Category: Features

By Chiara Volonakis ‘29

Here at Wyoming Seminary, we are all about community. Students and faculty alike want to do all we can to give back to our school, and also to the world outside of the SEM sphere. To keep the student body focused on that goal, each scholar is required to complete 10 hours of community service per year spent at the Upper School. Unfortunately, with lots of other activities taking up students’ time, it can be a challenge to fit community service trips into our routine. Thus, hard-working SEM students came up with a solution: Kiddo Kindness! It’s a new club founded this year that can help students connect with the local community and unlock their creativity without all the scheduling and heavy lifting.

Kiddo Kindness is a nonprofit organization that partners with schools and children’s hospitals. Through the chapter within their school, students make cards sending positivity or care packages, which are sent to local pediatric patients. Students can also obtain community service hours through the program. For every four cards or one care package sent, one hour of service is completed. This sounded enticing to Kashish Patel ‘30, the founder of SEM’s Kiddo Kindness chapter. Kashish wanted to find a meaningful way to attain community service hours, but that would prove challenging due to other extracurricular commitments. Her search brought her to Instagram, where she first learned about the Kiddo Kindness program. “It sounded like a good opportunity,” she said, “with just a few markers and some paper, I was able to make a real impact.” With this spark of inspiration, Kashish reached out to Kiddo Kindness and local hospitals to kickstart SEM’s chapter.

Of course, starting a new club isn’t easy. “I didn’t think we’d have many people actually show up,” admitted Kashish, worried about whether the club would gain any traction. But through advice from family and emails to hospitals across NEPA, Kiddo Kindness was up and running. The club’s first card making was on September 15th, and the community support was incredible! Since then, the club has only grown, with many more card making meetings. “Being a kid who received ‘get well soon’ cards, and knowing that they always made my day, it’s important to me to support others in hospitals,” said Sasha Curtis ‘29 when asked what inspired her to join Kiddo Kindness. Her motives show the true goal this club is reaching towards: making a difference in the greater community.

Not only is the Kiddo Kindness an opportunity to help brighten the days of kids in less-than-cheery health situations, not only is it a convenient and fun way to get community service hours, but it’s also great for creative expression! Even if you’re not the best of artists, a meaningful card can go a long way. By sending these heartfelt cards to local children in hospitals, the purest values of SEM begin to shine through: the true feelings behind kindness cards, the beautiful doodles decorating these messages, and the good deeds this club aims to fulfill. 

By Finnley Brennan ‘30

Change is bound to happen, especially at a large campus like SEM. But, change can be for the better! This year, along with many new students, the SEM community welcomed new staff for the 2026-2027 school year. Two of the new arrivals are Dr. Palmer and Mr. LaSota, whom the Opinator staff had the pleasure of sitting down with and discussing their upcoming year.

Before working at SEM, Mr. LaSota previously worked at Oxford Academy, Connecticut. When asked what initially drew him to our campus, he said that he chose SEM “because the school felt like it was about the kids and not the institution.” 

Dr. Palmer recently came from Milton Academy, Massachusetts;but, before then, she worked in professional theater. She acted in shows and films – additionally, she co-teaches the Performing Arts class down at the Lower School! She raved about the potential for the school’s arts programs and how strong the academics and sports were. 

The next question both of them were asked was: “what are you looking forward to the most about the school year?” Mr. LaSota stated that he enjoyed all of the home sport games he had attended so far, and that he was excited to get to know people. He explained that he appreciates getting used to the way our school operates and seeing how far things grow from the beginning of the year. Dr. Palmer replied similarly,  expressing the desire to get to know people and their faces. She said that she enjoys “really getting involved and impacting change,” adding that she is “really looking forward to getting to know what it means to be SEM.”

When asked what their favorite things about the school were so far, Dr. Palmer commented on “the students,” articulating that “there’s a reason why educators like me are dedicated to teach and mold the student. You all are so nice.” 

“As a new person in the community, it’s been a little intimidating being around such impressive human beings. But, I’ve never felt out of place or unwelcome,” explained Mr. LaSota. Plenty of new students can resonate with this. Both new faculty members highlighted how welcoming and thoughtful the SEM community is, and that when you’re here, you’re never alone. There’s always someone to turn to. Finally, Mr. LaSota urges all students–new and returning–to, “Keep at it; ask for help when needed!” Which is something we all should remember.

By Melia Benetos ‘27

Throughout the long weekend from Friday, October 9th, to Tuesday, October 13th, the Wyoming Seminary community came together to celebrate Homecoming and Parents’ Weekend. However, the fun started even before the weekend, with Spirit Week allowing students to uplift each other through outfit themes such as “Generations of Life” and “Animal Print/Jungle Day.” The biggest hit among SEM students, though, was “Society Colors” —for this theme, the entire student body went all out to represent their societies in order to earn the most points.

After a successful spirit week and edifying parent-teacher conferences, Wyoming Seminary parents, students, and faculty alike gathered on Friday on Back Campus before the homecoming game for the Blue Knight Fan Zone, where complementary face paint services, cheer sticks, and lawn games were available for everyone to enjoy. The Upper School Parents Association also hosted a World Cup-themed mixer in the Back Campus tent, encouraging alumni and parents to donate and participate in a raffle to raise money for the Student Center renovation and ultimately raising over $18,000 for the cause.

Following the Back Campus festivities, the Blue Knights, decked out in SEM and country-representative gear, made their way to Nesbitt Stadium for the World Cup-themed Homecoming game. Everyone spent their evening watching boys’ soccer, and the atmosphere was electric; everyone cheered effusively, encouraging the boys to take home a 4-2 win against Tunkhannock Area High School. Cash Hanson Richart ‘27 described just how incredible the turnout for this game was, explaining that there was “definitely the biggest student section [the boys’ team has] ever had for a soccer game.” He added that he “loved how everyone represented where they came from” with their jerseys and spirited face paint.

The following day, the long-awaited Homecoming dance took place. Students, still full of energy from the previous evening’s game, spent hours getting ready for a night of music, dancing, and quality time with friends. Students experienced a sense of unity as they all swayed to the rhythm of the upbeat songs; Stella Guesto ‘29 added to this statement, talking about how “the fresh air brought everyone out of their shells” and how “the music, decorations, and night went wonderfully, with much dancing, talking, and (most importantly) fun. Andria Hall ‘30 agreed with Stella, saying that  “everyone — no matter their usual social circle — was dancing with each other and it really felt like we were all united.” 

Homecoming Weekend represented the true, beautiful, and good qualities of SEM, going to show that as a community, Blue Knights come together and show up for each other constantly. Through Back Campus mixers, spirited soccer games, and upbeat dances, the student body, faculty, and families alike showed up and showed out for the Wyoming Seminary community.