For frosh, U. is world of wonder

Cutline: The freshman Experience, First in a series One applied to the University because a psychic told his mother he should. Another is only 16 years old. One hails from Hawaii; another from Alaska. Each has a unique vision of what life at the University will be like and each is driven by a different motivation to succeed. Together, 11 in all, they are part of a group of freshmen that The Daily Pennsylvanian will follow through their first year at the University in order to better understand their experiences. Sarah Carpenter, who hails from Marion, Ohio, says she came to the University to move far away from home. Carpenter was attracted to the University by the students' ability to mix partying and studying, and by the friendliness of the alumni councils and University staff. "Princeton is so stuffy and so tight," she said. "When I heard Penn was an Ivy League school, I said, 'Wow, that's great.'" Others in the group, like Sabrina Lowe of Honolulu, Hawaii, liked the international diversity of the student body. "There are so many international students from Nairobi, Indonesia, Czechoslovakia and Pakistan on my floor," she said. "You can learn so much by talking with these people." Benjamin Vaessen, of Anchorage, Alaska, said he had to escape from the northernmost state. "Anything would've been far away for me," he said. "Penn was always my first choice." The students in the focus group had many expectations of the University, and some said that their experiences have already differed from what they expected. Emily Wood of Portsmouth, N.H., hopes the University will help her decide what career to pursue. "I'm hoping some courses and people will help me decide what I want to do with my life," she said. Another student, 16-year-old Clare Bayard of Wilmington, Del., said her expectations of the University changed after the first week of classes. "It occurred to me that I wanted a challenge and that's why I decided to go here," she said. "There are unlimited opportunities in everything. It's so big, and there are so many people and so many classes. You have to find what you want and do what you want." Other students wanted the independence of being away from home, and some wanted to be in the city where they may later work. Mark Gutierrez, of Monterey Park, Calif., said he expected to be treated differently because he is a Mexican American. "I thought coming here as a student of color, I'd be treated differently, but people respect me for who I am," he said. "I've learned not to focus on ethnicity. The University is more diverse than a lot of campuses I've seen." Alaina Anderson, who is from Chicago, said she thinks people like the University. "People are really proud of Penn," she said. "They always wear Penn stuff, and it's fresh." Although Anderson said the University is "academically challenging," she also feels that it is "really segregated." Jane Loman of New Port Richey, Fla. said she thinks that, in time, students will join forces to be a part of a larger community. "Everybody is clinging onto their own cultures right now," she said. "It will get better, later on, as the year goes on."

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