Category Archives: Student Perspective

September 24, 2012 · 1:57 pm

Konnichiwa, Penn

Author:  Rebecca Eckart, GED’13

It’s almost the end of September.  I can’t believe how quickly time has passed and how much my life has changed since I arrived at Penn as a new student.  It’s been a whirlwind: in less than a month I’ve moved into a new apartment, made new friends, begun a new course of study in the Graduate School of Education, and started exploring a new city.

I’m from Ohio, but I came to Penn from Japan.  I worked there as an Assistant Language Teacher through the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET).  I was placed in a small mountain village in Gunma Prefecture, about three hours outside of Tokyo.  I went to Japan intending to stay and teach for just a couple of years, but I loved my school and the local community so much, I ended up staying for five.

During my fourth year there, I decided to pursue a Masters in Higher Education when I came back to the States.  I considered a lot of different schools in the Midwest and on the East Coast, but I was looking for a place that had strong international connections in addition to a strong academic program.  The large international student population and the renowned education department were just two of the factors that drew me to Penn.

I applied to Penn, was accepted, and decided to attend without once being able to step on campus.  When I finally did make it to Philly, I was pleasantly surprised at how beautiful and green the campus was.  And I was also thrilled because I knew this was a place I could keep my experience in Japan a part of my life.  I’ve been able to make some international friends and discuss education in their home countries.  I’ve found a language exchange partner through Penn’s English Language Programs.

I’ve been to some Japanese restaurants that I’ve found while exploring the campus and University City.  I’ve even found a Japanese supermarket where I can get some of my favorite foods.  But perhaps most of all, I’ve found Penn to be a very welcoming community, which celebrates diversity and encourages communication and friendship across cultures.

My program at GSE is just nine months long.  I know that the time will be gone before I know it, but I’m so excited to be a member of this community, especially my GSE cohort.  This is a place I can share my past experiences and build my future.

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September 20, 2012 · 12:45 pm

Junior Year is Here

Author: Jonathan Cousins, C’14

It’s hard to believe that half my time at Penn is already over, but I feel that these next two years will be even better than the first two.

When I applied to Penn, I visited in December and witnessed the final project of MEAM 410/510, Mechatronics.  The last class project was Robocky, an autonomous, 3-on-3 robot hockey tournament.  The final presentation involved a packed Wu and Chen Auditorium and cheering, loud music, and a festive atmosphere.  When asked “Why Penn?” on my admissions essay, I used this tournament as the perfect fusion between school and sports, my two passions.  Now, after two years, I am taking Mechatronics. And it is hard! We are currently running through a electronics/mechanical design crash course, soon to be followed I am sure by a low-level component programming crash course.  But even as this class begins to consume my time, I have my eyes on the prize – the hockey tournament at the end that is sure to be a blast.

The rest of my classes pose a less daunting task, but by no means a negligible one. I am engrossed in the study of Fluid Mechanics and Vibrations, in addition to working in parallel on the MEAM lab course. I am also concurrently writing a paper on my summer research through the Rachleff Scholars program.

And, if that wasn’t enough to keep me busy, I am incredible active in the Red and Blue Crew, the student spirit organization on campus and the student section at Penn Athletic contests. We did a lot during NSO – including a late night ice cream social with the basketball team where we gave out ice cream and t-shirts, and tried to prompt student interest in Penn Athletics.  We also gave away our cool new shirts at the Penn Athletics picnic and the Activities Fair.  It is already starting to pay off, as the number of people on campus with either Red and Blue Crew or Penn Athletics shirts has gone up dramatically.  Now if our football team can give a good showing on Saturday, we may have them hooked.

Also during NSO, I was an Orientation Peer Adviser (OPA!) for incoming MEAM freshman.  Over the summer, I  communicated with them via email about how to prepare for Penn and which classes to register for, and then I met with them twice during NSO to show them the Engineering buildings and lead them around on their academic NSO day.

And so it goes – I am incredibly busy, but everything I am doing I am enthusiastic about and can’t wait for what I am sure will be a memorable semester.

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September 13, 2012 · 1:03 pm

Hungry

Author: Dan Bernick, C’14

College students get hungry.  We eat often and at odd hours of the day.  Fortunately, Penn makes eating on campus both healthy and delicious.

To wit: the new 1920 Commons.

