Category: musings

musings

Advice for the first post-COVID year

Sonya Gwak

Fall 2022 was the first year of “mask-optional, everything in-person” school year. The two years of COVID had affected students’ ability to interact with each other. The modalities of virtual interactions are very different from in-person interactions. I was worried.

As I sat on stage, looking out into the auditorium filled with anxious first year students, I scribbled a few things I thought may be useful in coping with a new life and new rules of engagement. I came up with five.

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To remind you of the 5 pieces of advice from me today:

  • The difference between a reason and an excuse is timing: If you are struggling (with work, with life), let someone know so that we can help you before it becomes a catastrophe. Life happens even if you are a student and we are all here to support you. We are very good at what we do.
  • You are only competing with yourself: We don’t have class rankings; we don’t publish who has a 4.0. C=degree. Everything else is cherry on top. Pass your classes and try your best, but don’t do it because you think you are competing with your classmates. Learn to learn and not because you think a good grade makes you who you are.
  • Do less: Most of you said you want to make new friends, get to know Penn and Philadelphia, and that friends and family bring you joy. Remember there are only 7 days a week and 24 hours in a day. Honor the things that you love and bring you joy and make the time.
  • Belly laugh every day: It got me through 2 years of COVID, to find something that I can genuinely laugh out loud about, every single day. Trust me: it will make you feel better and see your problems more clearly so that you can solve them. Laughter is really the best medicine.
  • Eat, sleep, and shower: Please, do this for you–for all of us.

See you around Towne!

musings

New beginnings

Sonya Gwak

Fall 2023 was the last time I stood on stage to address a new class of students. I don’t generally prepare speeches; I usually end up ad libbing a few words of encouragement to fill up the time until the next scheduled orientation event.

That being said, on my eighteenth New Student Orientation, knowing that it would be my last opportunity to help launch a first year class, I decided to share a story that I hope would give them the courage to be themselves.

Below is the speech. Maybe, a few students will remember these words and remember that they belong.

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10, 949 days ago, I was sitting where you are sitting today, with a mixture of excitement and anxiety. Over the next several weeks, I got used to sharing a tiny room in Hill, made friends with people on my floor, and even got a job or two. I also began to realize that I had gaps in my schooling. Then, just as I was beginning to doubt whether I could really make it at Penn, some people around me took it upon themselves to tell me which “boxes” I checked to be admitted to Penn.

On an evening shift at the Quad front desk, I happened to chat with someone who was waiting to get signed in. He asked if I was a first year student and asked for my name. Then he said: “I read your application and I admitted you.”

Crazy, right? But true story.

He didn’t remember my accomplishments or my grades or my financial circumstances. What he did remember was the essays I had written that told him about the kind of person I was, my values, my background, and how he believed Penn would be the right community for me to explore and grow.

This kind of chance meeting almost never happens and this encounter gave me the confidence to accept what I did not know and be open to learning and experiencing a new life.

While my academic career and my life was not a field of roses, I never forgot that one person who believed that I belonged at Penn and worked through the minor disasters with help and support from friends, family, faculty, and administrators. Perhaps, that is also the reason I never left this place.

If you ever feel that doubt creeping in, all of us here will remind you that you are here because of the person that you are and the values that you bring to our community. Talk to us. We are your people. We believe in you. We are looking forward to the person you will be in the future.

And finally, especially when things get a bit rough, don’t forget to eat, sleep, and shower!