clearly genetic.

“Yeah, I got deferred.”

“WHAT?!” Momentary loss of composure from Mom. Grandma, who probably heard that, sat shaking her head saying, “Oh, Nicole,” while trying not to laugh.

Mom immediately caught herself and began to reassure me despite the fact that I knew she was cursing out the Admissions Office in her head. “Well, OK, so we’ll get the applications together for the other schools, and (other things I don’t remember because I was giggling into my hand and couldn’t hear her).”

“Mm-hmm. Thanks. By the way, I’m just kidding. I got in.”

I won’t write what she said next, but I assure you, it was said with great love in her heart. Then three generations of the women in my family shared a good laugh full of joy, relief, and pride.

With Mom and Grandma at my high school’s Senior Awards Ceremony. Mom is rockin her favorite Sally Jesse Raphael glasses. Work it, Mom!

That night, while I was watching TV, my Mom called me. I went upstairs. She asked if I’d get the clothes out of the dryer for her. I went back downstairs, a little annoyed that she made me go all the way upstairs only to go back down – she’s got volume, and could have asked for the laundry from where she was, saving me a couple of trips. But, hey, I deserved it, no? So I went down, grabbed a basket, opened the dryer, and pulled out two brand new sweatshirts, tags still attached. One was emblazoned with “PENN,” the other with “WHARTON.” Turns out, she’d bought them from The Bookstore during our visit that October, and had kept them hidden until tonight. Pretty sneaky, sis.

From then through years of jumping with Track & Field, singing with The Inspiration, living in Du Bois College House, joining Friars, and generally just being at Penn, followed by years working at the University, and encountering a clearance sale at Steve & Barry’s University Sportswear before they closed (remember them, oldheads?), it’s no wonder I sometimes didn’t even realize I was covered with Penn.

Here is a sampling. This doesn’t include the hats, the jackets, the sweatpants, my varsity sweater, or assorted other bits and pieces. Maybe one day my Mom will make these into a quilt. You reading this, Mom? You’re not still mad about that admission thing, are you? 😉

One day, I was in downtown Philadelphia and decided to observe a martial arts class. The guy next to me said, “So, do you go to Penn?”

I’m thinking, STALKER! I said to him, a bit defensively, “How did you know that?”

He said, “Um, your Penn hat, your Penn shirt, and your Penn shorts.”

“Oh. Heh. Heh.” It’s a good thing we were sitting, or he might have noticed the Penn windbreaker tied around my waist.

Ah, well, back to the office. Lots of memories on this shelf. Here are some close-ups of the shrine.

That’s my Hey Day cane! (The skimmer is a replacement.) DP article from the day after Hey Day with arrow pointing to me in the crowd. Friars wine bottle cover, baseball cap, and honor cord. Photo board has Hey Day shots with buds, along with shots of us at our 10th reunion. Bottom right is us trying to recreate our poses from when we visited as high schoolers. Mine’s pretty close – see center photo.

Photos with The Inspiration. My International Student Card from study abroad in France in 1993 along with a group shot with my fellow Lyon adventurers. The High Jump Shoes, Captain’s plaque, photo with Olympic and World Champion Decathlete Dan O’Brien, Penn Relays baton and program, and Franklin Field watercolor print (thoughtful goodbye gift from another Penn department). On the right – my graduation day kente cloth and tassel.

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Filed under Alumni Perspective, Campus Life, Memories of Penn, Nicole M., Philadelphia, Traditions

August 30, 2011 · 2:31 pm

Penn Alumni Helping Our Neighbors, One Breakfast Sandwich (and Green Bell Pepper) at a Time

Author: Stephanie Y., C08

Last Monday, I had the privilege of bringing a group of ten Penn Alumni Club of Philadelphia members to volunteer at MANNA (Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance) to help prepare meals for their clients. Each month, MANNA prepares and home-delivers more than 70,000 nutritious meals to individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS, cancer or other life-threatening illnesses. MANNA’s small professional staff and 1,500 dedicated volunteers deliver medically appropriate nutrition to their clients – 3 meals a day, 7 days a week – at no charge. The MANNA group volunteer coordinator scheduled us for 5:00-8:00PM, but I told him it was likely our group would arrive closer to 5:30PM since our volunteers would be coming straight from work. However, at 5:00PM, the large majority of our group was already in the kitchen, hands washed, aprons and hairnets on, and ready to chop! Now that’s Penn initiative and dedication!

Photos courtesty of Melody Kramer, C'06

Our group was split into two: meat and non-meat. The meat group put together Canadian bacon and egg breakfast sandwiches conveyor belt style. The non-meat group chopped green bell peppers for two hours. Which group would have you chosen? I was in the breakfast sandwich group, even though I would choose to eat a bell pepper over a breakfast sandwich any day. Non-vegetarian veggie lovers unite! Anyway, back to the breakfast sandwich conveyor belt. The first person in line made the breakfast sandwich: one piece of Canadian bacon and one egg patty in between two pieces of bread. The second person put the breakfast sandwich into a Ziploc bag and sealed the bag. The last person placed a sticker on the bag. The sticker said something like “Canadian bacon and egg sandwich” – makes sense. We had both sides of the table putting together and packaging the breakfast sandwiches, and we ended up with hundreds of breakfast sandwiches ready to deliver! We ran out of Canadian bacon for the last two breakfast sandwiches, so those labels read “Egg sandwich” with the “Canadian bacon and” part crossed out. I hope the two clients who receive those sandwiches are not terribly disappointed.

