Security Measures Keep Us All Safe

by Brady Wood ’24

Wyoming Seminary Upper School has a recurring issue with students not having fobs and student cars not being registered to the school. The security office works very hard to keep all of the students and faculty members safe, students not having fobs is not only putting themselves in more danger. It puts students in danger because if there is ever a threat outside on campus and students seek for shelter, they will not get in without a fob. An emergency can be anything from weather, chemical spill, suspicious individuals and armed individuals.

Recently many public schools around the area have been getting bomb threats, luckily none came to Wyoming Seminary but security expresses that everyone knows the procedure just in case but students will be locked out of buildings without a fob.

The head of security and former state trooper Matthew Grebeck puts in a lot of work for the safety of faculty and students, he said, “Fobs also dictate who is allowed to access certain buildings through authorization.”

Fobs are not only for students to be able to enter the buildings but for people to not enter the building. If you ever see a suspicious person on campus and they try to act as if they belong in a building, don’t let them in! They can cause great danger to everyone in that specific building, thankfully due to the Security team, people are seen walking onto campus before potentially trying to do something they shouldn’t.

Another occurring issue for the security at Wyoming Seminary is day students registering their cars. Grebeck said, “vehicles parked on campus property need to be registered so the security department can identify  who the vehicle belongs to in case of an emergency.”

An emergency in this case would be somebody illegally parked, car broken into and damage to their vehicle. If there is not a sticker on the back of an illegally parked vehicle that says Wyoming Seminary, security will not know that they can save a student from getting their car towed.

New Improvements Make Sem Shine

by Evan Coates ’24

Improvements to campus have been going on since the start of school. So far, they have included the exterior and interior repainting of different buildings and various landscaping upgrades. Some of the more routine work around the 25 acre campus ranged from the cutting of lawns, making and laying new mulch, and pruning trees, all the way to seeing up every single on campus event, both athletic and social.

The amount of time and work that goes into these tasks is remarkable and should be appreciated by the entire community, as many on campus events would never be possible without the maintenance team led by Janet Murray, Director of Facilities Operations. 

One of the more current project on campus was the repainting of the Sprague Hall basement and offices. This brought a refreshed and updated look to the building, making it a more pleasant experience to spend time there for both faculty and students.

These are just some of the improvements done during the school year, while the vast majority of the work to residential houses, school buildings, and dorms were completed over the summer.

Sem residents were happy when they returned from summer break to find common spaces and residential spaces fitted with multiple upgrades. These included, but are not limited to; a new roof for the Pettibone Dickson Darte Center , new flooring and painting for the 3rd floor of Swetland Hall, along with new furniture for the 3rd and 4th floors, 45 new windows, trims, trims, surface sills, and painting in Nesbitt Hall, the expansion of the athletic training center, and repairs to the tennis court. The combination of these projects adds to the visual aspect of Sem’s sophistication and appeal as a day and boarding school. Looking into the future, the maintenance team is considering seeking board approval for pool renovations, more roof replacements, new HVAC chiller for Sprague Hall, and possibly more.

Getting Back to the Top

By Teddy Kraus ‘25 

After winning the Wyoming Valley Conference District Championship four years in a row, the Sem Boys Soccer team was optimistic heading into the 2022 season. Following the regular season with an impressive record of 8-1-1, they liked their chances to win a fifth consecutive title. 

Unfortunately, Sem lost to Dunmore 5-1 and their championship aspirations came up short. Current senior captain Louie Michaels ‘24 reflected on how the team felt after the loss saying, “We were defeated and devastated. That team had one of the best potentials of any Sem boys soccer team. It was especially hard to swallow because we knew we beat ourselves. The whole team definitely experienced pain from that loss.”

Going into this season, there were questioned about how the team would bounce back after losing key players like Thomas Iskra, Aiden Gilbert, and Owen Rowlands to graduation. The team silenced any questions, however, posting a 7-3 record including a spectacular 5-0 record in away games. Captain Matt Swartz ‘25 commented on how the team has adjusted, saying “Even though we lost a lot of talent and leadership from last year, coach Littzi expects the same thing out of everyone as far as work ethic and attitude goes. Everyone on the team has stepped up in a major way and I give a ton of credit to coach on how he’s adjusted our lineup from an X’s and O’s perspective to keep us playing well.”

Great teams are able to use losses as learning opportunities and motivation to improve. When asked if the team is using last year’s loss to motivate them this year, starting Central Defensive Midfielder, Brian Leahy, ‘25 noted, “For sure it is. Last year’s loss is definitely driving us and motivating us to win it this year. We have the talent to win. What separates us is that we have a group of guys who are willing to do whatever it takes to win. Come district time, losing isn’t an option anymore. Experiencing defeat last year, seeing the seniors leave sad, we don’t want to get that feeling of regret and disappointment again. The seniors will end their careers with gold.”

The ending to last year’s District Championship loss was very difficult for the Sem Boys Soccer team. It would have been easy for the team to take a step back from their consistent success over the past five years, especially after losing four starters from last year’s team. However, with Coach Littzi’s adjustments, the players’ work ethic and attitude, and the team’s ability to use last year as motivation, this year they’re ready to get back to the top.