2012 Spotlight

Jesse is a senior Operations and Information Management major. He has interned with This Is That Corporation, the indie film production company that put out “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “21 Grams,” and “Adventureland.” He has also interned with JP Morgan’s Private Bank. At Penn he started the Jewish Film Society, but his Hillel contact was let go due to budget cuts and his club perished. He is also a member of Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity and plays in the band Rail 3 – maybe you’ve seen their posters, maybe you haven’t. Jesse typically wears graphic tees (like his “Little Lebowski Urban Achievers” shirt) and often sports his red “Life Aquatic” beanie.

He is currently working on a film project with his brother Zachary. They wrote a script called “Elijah the Prophet,” and it beat out over 500 other submissions to win first place at the Canadian Short Screenplay Competition. Together, they have been assembling a team and raising money to bring their vision to the big screen. They have assembled an all-star cast including an actor from HBO’s “The Wire,” a cinematographer who worked on “Degrassi,” and a producer who has put together films with budgets around $15-20 million and has worked with Jessica Biel, Milla Jovovich, and Forest Whitaker. Below is a link to their Kickstarter page – an online forum that helps independent artists, like Jesse, fund their project. They are about one third funded and, with a wink, he added that they offer cool prizes for donating money to the project.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1312644311/elijah-the-prophet – Kickstarter page
http://apps.facebook.com/my-polls/2ej24e4j – to vote for their project on indieWire (before 10/31 at 10am)

Jesse can be reached at hjesse@wharton.upenn.edu.

Born and raised in Monaco, Guillaume decided to come to the United States to study Finance and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. Creating his own startup is something that he always wanted to achieve. This is one of the reasons why he decided to come the US which he sees as the Eldorado of entrepreneurship. He believes it is the only place where students can get taken seriously and encouraged when building their own business at a very young age. The result: Famocracy.

Guillaume Hajek thinks Famocracy is filling a void: epic successes such as American Idol, America’s Got Talent, America’s Best Dance Crew, or the X-Factor, have not been replicated online. Until now.

Two Penn students, Guillaume Hajek and Edward Lando (’14) have created Famocracy.com, a platform that allows people to become famous for their talents. Many Penn groups and artists have joined, so go ahead! Share your talent, and support your fellow Quakers by voting for them on Famocracy! You’re the judge and their gateway to their fame.

COREY METZMAN and JACOB “COBI” BLUMENFELD-GANTZ (both W/C’12)

Founders of Dorm Room Diplomacy

Recognized by President Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative University Conference (April 2, 2011)

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Corey and Cobi founded Dorm Room Diplomacy (DRD) with a group of American and Middle Eastern college students who believe that mutual understanding and intercultural dialogue are key to the pursuit of peace between the West and the Arab World. DRD was inspired through a series of conversations that they had with Middle Eastern students, when Corey studied Arabic in Jordan and Cobi attended the Seeds of Peace camp. Each week, DRD connects American college students (from Penn and other schools!) to our peers in the Middle East using online videoconferencing, and students discuss everything from American foreign policy to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict to the role of the news media. Starting this spring, DRD will partner with the U.S. State Department, which will invite a prominent diplomat to join monthly online conversations and answer questions from students in the Middle East. Last weekend, Corey and Cobi—along with the rest of the DRD team—were recognized by President Clinton for their work, and they are excited to continue expanding to new campuses in the U.S. and abroad.

Besides DRD, Corey is a student in the Huntsman Program, the co-chair of the Wharton Dean’s Advisory Board, a brother in Sigma Alpha Mu, a MGMT 100 TA, and a member of the Huntsman Student Advisory Board. He was recently awarded the 2011 Truman Scholarship, and he also works on international development projects in Nicaragua, Tanzania, and Kenya. Cobi is pursuing degrees in Diplomatic History and OPIM, serves on the board of Penn Model Congress, and dances for Soundworks Tap Factory. He is currently studying abroad in Israel, where he is researching the connection between the West Bank economy and public perceptions of Salaam Fayyad, the Palestinian Prime Minister in the West Bank.

YouTube Clip of Award from President Clinton

Natalie was born & raised in Annapolis, Maryland and started photography in her senior year of high school. While in her freshman year at Towson University, she heard about the Penn Visual Studies Program and applied to transfer. She went from being an Econ major at a big state university to an artist in a very small program in the Ivy League. During this timeframe she also started photographing weddings under other photographers and eventually began doing weddings on her own. To say that the last two years have been a period of change and adjustment would be an understatement!

