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Nov 17, 2024 | 
34st.com | Sophie Barkan
Kimi Li (C ‘25) is not your typical pre–dental student. While she spends her days at Penn immersed in her academics, volunteer work, and research, she makes sure to fill her free moments embarking on exciting side quests. She’s rapped on stage as a prelude act for Hamilton in front of a live audience, competed for the chance to win a $2 million private island on a MrBeast reality YouTube video, and even launched her own shoe–painting small business.
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Oct 14, 2024 | 
34st.com | Sophie Barkan
Fay Shuai (C ‘25) has certainly bounced around the map, having lived in over six cities throughout her life, taking her from Tulsa, Okla. to Salt Lake City. At Penn, Fay’s various hometowns have enabled her to connect with so many people across campus, particularly with fellow Oklahomans, whom she believes share a unique sense of telepathy.
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Sep 20, 2024 | 
34st.com | Sophie Barkan
For Ethan Zhao (W ‘25), the value of cooking is in bringing people together and creating dishes that everyone can enjoy. After experiencing the high-pressure environment of the restaurant industry during his gap year, Ethan wondered how he could experiment with new culinary ideas and gather Penn students around a table—without the stress of running a full-time restaurant.
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Jul 2, 2024 | 
34st.com | Sophie Barkan
“I was always the kind of person that never felt bound to be in a specific box,” says Rishu Mohanka (C, E ‘24) as he sits behind the wheel of a U–Haul loaded with a 250–pound tunnel boring machine built entirely by himself and his fellow teammates on Penn Hyperloop.
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Mar 23, 2024 | 
34st.com | Talia Shapiro |Sophie Barkan
Penn students’ social media accounts are filled with photos of their refined artistic performances, lively parties, and demanding sports competitions. In light of our peers' impressive achievements and activities, it’s easy to focus on the people in the photos and forget about the person taking those photos. A lot of work and creativity goes into capturing these picture–perfect moments.
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Feb 19, 2024 | 
34st.com | Sophie Barkan
Growing up alongside her grandparents, Samantha Cueto (N ‘24) developed a soft spot for the geriatric population. Now a senior at the School of Nursing, Samantha has dedicated her time at college toward conducting extensive research supporting the elderly. She has particularly enjoyed spearheading a community–based intervention aimed at increasing physical activity among Hispanic elderly individuals with dementia or cognitive impairment.
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Feb 9, 2024 | 
34st.com | Sophie Barkan
Everyday for lunch and dinner, Penn students head across the street from Huntsman Hall to honeygrow, where they indulge in signature stir–fry, custom salads, or pick up a meal to-go. Founded in Philadelphia by Justin Rosenberg, this fast–casual stir-fry and salad concept has become a “dorm room name” for Penn students since first opening their doors on Walnut Street in November 2015. Justin is amazed that it has already been eight years since honeygrow made its way to University City.
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Nov 1, 2023 | 
34st.com | Sophie Barkan
Back home in the Philippines, Lance Tan (SEAS ‘23) grew up eating fries as his after–school snack. Not your ordinary McDonald's fries, but flavored fries, a common food concept in Southeast Asia. In college, noticing a gap in the snacking options on campus, Lance decided to bring a taste of home to Penn and launch his own specialty fries business. “Potato Pit Stop” was born. “Everybody loves fries here in the US, so I decided to give it a try,” Lance says.
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Sep 26, 2023 | 
34st.com | Sophie Barkan
"I think everyone had something that they were really, really drawn to as a kid. For me, that was jewelry,” Tina Zhang (W ‘25) says. Tina’s jewelry–making journey began on her ninth birthday when she ventured over to the crafting section of Walmart and picked out a little case of beads and a pair of pliers. Ever since, Tina has continued to use those same pliers to craft one–of–a–kind necklaces and earrings.
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Sep 11, 2023 | 
34st.com | Sophie Barkan
Born with a congenital heart defect, Megan Laubacher (N ‘24) spent the first few weeks of her life in the hospital surrounded by medical professionals. Yet among all of the surgeons, pediatricians, and cardiologists, one group always stood out to Megan’s family: nurses. “The best stories in the hospital came from my time spent with the nurses,” Megan says.
