Category: Features

SemDM Breaks Their Donation Goal Again!

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By Kim Nguyen ’23

Wyoming Seminary has always encouraged its students to give back to the community. Through community service, food/clothing drives, and dress down days supporting all different kinds of charities and organizations, Sem students have made an impact. The Sem Dance Marathon being a model example of this message by being such a successful event every year. It was started 11 years ago by Elizabeth Blaum ‘07 who returned to Sem in the Student Life office and as a coach. Inspired by the Dance Marathon at Ball State University, she had the idea to bring it to our campus, raising $12,678 in 2012.

SemDM is almost entirely run by students and all of the proceeds go to the Janet Weis Children’s Hospital in Danville, PA. Everyone supports this huge event like students, alumni, families, and local businesses. The main way to donate is through the Donor Drive Website, and can even be a way to win points for Societies. There are many other fun and interactive ways that you can donate as well. You can get a sweet treat at Ritas or a yoga class at Melt Hot Yoga and money is donated. Tunes for Tots makes for an opportunity to play all your favorite songs at lunch. Also a Calendar Raffle with over $3,000 of prizes. Spirits are raised high through the “Week of Miracles”. Through poster parties, themed outfits, and a Just Dance battle between faculty, SemDM’s core values of friendship, outreach, service, and community are highlighted.

The event itself is held in the Blue Gym decorated with student-made posters, lights, and streamers. The main focus is on the Miracle Kids, those who have received treatment at Janet Weis. A video is shown describing their journey and are introduced on stage accompanied by their families. After, there are many fun and interactive activities, like the Morale Dance, Just Dance battles, and lip-sync battles. A very popular event is the auction to have a chance to pie a teacher in the face. Mrs. Stevenson, the faculty sponsor, says “My favorite part of the event was seeing the miracle kids have the time of their life at the event! They truly felt like they belonged at our event. I also enjoyed speaking with the parents of the miracle kids and hearing the stories of the journey they went through with their children as well as talking about how their children are doing right now.” For what drew her to be a sponsor of this event, it is for all of its positive messages and core values. She says that “It restores my faith in today’s youth. I have personally known children that needed specialized medical treatment at the Janet Weis Children’s Hospital and I have seen the strain that this puts on the child’s family.”

Since the event is mainly student run I have talked with student leaders of two different committees. Ama Reitsma ‘23 is an executive of the Families committee. Her group meets with the Miracle Kids and their families to make them comfortable and even incorporate their favorites into the event. Her favorite event is the Morale Dance saying, “It’s so amazing to watch everyone come together as a community and support such a deserving cause, but it’s even more amazing to watch how happy the Miracle Kids are to be a part of this event.” Paul Stevenson ‘24 is an executive of the Fundraising committee. His group deals with the numbers side of the event. All of the fundraising events that have been mentioned, his board deals with.

In the end, $46,565 was raised, beating their record beating amount last year by $52. Ama says “I think it’s safe to say we were all incredibly shocked by the amount we raised this year. All the execs and members of SemDM worked tirelessly to make this event as special as possible and we would’ve been so grateful for any amount, but I have to say beating last year’s amount felt especially amazing.” Paul ‘22 has similar sentiments saying “The 46,000 is just the icing on top to be honest… seeing their [Miracle Kids] reactions that day, the smiles and joy radiating from their faces, makes the months of work worth it. Even if we only fundraised a few dollars, it wouldn’t matter as the Miracle Kids are why we do it year after year and just having them there means the world to us!” Over the last 11 years, SemDM has raised $272,323.

Dr. Christopher Thurber Visits Wyoming Seminary

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By Dino Perusko ’24

On February 2nd and 3rd, Wyoming Seminary’s students and parents had a chance to attend presentations about pressure and healthy ways to deal with pressure by a leader in positive youth development, Dr. Chris Thurber.

Thurber, a graduate of Harvard University and UCLA, has worked as a psychologist and instructor at Phillips Exeter Academy since 1999. He has helped young adults in dealing with a wide range of problems that are in his clinical interest, such as depression, anxiety, sexuality, homesickness, attention deficits, substance use, and interpersonal conflict.

In his professional work, he also focuses on the ways in which parents can contribute to their children’s well-being and the amount of pressure that their children are dealing with. In his book The Unlikely Art of Parental Pressure,which he recently published together with Dr. Hendrix Weisinger, he reveals eight transformations that loving caregivers can make to raise healthy, happy, high-functioning children, asking the critical question of what is the right kind of pressure to put on kids. 

During his student presentation held on Friday, February 2, in SLRC, Dr. Thurber helped students determine different kinds of pressures that they experience in their everyday lives and their sources. Whether that is academic pressure of standing out and doing something for your school community or college process, athletic pressure in sports, financial pressure, or social pressure from your peers, Dr. Thurber discussed and provided some helpful ways in how we can cope with and avoid pressure, and prevent it from having a negative impact on our mental health.

Thurber also encouraged students to talk with their parents, who had a chance to listen to his presentation  about The Parental Pressure Paradox the night before, about the amount and the kind of pressure that they are receiving from them.  All the attendants enjoyed an hour-long presentation, engaging in conversation and discussion with Thurber before, during, and even after the presentation. Sem’s student body expressed positive feedback and gratitude to host Dr. Christopher Thurber on campus, with hopes that there will be more of these types of events happening in the future.

Red Cross Brings Blood Drive to Sem

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Eric Gardner ’23

On Wednesday, October 26th, Wyoming Seminary held a blood drive in partnership with the Red Cross. Student leaders have been working to continue to bring these blood drives to Sem after several successful drives in past years.

Participating students visited the Blue Gym for their appointment between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. The process took just a couple of minutes, meaning it was not an inconvenience for most. After the donation, students avoided any strenuous activities for 24 hours while their body recovered.

Last year, 31 students donated, including 25 for the first time. Lauren Finlay ‘23, student leader of the event, hoped to see that number increase this year. “We’re expecting to see around 40 donations this year, but that number can be hard to estimate before the drive, because we don’t know how many students will be turned away.”

While everyone is encouraged to give blood if they can, there are many reasons potential donors may have been denied.

Anyone looking to donate had to be at least 16 years of age and weigh 110 pounds or more. Some students who fit this criteria were still turned away if their blood was not fit to donate. One example, Claire Stretanski ‘23, was turned away due to low iron levels in her blood.

The Red Cross advises donors to get at least eight hours of sleep the night before a donation. Donors should also avoid fatty foods, and instead choose lean proteins and complex carbs, along with a healthy amount of water. Finally, donors were asked a few questions about their health, and then the donation could be made.

Donating blood is one of the easiest ways to help save lives. According to the Red Cross, just one donation can save the lives of up to three people. