Arushi Sharma | Penn doesn't end at graduation

As a graduate of the Class of 2008, here's a toast (or several pieces of it) to my batch-mates and all our wondrous experiences at Penn. While most of us have left the University in body, many remain connected as mentors to our underclassman friends, assistants to our professors and participants in programs and causes that we have pursued from our NSO days.

I, for one, fancied myself "done" with the Penn college experience this past May, ready to move on to bigger things. I tried in many ways to move into the real world, based on a notion that I must dissociate myself from the "college me" because it was the "adult" thing to do.

I failed. Like an entering freshman, I swaddled in Penn memorabilia all summer and missed no opportunity to bring up Penn in a conversation with friends or family.

The last straw was in early July when Wharton sophomore Britt Danneman contacted me, requesting my participation in a Philadelphia Global Water Initiative (PGWI) project. I replied to her e-mail gushing about how I would love to participate and remain connected with PGWI and the Penn community.

With this e-mail exchange, I realized I would never be able to curb my enthusiasm as far as Penn was concerned. PGWI is a big deal, bigger than a typical extracurricular activity one would partake in over four years of campus gallivanting. Under the leadership of Stanley Laskowski of Penn's Department of Earth and Environmental Science, PGWI and its affiliates help continue Philadelphia's long tradition of being a pioneer in water management.

It all started when the city experienced a yellow fever epidemic at the turn of the nineteenth century. Authorities mistakenly attributed the disease to poor water and sanitation facilities and took on the responsibility of distributing water. In 1804, the city became the first in the world to install cast iron pipes for its water mains.

By 1822, with the building of the Fairmount Water Works, Philadelphia shined as the first American city to provide water as a municipal resource. As Laskowski notes, "This early system of pumping water up to the art museum and then feeding it throughout the city made Philadelphia's water works one of the wonders of the world."

The Water Works are now well preserved as the key attraction of the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center. The center takes visitors through the complete experience of understanding the history and design of the water technology that gave Philadelphia leadership in the country's Industrial Revolution.

In spite of our continuous griping about the state of the Schuylkill, inquiry at the Philadelphia Water Department shows that the city continues to perform today above all drinking water standards enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency. Philadelphia thrives on complex distribution networks, groundbreaking sanitation and water quality research and high-tech treatment plants - while keeping water tariff rates low.

PGWI and Penn are now bringing big-city expertise to developing cities suffering from the same kind of problems Philadelphia experienced two hundred years ago. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) recently adopted a PGWI report by Penn graduate students on applying Philadelphia's experience to sustainability in developing urban water systems.

PGWI, Penn students and Penn's Engineers Without Borders recently completed a water study in Cameroon. Laskowski informs me that the group is planning further projects with partners such as the Rotary Club and Catholic Relief Services at target sites around the world.

The work of PGWI ensures that Penn remains part and parcel of the real world adventures that I have planned for myself. A skeptic reformed, I no longer feel that my college experience needs to be over and done with. I'm relieved and pleased to find that college has given me more than 36 credit units (only 10 of which I will use professionally ) and giggle-worthy late-night memories.

And so I plan to relive the excitement of my undergraduate career over many years to come for a cause that is as real-world as you can get.

And as an alumna who has seen a little bit of what lies ahead, to currents students I offer some different advice: What happens in college doesn't have to stay in college! It's a lesson that I learned well this summer, and I hope it serves you well too.

Arushi Sharma is a graduate of University of Pennsylvania, Class of 2008. Her email is arushi@alumni.upenn.edu.

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