For these Penn people, summer not just a time for rest

and Edward Sherwin Not all Penn students, faculty and staff took a break over the summer. Instead, one Penn affiliate travelled to Mongolia, another prepared to blast off into outer space and a third found something surprising in his pants. · Garrett Reisman, a 1991 graduate of the Management and Technology program, was chosen in June by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as a member of this year's astronaut candidate class. He began 1 1/2 years of training and evaluation at the Johnson Space Center in Houston in late August. Only 100 of the 2,600 applicants for this year's candidate class were even granted interviews for the elite 25-member group. "It was sort of a long shot -- no pun intended," Reisman said of his chances for acceptance into the competitive program. After training, Reisman and his 24 classmates will receive technical assignments within the Astronaut Office before actually voyaging beyond the earth's atmosphere. He said he could be in line for a mission within three or four years. After a childhood of model rockets and movies of the Apollo missions, Reisman, 30, majored in mechanical engineering and economics while at Penn. An Alpha Tau Omega brother, he served as president of the InterFraternity Council in 1989. After graduation, Reisman received his master's degree and doctorate in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology. A native of New Jersey, he currently works as a spacecraft engineer in the Space and Electronics Group of Redondo Beach, Calif.-based TRW Inc. · Amanda Fine, a 1997 graduate of Penn's School of Veterinary Medicine, will travel to Mongolia in September to spend a year as a fellow at the Veterinary Research Institute in Ulaan Bator. Fine, from Bristol, Pa., is one of only 17 winning applicants selected as a Luce Scholar for the 1998-1999 year from among 125 to 130 candidates. The highly competitive fellowship, established by the Henry Luce Foundation in 1974, "enables young Americans of exceptional promise to live and work in nations throughout east and southeast Asia for one year." Fine received her bachelor's degree from Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pa., in 1993 before coming to Penn. And Fine is no stranger to the kind of first-hand research in which she will take part in Mongolia. In 1992, she spent four months in South Africa researching parasites of importance to the livestock industry. Sixty-seven colleges and universities across the United States submitted nominations to the program this year. · Only a few months out of school himself, 1998 College graduate Harold Shields is already hard at work, figuring out how to make good on his recent pledge to help send a group of youngsters to college. Shields -- who attended the University on a full scholarship, as part of the "Say Yes to Education" program -- was searching for a way to give back when he announced his plan to start a scholarship fund for the graduating fifth-grade class of Philadelphia's Belmont Elementary School. Shields' announcement at Belmont's June graduation ceremony came exactly 11 years after University alumnus George Weiss made an offer of his own to the 1987 graduating class at Belmont, of which Shields was a part. The elementary school went up to sixth grade at the time. When Weiss, a Connecticut philanthropist, offered to send all 112 members of the class to college, for free, Shields took full advantage of the offer. And more than a decade later, armed with a degree in psychology, he is out to make an impact on the lives of the next generation -- insofar as he is able. Shields may not yet have the means to provide a free ride for every deserving student, but he has promised to put aside $30 a week for seven years -- enough for 10 scholarships of $1,000 each. And that's not even counting investment income and community help which he has solicited -- and received. Shields said he has received several donations since his June announcement, ranging from $12 to $10,000. In light of the additional funds, he said he hopes to be able to help a greater portion of the 58-member class. "The response has been great so far," Shields said. "It would be great if we could get a scholarship for each and every one of the students." Before taking his proposal to the public, Shields confided his idea in April to both Weiss and Graduate School of Education Fellow Norman Newberg, who is the executive director of Say Yes. Although Newberg said he was initially concerned that Shields might be taking on too much for a young person, he soon discovered what he described as Shields' "unfaltering determination." Weiss, who was in attendance for Shields' announcement, echoed Newberg's feelings of pride. "I think it's phenomenal, it's exactly what I'm always trying to teach to the Say Yes kids," Weiss explained. "If someone makes a change in your life, you should try to turn around and make a change in someone else's life." · Some laud him as a hero, others deem him a role model, but Brett Bonfield said he was "just doing the right thing" when he returned a $1,850 wad of cash to its rightful owner. Bonfield -- a staff writer in the communications department of the Office of Development and Alumni Relations -- was shopping with his fiancZe, Beth Filla, at Thrift for AIDS on South Street when he found the money in an old pair of pants early last month. "I saw some pants that looked interesting, but they seemed too big," explained Bonfield. "But as I held them up, I felt something in the pocket that felt like an old wallet. Well, I reached in and pulled out a wad of cash, including several hundred dollar bills." Bonfield, 28, claimed that he didn't even stop to think as he headed up to the register -- the money in one hand, the pants in the other. "What I did took about 15 seconds and it took that long only because my knees were shaking," he said. "There was no decision time. I was just thinking, 'This is Thrift for AIDS, the money isn't mine and I should give it back'." The thrift store, located at 633 South Street, is a non-profit organization whose proceeds go to assist those with HIV and AIDS. A deposit slip found with the money was used to track down the rightful owner, according to Mike Martino, the store's executive director. It turns out that Javier Kuehnle, the owner of a company that makes automotive components, had donated the pants only a week before, although he had lost the money two years ago. "I was very pleasantly surprised when the thrift store called," Kuehnle told The Philadelphia Daily News last weekend. "I was actually shocked that the money showed up after all this time." To show his appreciation for the returned money, Kuehnle gave Bonfield a $500 reward. Thrift for AIDS has also given him a $100 store gift certificate.

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