Frosh come early to meet, explore

While most freshmen were taking care of last-minute packing, dozens of new students arrived on campus early to head into the woods or into West Philadelphia. One hundred stalwart freshmen attended the seventh annual PennQuest, a backpacking trip through the Poconos High Point State Park, while 39 participated in the 10th annual PennCORP, a community-service program that acquaints students with each other while introducing them to West Philadelphia community service. PennQuest students, accompanied by 20 upperclass counselors, hiked 15 to 20 miles, sleeping on the trail by night and braving rain and cold with their newfound friends by day. "There was a torrential downpour the first night, but all in all it was great," PennQuest counselor Kiri Gibney said. Gibney, a College senior, described how the freshmen and upperclassmen took advantage of the weather to hold a dance party out in the rain. "[PennQuest] is about getting to know other freshmen," said College sophomore and PennQuest counselor Cam Winton. "When they got back from the trail, they had made friends as close as you can make in three days." The freshmen agreed. "When everyone else is just coming to school, you already know people so it's awesome," said Wharton freshman and PennQuest participant Caroline Mao. While PennQuest participants scaled the Pocono peaks, the PennCORP participants stayed closer to home. The volunteers visited local service sites, rollerskating with children at the West Philadelphia YMCA, interacting with recovering drug addicts at Family House Now and renovating a 49th Street house with Habitat for Humanity. "The purpose of PennCORP is for freshmen to gain insight into the fact that being at the University is being a member of West Philadelphia," said College junior and PennCORP co-coordinator John Gensel. "West Philadelphia is a community where students can be actively involved if they take the initiative." Freshmen in both PennCORP and PennQuest applied to the programs early in the summer. About twice as many students applied as were accepted into each program. PennCORP is run out of Civic House, formerly the Program for Student Community Involvement, which opened at 3914 Locust Walk this summer in the white 19th-century house that used to house the Division of Public Safety. For some PennCORP participants, the program was just the first in what they hope will be a longer career of community service at Penn. College freshman Kate Welch extended her PennCORP experience past the program's official end, returning to a West Philadelphia neighborhood Saturday to continue beautification work at a local garden.