Before
many of their classmates arrived on campus, 76 of the women in Penn
Engineering’s class of 2016 were hard at work and hard at play in Philadelphia.
The Fifth Annual Advancing Women in Engineering (AWE) Pre-Orientation commenced
on August 27th, 2012 with a warm welcome from Michele Grab, director
of AWE, and the 19 volunteers who participated in the program their freshman
year and as counselors in past years. In the action-packed three days that
followed, Penn’s newest, eager engineers participated in activities around
campus and center city Philadelphia, absorbed advice from faculty and students,
and bonded with their peers to kick-off their Penn experience.
After
the opening ceremonies, as well as indulging in a delicious buffet dinner (following
in true AWE style), Penn’s newest engineers teamed up with their peers and put
their building skills to work. The
girls were divided into teams and sent on the famous AWE tradition: The AWE
Scavenger Hunt. Through a series of puzzles located throughout the engineering
buildings, the teams worked together to solve the mystery of who kidnapped a SEAS Professor while also learning their way around SEAS! Who was the culprit? Only the participants know the truth!
After a full
day of learning almost 100 names and faces, taking a campus tour, and running
throughout the engineering campus solving puzzles, everyone was ready to power
up and hit the town. It was time indulge in dinner and dessert, complete with
Philadelphia’s Tastykakes and Peanut Chews, before embarking on their first
subway ride to Citizens Bank Park for a Phillies game. The weather was picture
perfect for exploring the ballpark with new friends and taking in the timeless,
classic-Philly atmosphere. Phillies fans new and old went wild when Ryan Howard
hit a grand slam in the first inning – something many long time Phillies fans
have never seen!
Day two gave the
women the opportunity to ask questions and absorb the sage advice from
professors Dr. Karen Winey and Dr. Susan Margulies and to embark on their second adventure into center city for a Philadelphia Trolley Tour
and lunch at Reading Terminal Market.
On
Thursday morning at the closing brunch, the girls were given words of wisdom
and send-off advice from Dean Glandt, alumni, and AWE Director Michele. The women of AWE
hope to see the participants and all new women engineers of the class of 2016 continue
to participate in AWE throughout their Penn experience and maybe even volunteer
as a counselor next year! We hope you have new friends, advice and memories to
last all four years at Penn – and a lifetime. Thanks for participating and
making it both enjoyable and successful!
Questions about pre-orientation? Contact us at awe@seas.upenn.edu
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