She’s become a good friend of Amtrak, as she’s often zipping down to DC for the weekend to photograph a wedding or zipping back to make it to Monday morning classes. Natalie is also in Chi Omega and works behind the scenes as the web-designer & event photographer for her sorority. Recently, she has gotten very involved in Inspiration Through Art which donates photography sessions to children with chronic or life threatening illnesses.

Her Photography:

Natalie’s a lifestyle photographer and wedding photojournalist. She specializes in weddings and senior portrait photography, but has always had a love for fashion and art as well.

Awards and Features:

Winner of the Bride’s Choice Awards in 2010 and 2011

Baltimore Sun Mobbie Award (Maryland’s Outstanding Blog Award for Photography)

Published in Washingtonian Bride & Groom and Bride’s Maryland Magazine

Links:

Website – www.nataliefrankephotography.com

Blog – www.nataliefranke.com

Facebook – www.facebook.com/nataliefrankephotography

Allison Zuckerman (C ’12) :Winner of the Arts Grant of the Office of the Provost

Check out her artwork here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Allison-Zuckermans-Art-Page/334052026229?ref=ts

When she’s not stalking golden retrievers on Locust Walk or changing her
Facebook profile picture, Allie Zuckerman can be found sweetly caressing and/or jabbing away at an over-sized canvas on the third floor of Charles Addams Hall to the pulsing bass of Swedish house music. Armed with sable-hair brushes and lead-filled oil paint, Allie finds solace in creating art that both invites and challenges the viewer.

You may ask, what drives her inspiration? Throughout the years, Allison has
been intrigued by the human form and in recent years, this mild obsession has manifested itself in paintings that depict anything from voluptuous hairy men on neon beaches, pearl-shaped skulls on peeling wrapping paper, wet lips caught mid-sentence (juxtaposed with spiral pasta and a levitating pooch), all the way to a glorious pair of veiny prima ballerina’s feet, warped by years of routine plié-ing and chaussé-ing.

Raised in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Allie found herself forced to find something to entertain herself with (the local Costco was built but only a few years ago and Spencer’s didn’t restock their poster collection regularly), and it just so happened that
painting was looking for a mind, body and soul to occupy. The two hit it off immediately and were instantly inseparable. They have never gone more than a month without seeing each other, constantly remain in touch via Twitter updates on potential leathery ladies to paint or electric color combinations to use, and as the two spend more and more time together, they become increasingly confident in their life-long commitment to each other.

Allie will be receiving her degree in Fine Arts from Penn and plans on continuing her journey with painting in graduate school.
Four of her paintings, funded by an Arts Grant awarded to her by the Office of the Provost last spring, are currently on display in Williams Café. More of her art can be viewed on her Facebook fan page, eloquently titled, “Allison Zuckerman’s Art Page.”

Allie is open to commission work and is always eager to talk art with anyone (on the condition that he or she poses nude throughout the duration of the conversation). She can be reached by email at allisonz@sas.upenn.edu .

“Bursting out” would be an understatement in describing the way junior Adam Ortega, aka DJ Tega, has taken over the music scene. Those who know him best refer to his musical infection as the “Tega Takeover”. His presence is made known when he walks into a room and without fail someone yells his catch phrase “It’s DJ Tega, Bitch!” With the help of his friends at BoyWonder Management, Tega has become one of the best and most well-known DJs to walk Penn’s campus. He has been working non-stop, producing songs, performing at shows and parties such as Darude or Philadelphia Electronic and Dance Festival, winning the Fallfest DJ Battle and leading the house music movement at Penn. Although Tega spins all genres of music, his first love will always be house. “House music has a heartbeat- 4 bass kicks a bar. It’s what moves me, and makes the crowd move. When the crowd roars and dances it gives me goose bumps- and as a DJ my first rule is: Goose bumps never lie”.

