Penn’s 287th academic year formally kicked off with Convocation, where Penn President J. Larry Jameson declared the start of the Class of 2030’s ‘Penn odyssey.’
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All journeys start somewhere.
For the Class of 2030 and new transfer students, it began on Franklin Field during a comfortable late-summer evening—a class of 2,427 first-years from 76 countries surrounded by faculty, staff, and classmates who’ve gone from strangers to fellow travelers in the span of one week on campus.
As Penn President J. Larry Jameson put it, the evening began their “Penn odyssey.”
“As you chart your course, you will meet many fellow travelers: amazing Penn faculty, staff, coaches, mentors, alumni, and of course your peers,” said Jameson, referring back to the ancient Greek epic “The Odyssey.”
“You are already off to a great start, and we are all here to help and ensure you succeed.”
Part of that journey, he said, is to seize on the values of exploration and experimentation—principles that stretch back to Benjamin Franklin and Penn’s early years.
“From the founding of the University of Pennsylvania, we have this concept of using knowledge for social good and for the benefit of the world,” he said. “And that ethos of exploration and experimentation remain the keystones of life here.”
In that same spirit and following a know-your-neighbor social activity with the crowd, Jameson asked students to not shy away from meeting new people.
“Above all, always look for opportunities to meet someone new, as you just did,” he said. “Such engagement can transform your entire journey here.”
Jameson’s speech, which closed with a call to persevere in the face of setbacks and challenges, much like Odysseus, was preceded by an invocation from University Chaplain Charles “Chaz” Howard, vice president for social equity & community, who introduced remarks from Vice Provost and Dean of Admissions Whitney Soule.
Soule spoke of Penn as “a place of tradition and expansion.” Tradition, she explained, is a boundary, while expansion is boundary-less.
“It’s the boundaries that inspire the expansion, because you will bump against the limits of what seems possible and it’s your curiosity and energy that will push you past them,” said Soule.
Penn President J. Larry Jameson (top), Provost John L. Jackson, Jr. (bottom left) and Vice Provost and dean of admissions Whitney Soule addressed the Class of 2030.
Among other examples, she cited the tradition and boundary of picking a major—a boundary easily expanded upon at a place like Penn, with 12 Schools and expertise in countless disciplines.
“Use your time here to connect dots between fields that may seem, at first glance, to have nothing in common,” Jackson said. “Study engineering and poetry; economics and environmental science; neuroscience and art history. The more disparate the dots, the more surprising—and transformative—the connections will be.”
Performing were the Penn Band, Penn Glee Club, and the Off the Beat a cappella group, and the event closed with a singalong performance of “The Red and Blue.”
Matthew Wedge, a first-year from Tampa, Florida, majoring in economics in the College of Arts & Sciences, said the occasion reminded him that his Penn experience is “more than just learning, it’s community building.” It was, he added, “a great way to start the year.”
For Eleanor Strader, a first-year from Virginia Beach, Virginia, majoring in chemical engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, inspiration came in the metaphor of Penn as an “Odyssey”-like journey. She said, already, she’s thinking about her first steps in the weeks ahead, with plans to “cast a wide net” to get involved in not only STEM-related activities, but to take advantage of all that Penn has to offer in the arts—all while staying driven and ambitious in her career goals.
Strader said she also appreciated the description of what it means to be a student—“And not only to be a student,” she added, “but a Penn student.”
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