Welcome to the 2019-20 academic year!

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Dear CURF Friends and Family,

As the new Executive Director for CURF, I am delighted to welcome you home to Penn!  I hope you all have had wonderful summers and are ready to embark on the wonders that await you in the 2019-20 academic year. We in CURF look forward to being your partners in navigating new and engaging opportunities to grow intellectually, civically, and socially this year. I hope to meet you all at our annual CURF Research Expo on September 11, from 5:00-6:30 pm in the Hall of Flags. The Expo features the summer research of over 300 Penn undergraduates who worked with faculty in all 12 Penn schools.

I know that you have all been given advice from a myriad of sources on how to make the most of your college experience.  Here, I will share my reflections about navigating four years at Penn.  Enjoy!

For first-year students:

• Every first-year student at Penn is new to Penn. Get excited – get to know one another – learn from one another – be kind to one another.
• Remember that your professors were once college freshmen, too. They have a lot to share with you – not only the coursework you cover in class, but the paths they have followed and the choices they have made as well. They hold office hours for a reason, so take advantage of that opportunity to get to know them.
• Maybe you want to do some research with one of your professors. Make an appointment with CURF to learn about exciting opportunities through our Penn Undergraduate Research Mentoring program (PURM).
• Study hard, but don’t forget to have some fun. Don’t underestimate the rejuvenating power of joy.
• Self-care!  Get sleep, stay hydrated, and exercise.  If you start to feel overwhelmed, ask for help.

For second-year students:

• It’s an exciting year as you begin to focus on choosing your major. Talk to your advisors and your professors. If you thought you were going to be a mechanical engineer and you have discovered that Classical Studies or Philosophy made you much happier than ENGR 105, don’t be afraid to follow your heart.
• You are the pros now, so share your wisdom with new students.
• Self-care!  Get sleep, stay hydrated, and exercise.  If you start to feel overwhelmed, ask for help.
• Continue to explore opportunities to engage more deeply with your academics through research and fellowships. Our CURF team is here to help you.

For Juniors:

• OK, you know that the real world is getting closer, but you still have a cushion of time before it all hits. Did you have a great internship or research experience this summer? Are you still looking for ways to engage in research? CURF has the Jumpstart for Juniors program to help you get started. Penn has some of the world’s most prominent researchers who love to work with undergraduates.  Take advantage of this opportunity. It is rare.
• If you are thinking about post-graduate scholarships, make sure to meet with our fellowships team early in the year.  There will be information sessions and workshops throughout the year and the process for applying for these awards starts in the spring semester. (With some big opportunities like Goldwater, Udall, and Truman in the fall!)
• Self-care!  Get sleep, stay hydrated, and exercise.  If you start to feel overwhelmed, ask for help.

For Seniors:

• This is the year of the bittersweet. This is the time when your time at Penn has an end date. There are decisions to make about post-graduate life, relationships to deepen, memories to make. It will be the last first day, last CURF Expo, last spring registration, last winter break, last Ivy Day. At some point in the year, it will hit you that you are ready. The thought of graduation will become exciting, even if a little uncertain. But know that Penn will always be a part of both your history and your future – the mark it leaves (and that you have made here) is indelible.
• It’s not too late for you to use all that you have learned at Penn to create tomorrow's solutions to today's challenges through the President’s Engagement Prize or President’s Innovation Prize.
• Embrace it all! 
• Oh, and as always: Self-care!  Get sleep, stay hydrated, and exercise.  If you start to feel overwhelmed, ask for help. You will always have a home in CURF.

So, welcome to 2019-20.  It’s going to be a great year!

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