Beginning in her freshman year at the University of Pennsylvania, Dandi Zhu figured that being successful could only be helped by being around other women who wanted, as she did, to be leaders.

That’s what drew her to Ware College House’s Women in Leadership residential program.

“At the time, freshman year seemed so daunting,” says Zhu. “There was so much going on and it was overwhelming at times,” but she gained a lot from alums from a variety of fields shared their experiences as Penn students and also talked about their career choices.

“It was all very inspirational knowing that it worked out for all of these people and, even if they changed career paths maybe once or twice or even more than that, it worked out, and they were very happy to be where they were in the end,” says Zhu, a senior from St. Paul, Minn. “It reassured me that everything was going to be okay no matter how difficult chemistry, math or physics seemed at the time.”

The Women in Leadership program gives freshmen an early start in learning about leadership whether it’s for a campus group or in their future careers.

“We want to increase understanding of gender dynamics in academia and in the professional environment, and we want to provide real life examples of successful women,” says Rosario Jaime-Lara, a Ware House graduate associate who oversees the program.

Freshmen can apply to participate in a College House residential program in the spring before they arrive on campus. Currently, there are 18 students in the Women in Leadership group.

Elaine Chen, a Wharton freshman from Brea, Calif. Chen was active in several organizations in high school, but, when she was accepted at Penn, she expected that life on campus would be very different.

“Everyone said to me, ‘When you’re in college, you won’t be the big fish in the little pond anymore.’ I applied for the Women in Leadership residential program because I wanted to live with girls who were interested in leadership, too.”

In the fall, the group participated in a resume writing workshop, and also met Joanna barsh, the author of Centered Leadership.

One of the highlights of the Women in Leadership program was the opportunity to hear a talk by Malala Yousefzai, the 17-year-old activist for female education rights who was attacked by the Taliban and later awarded a Nobel Peace Prize.

Through experiences like that, says College freshman Emilia Hinckley of Bolton, Conn., “we realize the potential we all have.”

In reflecting back on the years she has participated, Zhu says the Women in Leadership program’s influence was subtle, but it helped shape her time at the University. She’s been a member of the Kite and Key Society, which provides campus tours to prospective students and their families and she’s been a member of the Engineering Students Activities Council, the governing board for engineering clubs on campus. Last year, she was the ESAC’s president. And, in her junior year, she started the Penn chapter of the Society of Asian Engineers and Scientists.

“Starting a club was not something I expected to do, but some alumni had reached out to me, and I found it an interesting opportunity to step up and do something I was really passionate about.“