By the time she applied for the job as the Penn Quaker, first-generation college student and Cuban American Sophia Zehler (MPA `22) was already a mascotting pro. Zehler began her mascot career as an undergraduate in 2018 as the Blue Hen at the University of Delaware, then at Fordham University as Ramses the Ram after a transfer. “Being a mascot is unique in what it is and what it offers,” Zehler says. “It makes you stand out. It gave me so much, in and out of suit.”

Author and College of Liberal and Professional Studies alumnus David Jackson Ambrose (Bachelor of Arts `13) writes novels about marginalized identities in America: characters whose race, sexuality, disability, or poverty make them particularly vulnerable to violence and exploitation in American capitalism.

Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences (BAAS) students all take their own unique path to Penn. Most are working adults from a variety of professional backgrounds; some are new in their careers, while others are preparing to advance or pivot to a new field. What they all have in common is their curiosity, passion for learning, and ambition.

On Sunday, May 15, Penn’s College of Liberal and Professional Studies (LPS) welcomed family, friends, faculty, and the Class of 2022 for the first in-person graduation ceremony since 2019. This year, LPS conferred 385 degrees on graduating students: 76 bachelor’s degrees, including the first-ever class of Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences graduates to walk the stage at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, and 309 master’s degrees—the largest group of graduating professional master’s students to date.

The College of Liberal and Professional Studies is pleased to congratulate Sukalpa Basu and Lauren Russell for being named 2022 distinguished teaching award winners.

The College of Liberal and Professional Studies is pleased to congratulate Nancy Makale and Akshay Venkatesh for being named Dean's Scholars, an honor presented annually to students who exhibit exceptional academic performance and intellectual promise.