The dining hall is my favorite place to eat, because it is easy to pick what I want and is also a great place to meet friends. The top floor is a dining hall, and, this summer, they spruced the space up even more with brighter colors and comfier chairs.  The middle floor feels like a different building entirely; full of open spaces for congregating and eating.  The Gourmet Grocer has organic selections, and Fresh on the Walk offers make-your-own food for the health-conscious student. New this year, the Global Fusion and a pizza pie shop serves affordable, fresh, and delicious options for students.

The bottom floor is a scene out of a movie.  The largest Starbucks in University City – and it’s open until 2:00 AM for is night owls – is a great place to meet up or do homework.  Student groups can also reserve rooms, and the lounge area features a glass fireplace perfect for cold winter nights. The patio outside – complete with seating and a grill, and wired for student groups to perform live music – is the ideal location for a Red and Blue Barbecue!

It’s (ful)filling to be back at Penn. Quakers, eat your heart out!

UA members and the Penn Dining Team with Penn President, Amy Gutmann.
(Credit: Penn Hospitality Services)

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September 7, 2012 · 2:08 pm

The Class of 2016 Comes to Penn

Author:  Amanda D’Amico

With more than 2,400 members, getting the Class of 2016 together is no easy task. There are only three events in their collegiate careers that will include all their classmates—convocation, Hey Day, and commencement.  On Sept. 4, 2012, the Class of 2016 was determined to make the best of the first of these three events, despite flash flood warnings and heavy rains.

Students from the College, Wharton, Engineering and Nursing crowded into the historic Palestra. Four of the most prominent members of the Penn community—Eric J. Furda, C’87, dean of admissions; Penn President Amy Gutmann, HOM’04; Provost Vincent Price, HOM’98; and Lee Spelman Doty, W’76, president of Penn Alumni—greeted the newest members of the Penn community.

These new Quakers are among the most distinguished classes in Penn’s history. With outstanding SAT and ACT scores, excellent high school grades and many extracurricular and philanthropic activities, the class is a welcomed addition to the Penn community—and will surely challenge each other and members of other Penn classes.

Doty noted that the academic and social communities the members of the Class of 2016 build will likely last the rest of their lives. And when she told each student to look at the people sitting next to him, because he may find that these individuals will be in the rest of their lives, the previously quiet stadium grew noisy as excited students introduced themselves to one another.

Convocation is only the beginning for these students, and a lot will change before they all meet again for Hey Day in 2015. Tests will be taken, papers will be written, and Spring Flings will be flung. In the next four years, these students will face challenges and grow tremendously. And judging by their excitement during a hot, sweaty night in the Palestra, they’re ready for it.

You can view images from the day’s event here.

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August 28, 2012 · 12:23 pm

Philly Fringe

Author: Alex Fleischman

Throughout its history, the Penn Museum’s Warden Garden has had a surprising variety of residents—from the pond’s fish to the Sphinx, which now lives indoors, before Philly’s weather was deemed a threat, and once, even, a submarine used for underwater archaeology. Next month, “monsters” can be added to the list, when the Museum will host two Philly Fringe programs.

First, and unrelated to any monsters, the Underground Shakespeare Company, a Penn student theater troupe, will perform “Antony & Cleopatra: Infinite Lives,” Thursday through Saturday, September 13-15. Shakespeare’s play is adapted to the modern, turbulent events of contemporary Egypt, with the Museum’s Sphinx as the dramatic backdrop to their performance. I can’t wait to witness the always dramatic and impressive gallery transformed by the talents of Shakespeare and the performers.

On Sunday, September 16, the artist Douglas Repetto will lead a Monsters: A Workshop and Happening. The audience will help him make “foals”—small walking tables made with simple mechanical parts and scrap wood. The “herd” of them will be let loose in the Chinese Rotunda at 4 p.m.; afterward, they will led outdoors and into the Warden Garden. After the event, the foals are “up for adoption” for audience members—this sounds like a pet even a college student could handle, so I’m not going to miss out.

The 16th-annual Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe takes place from September 7–22, 2012, with theater, music, and arts events all over Philadelphia. In addition to the two events at the Museum, two more will take place on Penn’s campus. On September 20 and 21, the Annenberg Center will host “red, black & GREEN: a blues,” an interactive program created by Marc Bamuthi Joseph of The Living Word Project. On September 22, the Platt Student Performing Arts House will host The Alternative Theatre Festival by iNtuitions Experimental Theatre.

 

More information about the events at the Museum can be found here and more information about Live Arts and Philly Fringe can be found here.

 

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July 27, 2012 · 11:13 am

The Penn Museum and Metropolitan Museum of Art Exchange Prisoners

Author: Alex Fleischman, C’14

His stone face was larger than I’d imagined. His body lay flatter against the ground, and his pose and expression seemed more somber.

