Freshman footsteps | The queen of 'nerd kingdom'

If you find yourself in Spanish class with a girl named Jordan English, don't be shocked by her foreign language skills.

They called her "Jordan Spanish" at Rowlett High School in Texas, where she was known for her aptitude in the subject.

Her achievements in the classroom helped propel her to Penn - in her district, she's one of two students from her grade to attend an Ivy League school. And now that she's here, this self-proclaimed "band nerd" is ready to dive head first into its intellectual community while also proving that there is more to her than an oboe-playing "smart girl."

Accustomed to being an "alien" among her fellow Texans, English is eager to find a home among the academic elite at Penn. "I definitely think much differently than the people I've grown up with," she wrote in an e-mail.

So she was pleasantly surprised at a recent Penn meet-and-greet in the Dallas-Fort Worth area to find that "every person I talked to was just like me," she said.

"I'm very excited that I've found a place where I'll feel much more comfortable and where I'll fit in so much better," she added.

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Inside the classroom, English anticipates learning from "intelligent people who know what they're doing," as opposed to some of her high-school science teachers who taught her "next to nothing."

Her visions for Ivy League life have already come true after her first classes. Her freshmen seminar, called Science, Magic and Religion, is "small and has a professor with the most amazing and unique personality ever."

And her Biology 121 session on Wednesday "felt exactly like something out of a movie." Though she considers herself a math and science wiz, English admitted that the course is her greatest fear at Penn - according to her research, it has a class average of a C - but she is "prepared to work hard."

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Faced with a large workload, English has already begun to study. Fortunately, she added, "I'm in the nerd kingdom. I love it."

But English is about more than just burying herself in books - her tattoo and seven piercings let her expose her wild side.

"I love to see the reaction on peoples' faces when I stick out my tongue and they see the metal bar going straight through it," she said. "I think it just totally screws with people and I feel like I'm breaking up two stereotypes at once."

Still, it can be hard for the Southern girl in a city like Philadelphia that is big, bustling and sometimes brutally cold. English, who hails from a suburb of Dallas, is nervous to face the Northeastern winter.

The political climate is somewhat of a shock as well. During her Penn Reading Project session, the Texan saw how different her perspectives were from most of her peers'. She realized she thinks "very differently than a lot of people here - there are so many liberals."

But other challenges of beginning freshmen year cross electoral boundaries: the relationship issues many college students face when they leave high-school and part with significant others.

English broke up with her high school boyfriend "for college," though they are still close.

She even helped him move into Texas A&M; University.

"I'm going to miss my ex-boyfriend the most," she said.

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By the looks of things, she has a lot to look forward to.

English, who is living in Hill College House this year, is excited to get to know her roommate, aptly named Julia Hill.

She also hopes to rush a sorority this spring because she thinks it's about time she hung out with the girls.

"I have tons of guy friends," she said. "I really need a good set of chick friends."

And with so much going on already, English may have trouble remembering the real reason she came to Penn - her sister has repeatedly told her that her mission in Philadelphia is to "turn everyone I know into a Republican."

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