Through experiential programming, interactions with staff, and connecting to campus resources we encourage students in the BL(o)C to integrate wellness into all aspects of their Rodin experience. The BL(o)C provides students the opportunity to engage with seven dimensions of wellness to improve their quality of life and enrich their experience at Penn. The seven dimensions of wellness are: Social, Emotional, Spiritual, Environmental, Occupational, Intellectual, Physical.

Program Objectives: 

• Identify and articulate a personal definition of wellness that integrates the seven dimensions
• Identifying holistic wellness “strengths” and “weaknesses” in your own life, and developing a plan for addressing the areas where you want to experience additional grow in terms of wellness
• Challenge themselves, through healthful living practices, to strive for wholeness and balance in their lives.

Are you the first in your family to go to college?

If so, we would like to introduce you to the many resources and opportunities available to you on campus. Join with other first-generation college students in taking a behind-the-scenes look at how the University works. Members of the First Generation, First Step Programming Community will learn how to navigate Penn and understand the keys to succeeding both in and out of the classroom. You will connect with students, faculty, and staff who identify as first-generation and meet people from offices all across campus who can help you during your college years.

The JCS Program connects residents to academic programming, facilitates interfaith dialogue, and creates new opportunities for residents to learn more about Jewish culture while building both a floor and a house community.   

Past JCS events have included Shabbat celebrations and a challah making night. Residents regularly participate in prayer services as a community, and JCS has a strong relationship with Hillel.

JCS also offers students the chance to shape their Residential Program experience by taking on leadership roles and planning events for the floor and the House.

Program Objectives:

• Gain an understanding of Jewish Culture in order to appreciate history and tradition

• Encourage dialogue about Jewish Culture in order to consider different viewpoints

• Create opportunities for members of the non-Jewish community to experience and learn about Jewish Culture

• Study Jewish Culture in a way that supplements one’s curricular education at Penn

• Develop relationships and network

• Identify ways in which they can contributed to building a the Rodin community

Expectations and Participation:  Members of the JCS floor should expect to attend floor meetings, participate in the annual Rodin Showcase, and generally be active members of their floor and House communites.  

The Asian/Asian American Program Community aims to bring together both students that identify as part of the Asian and/or Asian American community, or who have an interest in learning more about the needs and concerns of this community. Through connections with academic and co-curricular resources, this Program Community focuses on community building through personal and group reflection, programming, and connection to both campus and off campus opportunities.

Program Goals:

• To open an additional space aside from academic coursework or involvement in student groups to explore Asian and Asian American topics
• To promote deeper reflection on Asian and Asian American identity, especially the diversity of experiences that the community tries to encompass
• To connect students to other resources on campus for exploring Asian and Asian American identity, as well as the field of Asian American studies
• To support opportunities for students to participate in events on campus and in Philadelphia together

Participation Expectations:

Participants will be expected to participate in programs organized by the PC RA and to take a leadership role in developing programs throughout the year.

Sample Events and Traditions:

Drawing from the former East Asia Program Community, this will be the first year for the Asian/Asian American Program Community, so residents can expect to be heavily involved with shaping the direction of this residential experience and involved in the development of new traditions. We will attend programs on campus, connect with the rich Asian and Asian American communities in Philadelphia through festivals, community service opportunities, academic resources, and more.

“It seems to me, Govinda, that love is the most important thing in the world. It may be important to great thinkers to examine the world, to explain and despise it. But I think it is only important to love the world, not to desire it, not for us to hate each other, but to be able to regard the world and ourselves and all beings with love, admiration and respect.”

                                —Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha

How do we regard the world with all its complexities and nuances, as well as the multitude of cultures found throughout the globe? The International Residential Program (IP) creates a dynamic space where residents can learn about other cultures and ways of living. Resident Advisors and Graduate Associates (RAGAs) and residents alike facilitate cooperative learning through dinner and discussions, participation in the annual Coffeehouse & Food Festival, and creation of cultural displays that are shown on the floors. Residents have also attended museum exhibition tours and special events in the Philadelphia area. As part of the Harnwell Cultures Collective, residents will showcase the integrated experience and interconnectedness of cultural commonality in scholarly and creative presentations at the annual Harnwell Symposium.

IP events and activities are shaped by residents’ interests each year and encompass exploration of international cultures, policies, cuisine, theater, music, etc. This program is well-suited for the student who takes initiative, is dedicated to the mission of the Cultures Collective, and is seeking intellectual and personal growth.

Program Goals: The Program invites residents to expand their understanding of other cultures and foster an appreciation for living in an intercultural community. At the conclusion of the academic year, residents will have developed their critical thinking skills, taken on leadership roles, and engaged with these topics through an interdisciplinary model. 

Participant Expectations: The Program RAGAs will review details and activities at the beginning of the academic year, where residents will receive their IP Compact. Residents will be expected to participate in the following, as decided by the RAGAs:

• 1 major event per month
• 1 minor event per month
• Implement 1 minor floor event as determined by the RAGAs
• Host 1 House program per semester

Members will assist in the production of Front Row’s productions including the company’s NSO, Fall, Winter, and Spring productions.   Members will also coordinate community service projects planned in connection with Front Row’s performances.  In addition, members of the program will collaborate in readings of plays and the creation of original dramatic and artistic works to be presented in Harrison College House.  In partnership with the Penn Art Club members of the program will meet local artists and alumni (playwrights, visual artists, and performers) to gain different perspectives about the arts community. Find out more on the Front Row Theatre website, and check out the Penn Art Club website.