That was my first impression of the bowing prisoner as I stood before him today in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Upon arriving at the museum, I sought out this object in “The Dawn of Egyptian Art,” a special exhibition open until August 5, although he doesn’t normally reside in the Met, but instead much closer to home—at the Penn Museum.

In fact, this object, a door socket carved to resemble a captive, was exchanged for another Egyptian prisoner—a statue that is currently on display in the Penn Museum’s Upper Egyptian Gallery.

The Met’s prisoner kneels, arms clearly bound behind him, his face partially damaged in what may have been a ritual act of destruction. The statue dates to Dynasty 6 of the Old Kingdom and was made during the reign of Pepi II (ca. 2246-2152 BCE). The Penn Museum’s door socket is older, dating to the first or second Egyptian dynasties—between 3000 and 2675 BCE.

Nevertheless, both prisoners seem to evoke regret, elicit sympathy, and ultimately, inspire fear for their captors—the aim of the Egyptian pharaohs who ordered their creation.

There’s more information on the Penn Museum’s website here.  You can also find a New York Times review of the exhibition with photo of the door socket here.  Enjoy!

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Filed under Alex F., Campus Life, Fine Art, Penn in the Summer, Penn Museum, Student Perspective, The Arts, The Arts at Penn

April 27, 2012 · 2:44 pm

Student Perspective on Hey Day, 2012

Author: Kayleigh Smoot, C’13

It’s hard to believe after all the study sessions, club meetings,  rehearsals, midterms, papers, parties, dinners out in Center City, and everything in between that I’ve become a SENIOR here at Penn. This past Wednesday, I  donned my red shirt and hat, grabbed my cane, and headed to Hey Day with the rest of the class of 2013 to celebrate becoming seniors. It  felt incredibly special to partake in a Penn Tradition that has been around since 1916. As I frolicked around with my friends at the  picnic, taking pictures and eating delicious food (and each other’s  hats!), I couldn’t help but start to feel nostalgic. It finally hit me that three of my Penn undergraduate years had  passed me by. This bittersweet feeling continued throughout the day as  my classmates and I boisterously walked down Locust to head to College  Green. There, our class board and Penn’s wonderful, beloved President,  Dr. Amy Gutmann greeted us. After a brief “test” from Dr. Gutmann, she  pronounced us seniors, and we all joined in singing a rousing chorus of  “The Red & Blue.”

Me and my friends--I'm the one of the far right.

The school spirit was at an all time high and I’ve  never felt prouder to be a part of this University. After the  celebration died down, I started to reflect on how I only have one more year left at Penn and I fully intend on making it the best
yet. There are so many Penn Traditions I can’t wait to take part in  next year: Feb Club, Final Toast, Commencement. But at the same time,  I’m hoping the days go by slowly and I enjoy every moment.

You can view more photos of Hey Day here.

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April 24, 2012 · 1:24 pm

MAYA 2012: Lords of Time at the Penn Museum

Author: Alex F., C’14

Finals aren’t the only end of the world this semester. Nestled between a French literature paper and a linguistics exam, MAYA 2012: Lords of Time will open at the Penn Museum on May 5th.

The new exhibition delves into the predictions of a 2012 apocalypse and their origins in Maya civilization. With over 150 objects, the exhibition combines the predicted end of the world we’ve read about in the media with what archaeologists and anthropologists truly know of this remarkable ancient civilization.

Many of the objects will be artifacts from Copan only recently excavated by Penn Museum archaeologists. As a high school student, I visited the Copan ruins in Honduras on a spring break trip, without any idea that excavations might be going on. Now, as a Penn student reading about archaeologists finding vessels and jewelry deep under the Copan pyramids, it’s impossible not to imagine some of my anthropology professors in Indiana Jones-like scenarios, trapped in ancient tombs and narrowly escaping dangerous predicaments.

And while I can’t say I’m looking forward to finals, I am excited about the opening weekend’s celebrations. What’s a better study break than an exciting new exhibition, music, arts, and a ribbon-cutting with the president of Honduras?

There’s more information on the Penn Museum’s MAYA 2012 site here:

(Photos courtesy of Kenneth Garrett).

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April 20, 2012 · 9:47 am

The Making of the Class of 1962 50th Reunion Yearbook

Author: Mari L. Meyer, GSE ’12

If you are one of the lucky members of the Class of 1962, you probably already have something to say about the 50th Reunion Yearbook* creation project that began back in early 2012.

