Freshman Footsteps | Settling in: new room, new culture

In retrospect, Shiv Kapoor, a Wharton freshman from New Delhi, decided that having a roommate would have made his move-in experience to Riepe College House a little easier.

While other Indian students had American roommates who "cleaned and readied" their rooms, Kapoor said, he had to prepare his single room by himself. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to finish before leaving for PENNacle, a pre-orientation leadership program in Jamison, Pennsylvania.

"In the beginning no one knew anyone - people were congregating based on where they came from," said Kapoor. "It was a little awkward for me because I was the only one from India."

It's not that Kapoor didn't expect that to happen. "In the first year, people tend to congregate with people from their own countries," he said.

That was something he prepared himself to deal with, but he's "determined for that not to be the case" during his years at Penn.

* * *

One of Kapoor's reasons for participating in PENNacle ­ - and for coming to Penn at all ­- was to meet people from all over the world. He wants to learn about their "cultures, languages and the way they function."

He also looks forward to seeing how American teaching styles compare with Indian teaching styles. Kapoor believes Americans are more hands-on in the classroom and more discussion-based, whereas in India, teachers are primarily "book-centric." "It's not a very involved system of learning," he added.

For almost a decade, he has dreamed of studying at Wharton.

Now that he has reached that goal, he is setting out to be a success in the real world. His first step is planning dual degrees in the College and Wharton in management and international relations.

Kapoor comes from a family of entrepreneurs - his great-grandfather founded D.L.F., India's largest real-estate development company, and his father is an automobile dealer in Tata and Mahindra.

He is very close with his family, which includes his parents and a 15-year-old brother. All three came to see him settled, even though his brother had a major exam the day after he flew back to India.

His father received an MBA from McGill University in 1987 and was adamant that Kapoor attend college in the United States so that he could expand his horizons, both academically and culturally.

However, Kapoor does not intend to follow in any family member's footsteps.

"I want to stand on my own two feet," said Kapoor, "not fall back on family business."

* * *

The activities Kapoor participated in during PENNacle moved him closer to his goals of personal growth and exploring the new culture. In one, called "taking sides," students were read a statement and walked to different sides of a basketball court based on whether they agree with what is said.

"It's all about being convinced about what you believe in," said Kapoor. "In life, it's very difficult to sit on the fence."

Despite uncomfortable beginnings and a more informal program than he had expected, Kapoor managed to meet people and learn about leadership and interacting with others during the three-day conference.

Since getting back, he has been concentrating on readying himself and his room for the rest of the year.

Despite his lack of roommate, however, he has gotten quite a lot of help from his parents. They stayed in Philadelphia while Kapoor was in Jamison and purchased items such as a mini-fridge and microwave for his room, though he was in charge of organizing them.

"I like my things in my own place," he said.

Though his parents were helpful in buying many of the items for his room, he carried his posters from India himself, because he is "very particular" about which ones he has. His choices include a print of Manchester United, Kapoor's favorite soccer team.

He is also considering buying a television for his room at school, because he enjoys watching movies and playing video games, not least because he sees activities such as these as very sociable.

During New Student Orientation, he also found time to go on a tour of historic Philadelphia so he could see important American historical landmarks.

"It is different [to observe American culture] because I'm completely used to my Indian traditions," he said, "but what is most important is when you live somewhere, to really steep yourself in their heritage to really belong to that place."

As much as he has enjoyed NSO, however, Kapoor said he is excited for classes to start.

"I'm really keen on just settling into the groove, since this is what I'm doing for the next four years," he said.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.