​Passive Roommate Declares Individualized Major in Chef and Maid

A common trend across all of Penn's undergraduate schools is that students tend to change their mind about what they want to study. Some start off in Engineering and switch into the College, while others come in as English majors and end up doing chemistry. This Wharton student has a similar story.

Katelynn Connor (W ’19), a finance entrepreneur and stay-at-home roommate, has spent the entire semester washing dishes, preparing dinners, and cleaning the sink. And she fell in love with the job. Instead of continuing her finance concentration, she went to her advisor and started talking about creating her own major — “chef, maid, and a bit of a pushover,” she calls it. “I realized I just love being the only one of my three roommates who knows how to take out the trash.”

Connor claims that the classes she would have to take, though time consuming, are worth it in the end. “I don’t have to know any MATLAB or statistics or anything! I just have to take some courses on Passive Aggression and Fundamentals of Motherhood to help me take care of my drunk roommates.”

A study showed many other passive roommates following suit. Some even declared it on their application to Penn itself. One recently admitted member of the Class of 2022 wrote, “I haven’t found another school that offers any sort of similar curriculum for us stay-at-home roommates before. It really makes Penn a unique school and a place I would love to spend the next four years.”