As sweltering summer days gave way to more autumn-like temperatures, first-year students and their families gathered around the Benjamin Franklin statue at College Green for a welcome from University leaders.
Bookended by the Penn Glee Club extolling “Pennsylvan-I-ah,” Provost John L. Jackson Jr. and then Interim President J. Larry Jameson took the podium in front of College Hall and between red and blue balloons. They shared a message of the opportunities and challenges first-year and transfer students will face at Penn and highlighted the remarkable diversity of the Class of 2028, a group with students from nearly 100 countries.
“Philadelphia, being one of the oldest cities in America, was once known as the Workshop of the World. It’s where Ben Franklin and people like Ben Franklin invented things, made things, improved things for the world,” Jameson said. “The University of Pennsylvania still serves as a Workshop for the World. It’s a workshop for ideas, it’s a workshop for communities, it’s a workshop for breakthroughs.”
He added, “The diversity of this group is remarkable in every respect. You’re going to learn a lot from one another, and I’m really going to enjoy getting to know so many of you as you get to know each other.”
Sharing his own transition from wanting to major in English to focusing on endocrinology, Jameson encouraged students who may enter the University with clear ideas of their dreams to take the time to explore other areas and expand their experiences. He also underscored that the University is here to support students, highlighting the many groups present at the New Student Resources Fair & Campus Express Center in Houston Hall earlier in the day.
“We want this to be a safe campus, we want to keep you well, we want you to thrive, and we want you to graduate, like my son did a few years ago,” Jameson concluded. He had earlier in his speech said that as a Penn parent he has a sense of what other parents are feeling—“pride, excitement, a little anxiety”—and held up his son’s graduation picture.
Attending the event together were first-year students Van Anh Nguyen, Lina Yang, and Queena Chen, who met through the Wharton School’s Successful Transition and Empowerment Program (STEP) and were joined by neuroscience major Anya Finlay, who attended the same high school in Philadelphia with Chen. The group said this moment resonated, that it was sweet and helped connect them to Jameson not just as president but as a Penn parent.
Nguyen, who is from Vietnam, said that, before coming to the President & Provost’s Family Welcome, they went to the STEP pre-orientation, got headshots taken, and went to Houston Hall. Nguyen, Chen, and Yang, who is from Rochester, New York, said they were excited to meet new people and get into the classroom, explore clubs and academic offerings, and utilize the alumni network.
Karthik Palakodeti, a first-year student from India, came to the event after going to the international student orientation and registering to vote. He was born in the U.S. and said he was re-living childhood memories as this was the first time in seven years he’d been in the country. His father, Girichandu Palakodeti, said he had mixed emotions about dropping his oldest child off at college. In a few hours, he would be catching a flight back to India with his wife and younger son.
Maria Stella Zerbini came to the event after eating lunch with her family at Lauder College House. She said having a roommate from Philadelphia has made the transition easier. As someone who was born in Boston, grew up in Cape Town, and is of Brazilian descent, Zerbini said she identifies as American, South African, and Brazilian, and she said she’d already met multiple other Brazilian students.
The provost’s remarks also spoke to the diversity of the class and a new start. “You will be a part of a brand-new community, a richly diverse group of classmates, roommates, professors, staff, and brand-new friends,” Jackson said. “You’ll gain wisdom, emotional intelligence, and an elevated awareness of the world around you, people, and how you might make a positive contribution in that world.
“College campuses have always been places of very strong opinion, deeply held and committed beliefs,” he said. “So, first-years, I want you to always remember to be respectful of differences, all kinds of differences. Part of what Penn will allow you to do is build a foundation where you won’t be afraid of the differences you see, and you’ll continue to work hard to bridge any of those differences.”
Jackson said he hopes they’re also feeling “a wonderful sense of anticipation, an anticipation for what’s going to be a challenging and rewarding journey for you. It’s a journey that starts here, on this college campus, but it won’t end here. Education, as you know, is a lifelong pursuit, and Penn will help you build an intellectual foundation that we are confident will serve you for the rest of your lives.”
