Heather A. Davis

Erica Ball was just 3 years old when she begged her parents to let her play the piano. She doesn’t remember exactly what sparked her interest, but Ball says her fluency grew quickly as she progressed from playing on a tiny keyboard to a baby grand by middle school.

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Antonia Villarruel was in eighth grade when she made a decision that would shape her entire professional life: She decided she was going to be a nurse.

EARLY ELECTION DAYS: In elementary school, College senior Joyce Kim got her first taste of running for student government when she was elected historian. It seems like she hasn’t stopped running for elections since, first in high school, and most recently, for the Undergraduate Assembly (UA).

Know any superstar staff members at Penn? Then nominate them in the Models of Excellence Award program, which honors University staff who have gone above and beyond in their job responsibilities to create positive change on campus. The deadline to submit nominations is Monday, Nov. 3.

Growing up in Brooklyn, Collin Williams got plenty of attention for being a smart, motivated student. Sometimes, that attention wasn’t great: Being a self-described kid who “had all the answers” got him bullied by his classmates.

China is playing an increasingly important global role economically, socially, and culturally, and has become a significant focal point for researchers and students at Penn.

ACCESS TO ART: About a year ago, the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) joined a handful of other city cultural institutions in the STAMP Program, an initiative of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. In this program, Philadelphia students between the ages of 14 and 19 can get free admission to museums and cultural venues.

Even in the relative quiet of June, July, and early August, some parts of Penn’s campus were humming with activity. Construction crews remained hard at work during the summer months, tackling both long- and short-term facilities projects.