Female frosh view Penn's opportunities

The freshmen met with student leaders as part of Women In Leadership. Several dozen freshmen women met for dinner last night with the goal of meeting some of the most influential female leaders on campus. As part of an ongoing series of events to promote prominent women on Penn's campus, the Women In Leadership Series brought together about 65 female student leaders and freshmen women for the Freshmen Women's Dinner in the Christian Association last night. WILS planned the event to give new female students an opportunity to interact with other women who hold leadership positions in numerous organizations across the campus and West Philadelphia. Juniors and seniors were interspersed among the freshmen at tables in the room, and each of the student leaders introduced themselves -- and their organizations. "It was a little overwhelming to have everyone telling us about their various positions," College freshman Nicole Altman said. "I'm currently not involved in any groups on campus, but several people offered to answer my questions and to contact them through e-mail." One of the keynote speakers, Rachael Goldfarb, a 1999 College alumna and former chairwoman of the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education, discussed the importance of networking. She landed her job at the White House through a connection with a Penn graduate. "The goal of WILS is not only to enable women to meet other women leaders, but to foster relationships like the ones being made here tonight," Goldfarb said. Theresa Simmonds, a Rhodes and Truman scholar who graduated from the College in 1991, delivered the other keynote address. Currently a teacher at University City High School, Simmonds also used stories from her own life to convey her message of inner strength. She spoke of her experiences in a work environment where she was lauded more for the way she looked than for her job performance. "There will be many fights you will have to fight, and you can either be right or effective. You can't often be both," Simmonds said. In addition, Simmonds encouraged the women to develop support groups in order to combat such obstacles. "Find mentors, something which I wasn't very good at when I was here. Reach out and be aggressive in talking to people that are involved in things that interest you," she said. Several of the freshmen women said they considered the program to be both beneficial and inspiring. "Seeing so many campus leaders in one room together is motivating for freshmen, such as myself, who are eager to get involved," College freshman Liane Moneta said. Added College freshman Sarah Thompson, "This was a great opportunity for freshmen to see what's out there and how to get involved with different activities on campus." The women leaders included Senior Class President Lisa Marshall, President of the Society of Women Engineers Sarah Winnacker and Panhellenic Council President Jennifer Chanowitz. "I would have loved something like this when I was a freshman, when I felt lost and didn't know what to get involved in," said College junior Lauren Sypek, a WILS committee member.