A Typical Monday in My Life

There’s really no such thing as a “typical” day at Penn, but here’s how I find myself spending
most Mondays this semester!

8:30-9:30 AM: Volunteer at Paul Robeson High School in West Philly
As one component of an academically based community service course (ABCS) that I’m taking
this semester, I volunteer one morning a week at a local high school, working directly with a
student to help her with her college applications. ABCS courses are a great (and unique) course option at Penn for students who want to positively engage with the community and gain course credit at the same time!

10:00-1:00 PM: Classes
I only have 3 hours of class on Mondays, and they all happen to be right in a row. I start my day
in a Biological Basis of Behavior (BBB) class, then head to an Econ lecture, and finish up with a
Linguistics class. Just to give you a taste of what I do in each of these classes, this Monday we
studied the link between visual processing and optical illusions in BBB, discussed monopolies in Econ (and wrapped up lecture with a few questions on a class-wide survey platform called Poll Everywhere), and had a guest lecture about American Sign Language in Linguistics from the head of the program at Penn.

1:00-2:00 PM: Grab lunch with a friend (usually from Houston Hall; I highly recommend the
pasta bar!)

2:00-5:00 PM: Get some studying done in a coffee shop on campus (or outside on College
Green if the weather’s nice!)

5:00-7:30 PM: Club meetings
On Mondays, I meet with Penn Traditions from 5-6 PM. This is a group that works to promote
Penn spirit. At our last meeting, we finished up planning our big homecoming giveaway and
ordered 1500 custom Penn Traditions umbrellas to pass out to Penn students on Locust Walk
before the game! I then head to meet with my team for the undergraduate consulting group I’m in. This semester, my team is consulting with Merck regarding a new product launch. At our
meetings, we either talk with the client directly or compare notes on the work each of us has
done throughout the week.

7:30-9:00 PM: Cook dinner and watch some Netflix with my roommate

9:00-10:00 PM: Meet with a study group to go over a homework assignment

10:00-12:00 AM: Catch up on any work that’s left, chat with friends who live in my
building, and get ready for the next day!

-Rachel W, C'20