The Class of 2007 arrived at Penn and immediately encountered a frenzy of activity -- moving in, attending lectures and meeting new people.
Yet amidst it all, approximately 50 enthusiastic freshmen took time from their busy schedules to attend the Undergraduate Assembly's first ever proseminar about developing leadership.
"We wanted to put on a program during New Student Orientation that helped freshmen learn to be leaders in an environment where everyone is exceptional," College senior and UA Chairman Jason Levy said.
Through a series of activities -- including a questionnaire designed to determine one's interpersonal leadership style and breakout sessions among people with similar leadership techniques -- freshmen were encouraged to learn more about their leadership potential and interact with fellow classmen who could also end up doing big things for Penn.
"This was very informative and taught me a lot about how I work with others," Wharton freshman Olivia John said. "I learned a lot about how various leaders work differently and how there really is no 'wrong' type of leader."
Fellow Wharton freshman Keir Harris agreed with John's sentiment.
"The breakout sessions were very effective and gave us a chance to be creative," Harris said. "It was a nice change from the usual activities at NSO."
A change from NSO's typical fare was exactly what UA leaders intended to create.
"Normally freshmen attend seminars which are about academics and led by faculty," Levy said. "We wanted to organize a student-run event that focused more on interaction between new freshmen and current leaders at Penn."
In addition to networking freshmen with current leaders, the UA hoped to play an increasingly prominent role in NSO and to combat the issue of segregation of student groups on Penn's campus.
"NSO's one of the times when freshmen are most open to meeting new people, and we wanted to reach them before they become complacent and choose not to explore different organizations," Wharton sophomore and UA representative Cynthia Wong said.
"I feel that the success of this proseminar shows that the freshman class is very interested in becoming involved," she added, "and I am very glad that we were able to introduce ourselves as a resource to them."