Goals: Harrison’s Front Row Theatre Company Program provides its participants with the opportunity to encounter and study a broad range of artistic media and expression; to learn from other program residents, who come from diverse academic and artistic backgrounds; to take artistic risks within a supportive community.

Expectations: Members of the program will be expected to participate in Harrison’s Front Row Theatre; organize and participate in Harrison’s regular Art-In programs; organize and attend Harrison’s Art Speakers Series; develop Harrison’s original art series through collaborations in playwriting, filmmaking, or other forms of expressive arts.

Location: Harrison’s Front Row and the Arts Community Program in Harrison will be located on the 7th and 8th floors of Harrison College House.  

Perspectives in the Humanities is a community focused on the elevated appreciation of the arts and the humanities through shared experiences. Members of Perspectives in the Humanities come from diverse backgrounds, but are united by a common passion for the humanities. One need not study the humanities to apply—the program merely calls for a genuine interest and desire to spend time with fellow humanists. PiH is dedicated to fostering an appreciation and the discussion of the humanities at Penn: in the arts and music, literature, languages, theater, history, philosophy, anthropology, religion, jurisprudence, ethics, and beyond.  Signature events include the Penn Author Forum, speakeasy events, theater and museum outings in Philadelphia, and notable cultural events within the city.

Goals: The goal of PiH is to create an environment conducive to studying and enjoying the humanities beyond the classroom, where students feel comfortable discussing their creative thoughts with others, both formally and socially.

Extending beyond Kings Court English House, the Science and Technology Wing (STWing) is a network of over two hundred undergraduates, graduate students, professors, and alumni from the University of Pennsylvania whose members share a strong interest in the science and technologies that permeate everyday life. While its reach is campus-wide, however, STWing’s simultaneous status as a residential program helps maintain a flourishing intellectual and social community foundation both for the College House and the larger society. A great synergetic learning community, STWingers are always getting together to build something – from blimps to space cameras – relying on their collective knowledge of physics, engineering, computer science, as well as art and sense of humor to do so. In addition to these inventive pursuits, the pioneering residents of STWing have for years owned and maintained their own timesharing servers, raised money to fund a research fellowship, and helped produce a science journal of undergraduate research. Throughout the year the program hosts a dinner-discussion series to which University faculty, staff, and interesting non-Penn guests are invited, as well as purely social events planned by students. The program is entirely student run by its Continuum (Student Governance), though students often work closely with faculty on their projects and with House staff in planning their social activities. 

Goals: STWing sets out to provide its members with the connections, structure, and resources (financial and otherwise) necessary to pursue projects of their own interests. The network of faculty and alumni associated with the program provides a personalized mentoring experience within this community context. The program teaches students to dare, but also to have fun and be collaborative in the process.

For more information: E-mail info@stwing.upenn.edu.

The member nations of the World Health Organization have endorsed “Health for All” and have challenged us to take individual and collective action to achieve that goal via Health21—Health for all in the 21st Century. But what do we mean by “health” and what would it take to achieve it for all? This program community will take on that challenge, engaging students across disciplines and programs to explore and connect the multiple dimensions that influence health and its pursuit—social, political, economic/financial, management, cultural, environmental, ethical, historical, technology, research/innovation, and health care access, among others—and what it will take to lead the way.

Thinking of living in KCECH as an upperclass resident?  Great!  KCECH maintains a rich tradition of housing upperclass residents who serve as leaders and mentors for our freshmen community.  We greatly value the unique perspectives and contributions of our upperclass residents and we are dedicated to providing a fulfilling experience during their time here.

Residents are encouraged to assess their present leadership abilities, actively pursue personal leadership development and build meaningful relationships with other floor members through events, projects, dinners, workshops, and social activities.

All of our Theme Communities are open to upperclass residents. They include:

• PiH: Perspectives in Humanities and Arts.
• https://kcech.house.upenn.edu/humanities
• WiCS: Women in Computer Science (Open to all genders).
• https://kcech.house.upenn.edu/content/women-computer-science
• STWing: Science and Technology theme.
• https://kcech.house.upenn.edu/content/science-and-technology-wing-stwing
• Biosphere: Environmental and Outdoors theme.
• https://kcech.house.upenn.edu/biosphere

Expectations and Participation: 

Members of the KCECH Upperclass Programs should expect to attend floor meetings, participate in their respective program community, take initiative with in-house projects and programs, and generally be active members of their floor and House communities.

Women have broken through the glass ceiling enjoying successful careers in politics, journalism, medicine; leading fortune 500 companies; and being accomplished artists, performers and musicians. But have you ever wondered how they got there? What was their major in college and did they use their major to get there? What are the challenges specific to being a woman leader in today's world?

The core of this program is two-fold:

(1) to build an intentional community of future women in leadership and individuals who seek to encourage their experiences, (2) to increase understanding of how gender dynamics continue to influence the personal lives of women, and (3) to provide mentorship and real-life examples of how women have become distinguished Penn Alumnae.

The program will highlight the range of careers that exist for Penn graduates, specifically by inviting accomplished women across the university and beyond from their respective fields for interactive discussions. Participants will hear how the speakers have broken the mold from an executive, entrepreneur, professor, and recent working alumna perspective, while making meaningful contacts with important professional mentors.

The Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program invites students from all academic backgrounds to participate. The group explores the opportunities and challenges for scientific, technological, and social innovation, in areas from machine learning to musicology and from medicine to politics. Through dinners, workshops, and field trips, students will meet and talk with researchers and entrepreneurs from Penn, the region, and the world.