Coming from an Indiana high school with 100 students per class, Jasper MacLean, C’23, was both excited and nervous about joining Penn’s 10,000+ undergraduate student body.
Getting to Know You
A gift from the Class of 1982 will support students to build community and create their first Penn memories
Published: September 23, 2022
Before exploring campus life, he explored Pennsylvania’s wilderness through the PennQuest pre-orientation program. Those days would impact his entire college experience.
“PennQuest opened so many doors for me,” says Jasper, who now serves as a leader for the group. “It’s a really unique program, taking over 130 students on a beautiful hiking trip along the Appalachian Trail in the Poconos. When you get back to campus, you have a special shared experience not only with those in your class, but students of every class who participated in PennQuest.”
PennQuest participants take a break for snacks and stories after a long hiking day.
PennArts students take part in a dance master class on the stage of the Prince Theatre at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.
Future campus leaders gather for a group photo during the PENNacle pre-orientation program.
PennQuest is one of five pre-orientation programs—in addition to PennArts, PENNacle, PennGenEq, and PennGreen—that will benefit from a $250,000 gift from the Class of 1982. The funds were raised during the Class’s 40th reunion, one of the many feats of alumni excellence that earned them their second Class Award of Merit honor.
“So many will meet their lifelong friends in those first few days on campus,” says Sally Katz, C’82, President of the Class of 1982. “My class loved the idea of helping so many students start their Penn experience on the best foot by supporting such innovative pre-orientation programs.”
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From the inaugural PennQuest trip in 1992 to the introduction of PennGenEq in 2021, University Life pre-orientation programs have aimed to “shrink the psychological size of the University,” according to Laurie McCall, Director of the Platt Student Performing Arts House and the PennQuest program. “Giving new students solid connections to their peers and upper-level leaders, based around a common interest, allows for more intimate bonds and more opportunities to get answers to questions they have in starting college life,” she says.
The gift from the Class of 1982 will provide financial assistance for students who wish to participate in the programs, as well as provide resources to enhance the activities offered. “This gift contributes to University Life’s goal of providing diverse, welcoming spaces for students of all identities and supports the University’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging,” says Elisa Foster, Director of PennGenEq and Interim Director of Penn Women’s Center. “As a new program, only in its second year, this gift provides us with crucial stability for years to come.”
While there were no such pre-orientation programs offered to all first-year students when Sally Katz (pictured at far left) and her classmates attended Penn, she recalls an experience similar to PennQuest that some were lucky to have. “My dormmates in Community House went to the Poconos for a bonding trip, including some hilarious songs and sketches,” she says. “Those memories, and the friendships we created, were a priceless part of our undergraduate years.”
Supporting student experiences is nothing new for the Class of 1982. The Class is renowned for their support of The Penn Fund and student aid, breaking both the alumni class donor record and the record for individually endowed scholarships in each of their past four reunion years. “It sounds cliché, but we really believe in paying it forward. We want to help as many people as possible to have the same positive college experience that we had,” Katz says. “At the end of the day, whether you received a scholarship, met lifelong friends because they received student aid, or benefited from enhanced facilities and transformative Penn programs, much of your life at Penn was made possible because of alumni giving back.”
Class reunion giving enables alumni to honor their own Penn histories as they create opportunities for current and future students to enjoy the very best Penn experience possible. Pre-orientation programs like PennQuest can be the first step in creating bonds that will last a lifetime. “There are still PennQuest alumni meetups in every city,” says Jasper. “They stay in touch, invite each other to weddings, and take family vacations together. And it all started with sharing stories around the campfire.”
