The PARK

Unlikely Friendships: Shared Space Across Faith Traditions

For our third interview of The PARK series on "Unlikely Friendships" we turn to two incredible staff members who are part of the Penn Religious Communities Council out of the Office of the Chaplain. Megan LeCluyse and Patty Anton. Megan LeCluyse is an ordained Presbyterian minister and heads up the Christian Association, while Patty Anton is a chaplain to the Muslim Student Association. They both support students who share their own spiritual beliefs and traditions, yet Megan, as a Christian and Patty as a Muslim do not share the same religious beliefs. As you will hear in the conversation, they share space, both housing their religious communities within the same space over at the Christian Association. This shared space has fostered a friendship where they have come to many profound realizations. One of them is that they actually have similar roles in students’ lives. Because of this Patty and Megan are able to support each other as they have very proximate knowledge about what it means to be women religious leaders serving students at Penn. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Unlikely Friendships: Connections within the College House System

In our second interview in the series, we are joined by Penn Senior, psychology major in the College Maddie McGregor and recent Penn graduate from the College Class of ’21 Cognitive Science major and Computer Science minor, Fawad Syed. Fawad was Maddie’s RA in Ware College House in the spring of 2020 when the pandemic hit. Even though their time being together in person was truncated, they were able to develop a strong friendship that continues to contribute to their wellbeing. They have several other differences, yet they have been able maintain a strong and authentic connection that transcends these differences. Fawad and Maddie have very interesting things to say about Penn’s culture that go beyond their particular friendship. We can learn larger lessons about friendship from their compassionate insights in this conversation. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Unlikely Friendships: Identity and Difficult Conversations

What does it look like to develop a friendship with someone who may be different from you? In some way? Does it cause you to grow socially and intellectually? And if so, how? For our very first interview in the "Unlikely Friendship" series, we are joined by Penn Seniors in the College, Laila Shadid and David Garnick. Here, they explain their friendship to us, why it is unlikely, and what they have learned from each other. By bravely entering into hard conversations. They are wise and kind, and though they are describing their particular friendship, there are many larger lessons that can be gleaned about how friendship contributes to our well-being. If you are a member of the Penn community in an Unlikely Friendship and would like to be considered for an interview on The PARK, submit your friendship here. [https://forms.office.com/r/hJfEu9sj64] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Social Action, Integration and Sustaining Practices: The Change Making Power of Public Service

Dr. Lia Howard hosts Ellen Kamei, a former mayor of the city of Mountain View, who has spent most of her career in public service, especially focusing on issues of diversity, equity and inclusion. In 2018, she served her first term on city council, where she worked hard for citizens during COVID 19. This past November, she won reelection to city council. She has roots in her community as a third generation Mountain View resident, and she's a full time working mom. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Self Care, Community Care, and Social Change: Youth Access to Nutritious Food

Host Lia Howard talks with Jarrett Stein, a two-time Penn alumnus and a staff member at the Netter Center for Community Partnerships. Stein is the director of social enterprise and health partnerships at the Netter Center, where he oversees the health education and social-entrepreneurship partnerships between students, staff, and faculty at Penn and at the Netter Center’s University-Assisted Community Schools. To support kids' access to healthy foods and meaningful jobs, he co-founded Rebel Ventures, a youth-driven health food business run by high school students. In 2018, Jarrett was selected as a TIAA Difference Merk 100 honoree for his efforts to improve nutrition for the young people of West Philadelphia.  ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.