Photos courtesty of Melody Kramer, C'06

After the breakfast sandwiches, the meat group did a variety of tasks. First, we packaged dinner rolls (two per Ziploc bag). Then, we opened grocery bags and stuffed them inside each other for the next day’s delivery (you know how grocery bags are tough to open when they’re brand new and stuck together? That’s why we opened them, so the next day’s volunteers would have an easier time organizing the delivery bags). Last, we opened packaged stuffing and poured the stuffing into cardboard boxes and the seasonings into plastic containers.

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Filed under Alumni Perspective, Clubs, Penn Clubs, Philadelphia, Stephanie Y., Volunteering

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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Filed under Alumni Perspective, Casey R., Historical, Philadelphia, Top Ten

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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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July 1, 2011 · 2:09 pm

Philadelphia is Your Oyster

Author: Amanda M. D’Amico

While reading Frankly Penn, I came across two posts: the first by Dan, C’14, and the second by Casey, C’95.  Dan talks about a new found love for DC (where he’s spending his summer), while Casey talks about things to do at Penn during the summer.

Having lived in DC for two years, I have a special place in my heart for the nation’s capital as well.  What I liked best about DC was the plethora of things to do – many at little or no cost.  From the Smithsonian Institution to listening to jazz in the National Sculpture Garden, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

I’ve been back in Philadelphia for a couple of years now, but I haven’t taken advantage of the city very much.  Casey’s list of things to do at Penn during the summer inspired me to create a similar for Philadelphia.  After some research, I compiled my top ten things to do in Philadelphia this summer (with a few Penn things mixed in).

Watch the Independence Day Parade and then watch The Roots perform at the 4th of July concert.

  1. Take a guided tour of the Morris Arboretum.
  2. Play mini-golf at Franklin Square.
  3. Listen to country and blue grass bands at the Reading Terminal Market’s Pennsylvania Dutch Festival.
  4. Walk through Penn Park after construction is completed.
  5. Check out one of XPN’s Free at NoonLive concert series.

    Penn alumnus, John Legend at WXPN

  6. Have a picnic at the Horticultural Center and visit Shofuso – The Japanese House and Garden in Fairmount Park.
  7. View important archaeological and anthropological finds and listen to live music at PM @ Penn Museum Summer Nights.
  8. Catch a movie at Penn’s Landing and then come back for a jazz concert.
  9. Stroll around Old City during First Friday.

This is just a small snippet of interesting things to do around the city this summer.  Check out “Things to Do” on www.visitphilly.com for more ideas.

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Filed under Amanda D., Campus Life, Events, Philadelphia, Top Ten

May 13, 2011 · 8:47 am

Putting Some English on It

Author: Nicole C. Maloy, W ’95

A few months ago, I received an e-mail from the Free Library of Philadelphia  seeking volunteers to train to become English language conversation group facilitators. The timing on this was uncanny, as I had just begun looking for such an opportunity; I frequent a local French language conversation group, and the presence of native speakers is always a great help to the rest of us. We marvel at their generosity and patience as we stumble through the linguistic minefields of subjunctive tense and the gender of inanimate objects. Yet the French nationals in the circle gently guide us in the right direction and, most importantly, never point and laugh at us despite our frequent mistakes. I appreciate it so much that I wondered whether I could somehow do the same for people in Philadelphia who wanted to practice their English.

La Tour Eiffel! Was able to pop up North to Paris for a couple of days. Gotta love the “Train of high speed.”

Because I spent a semester abroad during the fall of my junior year, I know how intimidating it is to be surrounded by people who may as well be speaking a dialect of Charlie Brown Teacher-ese (i.e. “Mwah-mwah mwah mwah-mwah”). I know how unnerving it is to utter sentences to strangers not knowing how I will be received, or whether I will even understand the reply. And my trip was only four months long. Nothing was at stake but my semester grades.

Fall 1993 semester abroad in Lyon, France with 16 fellow Quakers and our advisor

I liked the idea of doing something to help people with much more at stake, who have made a longer-term commitment to conquering a language, and who are willing to put in the time to make it work. How pleasant it was to learn that library branches all over the city had begun to offer regular occasions for international adults to practice their English. I am so proud of Philadelphia for making these available for free! These are not English as a Second Language courses, but rather – just as important, in my opinion – casual conversation sessions where people can gain confidence putting to use what they have already learned, or are currently learning.

So far, I have met adults from their early twenties to their late sixties, hailing from Morocco, Ukraine, Spain, and more, all converging here in Philadelphia, all seeking to improve their ability to engage in the most essential of human social endeavors: to understand, and to be understood. I am honored to pay forward some time as an investment in the future of this great city of brotherly love. How happy am I to be a part of the effort? This happy:

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Filed under Alumni Weekend, Memories of Penn, Nicole M., Philadelphia