In a video, President Liz Magill gathered insight from students on their favorite activities to do on and around campus.
New Student Orientation & Academic Initiatives interns Samantha Turner, Ava Cima, and Rina Nagatani share their recommendations for the Class of 2026 with President Magill.
Like many students who moved into College Houses last week, Liz Magill is new to the area. She officially moved to Philadelphia and assumed her duties as Penn’s ninth president in July.
Marking her first official Move-In experience at Penn, Magill visited with students and family members across campus as they unloaded their carts, unpacked their rooms, and got acquainted with new friends. Pen and paper in hand, Magill asked new students what they were most looking forward to doing at Penn and in Philadelphia, and asked returning students what their No. 1 recommendation would be. A list of “26 for the Class of 2026” to post on social media ensued.
“I’ve done about three or four of the recommendations that they had on their list,” Magill said, chatting after-the-fact. “So I have many more to do.”
Fresh from President Magill’s notebook:
1. Throw toast at a Penn Football game
2. Cheer on the Penn Band
3. Visit the BioPond
4. Indulge in the arts on campus (student performances, Penn Museum, Institute of Contemporary Art, Arthur Ross Gallery, and Penn Live Arts)
5. Take a selfie with the Quaker
6. Check out the Penn Relays
7. Go on a Mural Arts tour
8. Sample the campus food trucks
9. Attend a student activities fair and join clubs
10. Visit Morris Arboretum
11. Get involved in service
12. Go ice skating at the Penn Ice Rink
13. Volunteer with Penn Leads the Vote
14. Visit Penn Park
15. Eat at the Quaker Kitchen at Gutmann College House
16. Participate in a University City District walking tour
17. Become a Philly “Phan” (cheer on the Eagles, Phillies, 76ers, Union, and Flyers)
18. Visit the Liberty Bell
19. Check out local farmers’ markets
20. Experience Philly on foot (walk from Old City to University City, or walk the Schuylkill River Trail)
21. Get a SEPTA keycard
22. Visit the Philadelphia Museum of Art (run up the Rocky Steps to get there)
23. Check out Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens
24. Lounge at Cira Green
25. See a glimpse of ENIAC in-person
26. Attend a guest author event at Kelly Writers House
Griffin Pitt, right, works with two other student researchers to test the conductivity, total dissolved solids, salinity, and temperature of water below a sand dam in Kenya.
Griffin Pitt’s upbringing made her passionate about water access and pollution, and Penn has given her the opportunity to explore these issues back home in North Carolina and abroad.
Rashi Sabherwal, a doctoral student in political science, explores how women engage politically in society in informal roles through her research in India.
Helping robots work together to explore the Moon and Mars
Penn Engineers, NASA, and five other universities tested robotic systems designed to help unmanned explorers cooperate in the dunes of White Sands, New Mexico, paving the way for Moon and Mars exploration.
