“My name’s Will, but I go by Will from Hill.”
It’s catchy, it rhymes, and it sums up how Will Krasnow (C ‘25) won the Class of 2025 Class Board presidential election.
Will's strategy was to only get signatures from people he actually knew. In order to collect the 232 signatures necessary to kickstart his campaign, Will made it his mission to become friends with his constituents in the process. "I barely slept during the campaign process because I forced myself to go out whenever I could," he says. He admits that it was definitely worth the exhaustion, though.
Why did he bother? “I was especially inspired to run because of how this role requires collaboration, consulting with other people, and translating that into impact." His favorite thing to do on campus is to have conversations with people, so it was only natural for him to want a hands–on campaigning experience. People tell Will he reminds them of Nick from New Girl, which he considers a major compliment.
“I often have to stop myself from talking too much if I want to get any work done,” he says.
As a Benjamin Franklin Scholar, he capitalized on his Hill residential community to brand himself as the one and only “Will from Hill” who chalked both entrances to the Quad, posted all over social media, and surprisingly only hung up one paper ad to bring himself to victory by a slim three votes.
Will’s mission is simple: to share his love for Penn and be a leader in the community. When I ask him about his dream place to live, he laughs and asks, “Can I say right here?” His love for Penn has been strong ever since he decided to run for president only a few days after arriving on campus.
He describes himself as an organized guy who meditates before bed and keeps a gratitude journal. Although he sometimes procrastinates like the rest of us, Will plans his days down to a T. His calendar tells him when to eat lunch, go to class, and do his homework. He’s highly disciplined and intermittently fasts every day, only eating from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. Will often hears that he “gives off middle child vibes,” even though he shares that position as the third of four siblings.
An avid environmentalist, Will loves the natural disasters class he’s taking this semester, along with the scary MATH 114. He doesn't know exactly what he wants to do after college, but he knows he wants to be involved in environmental issues. Maybe that explains why Will only hung up one piece of paper during his campaign. As for interesting icebreaker answers, the nature–conscious Will is set. His family owns six chickens that they’ve had for five years. He also has a pet fish and a unique fly fishing hobby.
He and Class Board are excited to plan events guided by the feedback of first years through discussions, polls, and focus groups. They prioritize making sure that the events are enjoyable for everyone. After a successful first–year Econ Scream on Oct. 11, Will seems to have already gotten a grasp of what the Class of 2025 is looking for.
“I also don’t want to be the kind of person who becomes detached from their community once they get into a leadership position. I’ll always be the same guy,” he says. Being Class Board president (as well as an Undergraduate Assembly representative) comes with overwhelming amounts of responsibility and emails, but the autonomy is surprising and exciting. Will says the best day of his life was the day that he got an email from Penn President Amy Gutmann congratulating him on his election win.
Class of 2025, if you have any ideas or just want to talk to someone, don’t be afraid of the new president. He wants to meet new people and hear what they have to say.
Just head on over to Hill and introduce yourself to Will.