Though the end result will be nothing short of a masterpiece of grand proportion, the journey to get here has been no piece of cake! The amount of work that has gone into this project from day one could not have been accomplished without the direction and perseverance of our visionaries, Class of ’62 Yearbook Co-Editors, Burt Follman and Sheila Gunther, our fearless, in-office Leader Lisbeth Willis, our graphic design guru Kelly Porter, and our “I don’t sleep, eat, or breathe until this book gets made”-work study student, Deirdre Bullard.

It’s been weeks since Deirdre slept last…We’ve begun to worry about her sanity!

Some of you may already know that I, Mari, was the frontline, down-in-the-trenches gal for this extraordinary undertaking for the Class of ’62er’s upcoming 50th reunion. That is to say, I was responsible for “technical assistance.” While I am by no means a technical wiz, I certainly was computer-savvy enough to help some folks create yearbook pages…Or was I? Each classmate was asked to work on a ½ page submission for their yearbook using an online site. The hope was that the final product for each page would look something like this:

Wishful thinking, Mari!


If I could have recorded my phone conversations with the amazing classmates of 1962, you would hear a beautiful symphony of groans, grunts, moans and chuckles—a sonata of sighs, or an opus of “Oy Vey, Mari!”—so to speak.  Fortunately, those ’62ers have got the stubborn perseverance, good humor, and incredible intellect to stick it out in these moments of despair—saving this grad-school damsel from technological burnout through their moving life stories, photos of their beautiful families, and wonderful wishes for my own success as a soon-to-be Penn alumna.

The 1962 Yearbook project proved to be an unpaved and unexpected adventure, but at least we were in it together!  I can say confidently that this book will find a permanent place on my own coffee table immediately upon its release this May!

In the meantime, I wish the Class of 1962 nothing but the very best, and will be celebrating their 50th reunion during my own graduation weekend. It is an honor to become a part of the Penn family, and this class was certainly the most colorful and memorable part of my induction!

 *To order a Class of 1962 50th Reunion Class Yearbook, please call Mari Meyer or Dee Dee Bullard at 215-898-8209. You will also be able to purchase them at the reunion during Alumni Weekend, May 11 – 14, 2012.

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April 19, 2012 · 5:30 pm

A Fun Night with Penn Baseball at “The Bank”

Author: Jonathan Cousins, SEAS’14

Last night, I hopped on SEPTA, and took the Broad Street Line down to AT&T station, and the Philadelphia sports complex. Upon my arrival, I saw many people walking towards the Wells Fargo Center, en route to the Sixers game. Farther along, Lincoln Financial Field and Citizens Bank Park sat, seemingly empty, as the Eagles are in the off-season and the Phillies were in San Francisco. But, at least for one night, there was baseball to be played, as Penn and St. Joes squared off in the final of the Liberty Bell Classic.

The Liberty Bell classic is a 20 year old tournament designed to allow the Philadelphia area schools to play each other in baseball. The tournament features eight teams, and the final two meet at Citizens Bank Park. Neither Penn nor St. Joes had ever won the tournament, so no matter who would win the game, it would be a new team engraved on the trophy.

As I walked up to the stadium, it was strange to see the third base gate closed off. Even when I got to the first base side, there were only two ticket windows open, and only one entrance gate.  The Phillies and their 42,000 faithful create a buzz at the park that simply can’t be replicated. So, walking into the ballpark, many of the concessions stands were closed, and everyone was being funneled into the seven sections right behind home plate. It was almost like I could hear the ghosts of baseball whispering. I knew what sounds I expected to hear, but they weren’t there.  There was no buzz of the crowd and no hot dog or beer vendors yelling. But it was still baseball, and there was something magical about seeing Penn’s entire roster being announced, and lining up in front of the dugout normally inhabited by major leaguers.

There were a lot of things missing from the park that night, but also many new things. It was strange looking out into the sea of empty blue seats, echoing the sounds of baseball across the stadium. But it was definitely the only time when $5 would allow me to sit directly behind home plate at a major league park. The Quaker also made an appearance, and quickly gained an entourage of five kids who followed him anywhere he went.

Once the game began, Penn fell behind on a home run early on, and failed to get the clutch hitting they needed to come back. Unfortunately, they lost 6-3. The night was something that I have never experienced before, getting to watch baseball in Citizens Bank Park with only 300 other people, and it was a lot of fun.  Hopefully, next year. Penn will take home the title!

 

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