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Three incoming freshmen share their paths to Penn

By sophia leporte 04/27/16 2:30am
babyquakers

During Quaker Days in April, prospective students got the chance to explore what Penn has to offer.

Credit: Julio Sosa

As the school year draws to an end, Penn’s Class of 2020 is preparing to transition to college life this fall. The Daily Pennsylvanian caught up with three incoming students to talk about how they decided to come to Penn.

Tyler Knox

Incoming College and Wharton freshman Tyler Knox set his sights on Penn as a sophomore in high school, after becoming interested in business. Last summer he came to Penn to participate in a business leadership program for minorities, and hoped to attend as an actual student.

In Sepember, Knox launched an online browser-based game called Kaylune, which he based on the popular gaming site Neopets. Though he describes the first two hours of the launch as a “disaster,” Knox continues to work on the site almost every day and is proud of its success.

Knox found out about his acceptance in December after applying early decision. Though he was not optimistic about getting into Wharton, he opened his portal while surrounded by his entire family.

Knox is also excited about Penn’s opportunities outside of class. “I’m very much excited to participate in a lot of Penn’s extracurriculars,” Knox said, mentioning the Undergraduate Healthcare Club and Penn Running Club as activities he’s interested in joining.

Sabrina DaSilva

Incoming College freshman Sabrina DaSilva visited Penn briefly last year and fell in love with the school’s campus and welcoming atmosphere.

DaSilva was at Duke University when the acceptances were released last month, but knew she wanted to come to Penn. She was on the bus with other students at Duke when she found out, and so she couldn’t show her excitement, but immediately texted her parents.

“I kind of knew as soon as I got accepted that I was going there [to Penn],” she said. In high school, DaSilva worked on creating an antibiotic to minimize bacterial resistance, a project she started freshman year in her honors biology class, and hopes to continue working on it in college.

At Penn, DaSilva is interested in studying neuroscience and biochemistry through the Roy and Diana Vagelos Scholars Program in the Molecular Life Sciences. Her career goal is to become a pediatric neurosurgeon.

Andy Nguyen

Andy Nguyen was raised in Philadelphia. He studied at Penn previously as part of a summer program for Philadelphia students, where he commuted to campus to study Greek and Roman mythology. After getting a feel for the school over the summer, Nguyen was enthusiastic about attending this fall.

In high school, Nguyen ran a technology council, which advised the administration on technology ideas, in addition to filming all of his high school sports team’s videos. He also teamed up with Weidner Memorial School, a public school in North Philadelphia for students with disabilities. He presented his film of the school, named “Day in the Life of Weidner Memorial,” to the school board, and ended up winning the “Extraordinary Teen Award” from Pottery Barn Teen for his work.

Nguyen is excited to be able to choose his classes at Penn so he can learn things that actually interest him, and to meet new people next semester.

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