Not only are Tega’s abilities unbound due to his abundance of musical prowess, but his mission is selfless: “I want to make beautiful sounds that people move to, that people dance to, that they make out to, that they fall in love to, that they say ‘this is the best night ever’ to. Every time I play a gig at least three people come up to me, tell me I killed it that night, and thank me for the best night ever… they have no idea that when I shake their hand or point back at them from up in the dj booth, that it is I who is so grateful. I want everyone who listens to me to know that. I love you- And I thank you all”. Once you get to know Tega, it is clear that his passion is not just music, but it is making us dance, making us smile, and providing us with the soundtrack to the best years of our lives. Follow/ Like “TEGA” on Facebook to listen to his essential tunes, get Tega show updates, or download his mixes. Contact for shows, rates or lessons: 9736704984.

Athletics achievements for the 09-10 season:
*2009-2010 First-team All-Ivy League (unanimous)
*2009-10 NABC First-team All-District 13

Basketball star Zack Rosen has been building a name both on and off the  court. His efforts to bolster school spirit, especially in regards to Penn     Athletics, is certainly making waves on campus. New traditions such as the pre-game tailgates for home games would not have been brought about this year without the hard work and dedication of individuals such as Zack.

His words: “Last spring, I had a notion of changing the landscape of school spirit here at Penn. I doubted the possibility that I could go anywhere with this inclination and honestly, I doubted the potential for Penn spirit to transform.  However, when a close friend of mine, Sam Adelsberg (C’10), inspired me to speak out and to voice my opinions, I decided to take him up on it. I made a couple of heartfelt speeches to various students and student groups and before I knew it, clusters of students began meeting weekly in the effort to increase Penn spirit. As a result, the idea of more school spirit at Penn has garnered much attention and publicity on campus. In a very short period of time and with much diligence, the other students involved and I have successfully been able to work with each other and with Penn Athletics to achieve more catering to school spirit. It all started with a few ideas and the courage and inspiration to voice them. As a peer, I would encourage all of you to express your feelings. Change can happen- it just needs the right inspiration, conviction, and confidence driving it.”

Elizabeth is a sophomore PPE major and minors in actuarial mathematics + Japanese. She is also an intern for the Campus Entrepreneurial Initiative and is Chief of Staff of the Penn Model Congress club, which she also recently helped with leading the 2010 High School PennMC conference. This year she spearheaded a new club–UPenn SEN (Social Entrepreneurial Network)– that is receiving university-wide recognition. The goal of this club is to bring ethical businessmen, lawyers, doctors, etc. to speak to Penn students about using success to do good things. Additionally, she is the current social chair of Kappa Alpha Theta. Also, she is a proud sister of her West Philly Big-Brother Big-Sister (BBBS) sister, Ellen. Her lifetime goals have not yet been established; from interning for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign for one year (where she traveled with the Clinton family), to interning on Capitol Hill, to writing articles for the esteemed D.P., to single-handedly running a Bone Marrow Registration drive in Fall 2009, to her exciting new finance internship this summer in Japan, she is still trying to figure out what she will do with her life. If you have any suggestions at all, you can find her on locust walk with a large floppy purple hat and leggings that don’t quite reach her boots. She is one stylin’ academic diva!!

Turja is the president and co-founder of Pratit International, a humanitarian non-profit organization that creates local-specific solutions to poverty, primarily in Southeast Asia and has been consistently working to provide sustainable humanitarian aid to several slums throughout Kolkata, India for the past two years. During winter break, Turja and members of Pratit carried out a three-week mission in Kolkata, India, where they distributed medical supplies, ran a clinic-type camp, and educated young children about health issues. Besides personally running the Penn chapter of Pratit, Turja is involved on campus as a member of the Hindu Student Council and the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education.

Rebecca Berger is a sophomore Nursing student who does research with the Pediatric Advanced Care Team at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and donates her time to various community service projects. She volunteers at Hillel’s weekly soup kitchen, helping to serve food to the guests and with Focus First, a group that screens preschool children throughout Philadelphia for vision problems. Through Tzedek, Hillel’s community service organization, she helps coordinate a volunteer program at Park Pleasant Nursing Home, where participants works on craft projects with the residents.

He’s a Wharton student and fashion designer, designing, producing and selling his own fashion lines: 3st (style for the Edgy Urbanite) and Exordium (Hand-painted, one of a kind, exclusive super skinny ties). He taught himself how to do technical fashion designs (using lecture slides from design schools he found on the internet), found manufacturers for his products, and is now selling and showing them locally and online. Essentially, he’s a baller.