SPRING BREAK!

From barely escaping a snowstorm to sleeping peacefully in a warm Florida home.

My camera took a short break this past week as I caught up with family and tied up the loose ends on non school work. I hope those of you reading had or have a wonderful break! If you want to keep those relaxed spring break vibes going check out my health blog on Wellness Week here at PennDesign and look out for future posts.

Career Fair Countdown…


This Friday from 1-4 pm students at PennDesign will be on their toes ready to impress future employers at the Spring Career Fair. The preparation for this event naturally extends itself beyond this day. Portfolios are in the making or in their fourth stage of review. The activity is endless, extending beyond portfolio with resumes being updated, Linkedin’s revised, Handshake accounts set up for the first time, and nervous first timers practicing for interviews. While this activity can be expected at any career fair there were a few unique features to this career fair.

  • Handshake, Penn’s version of Linkedin for students, has a formal event you can join which lists all the firms attending along with each firms job postings, a short introduction, main areas of interest or work, and contact information.
  • There is also an app for the career fair making access to firm information easy regardless of your location. Search for “Career Fair Plus” mobile app in either the App Store or in Google Play.
  • You can apply for these jobs on Handshake or be linked to the proper application page through Handshake prior to attending the fair.
  • Interview, resume, and job resources can be accessed through Handshake to help you prepare and be the best possible candidate the day of the fair.

For those of you prepping for the career fair and looking for a little help below I have listed two main resources:

  • Handshake: https://upenn.joinhandshake.com/login
  • Career Services: https://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/
    • The following links are specific to a design major but information is available for many career paths. Click on Resources by Career Field, Choose your Career Area, and then select the path you are interested in knowing more about

Best of luck to everyone at the Career Fair on Friday! Get out there and break a leg!

Wellness Week at PennDesign


The week back from a restful spring break welcomes students with continued focus on student well being. I recieved a very kind email today informing me of a weekful of activitieshosted by which I have detailed below (per the emails details):

Monday         3/12

  • Sleep Monday: Sleep kits will be handed out in the Myerson Hall Lobby by a Student Health Services representative from 5-7 pm.

Tuesday         3/13

  • CAPS-on site Tuesday: CAPS representative will teach tips to handle stress and maintain a healthy mind at 12 pm.

Wednesday   3/14

  • Nutrition Wednesday: Enjoy some healthy snacks in B7  at 5 pm as a nutritionist from Student Health Services gives guidance on eating well and balancing your diet.

Thursday       3/15

  • CAPS-on site Tuesday: CAPS representative will teach tips to handle stress and maintain a healthy mind at 12 pm.

Friday            3/16

  • Massage Friday: Unwind after the career fair with a quick 5 minute head and shoulder massage. Check your student email for the sign up link as slots are sure to fill quickly!

Keep the happy, healthy spring break vibes alive this week by taking a friend to one of these events. Hopefully the tips and tricks you get from this will keep you vibrant for the rest of the semester!

Clean up in the “House of Mouse”!

This isn’t your standard Disney tale, one of far off places, daring swordfights, a prince in disguise! No this is the tale of a gentle mouse, or rather colony of mice, who pay no tuition, need no key card to get in and use the facilities, and shamelessly scurry about but not to help you. No these mice don’t build models while you sleep or clean off 3D prints. They are not the heroine’s friends as I am sure they would be in a feature film of a young female architect battling the engineers and contracters in her aim to better the public realm through landscape and architectural design. No these mice eat your food, leave unwanted gifts between your supplies, and generally scare you as they scurry out unexpecetedly at all times of day. Well after a semester and a half of coexisting with these mice someone has finally decided to do something about it.

A studio clean up was organized. Student desks tagged as “mouse houses” were asked to clean up supplies, or at least reorganize their location to be less promising housing. The “Manhattan housing blocks” of the studio window ledges, home to many models, supplies, and miscellaneous junk no one has claimed were also requested to be cleaned.

It is understood that building management has been working with pest removal services and an Entomologist to seal up any potential holes or entry points for mice. It is not clear if traps will be set, sad as that is. Perhaps a catch and release trap can be implemented over break as a more humane way of handling the situation.

Whatever the next step is a few tips were given out to students:

  • Keep all food in locked containers which can’t be easily chewed through.
  • Throw out any leftover food or opened food packages.
  • Keep materials organized and avoid pocketing which provides nice homes.

Since my first encounter last semester with the mice I have learned that mint is a natural deterent of mice. As the situation seems to be getting more serious I stopped by the local open air market yesterday (located in front of the Penn Bookstore on Walnut and 36th). There I was able to purchase 4 different herbs for $10. My choices were mojito mint, pineapple mint, pineapple sage, and a varigated thyme. With the recycled food containers from one of Penn’s many reviews I made a potting container by punching a few holes in the bottom, placing it onto it’s upside-down lid, filling it with soil and transplainting the plants. Hopefully this home remedy will make my desk a little less prone to mouse visits.

With this tale coming to it’s close it is important to remember that every region has its own pests. In Florida there are regular sprays for mosquitos, roaches, and ants. Mice are not as common in Florida but appear to be the most prevalent pest in Philadelphia.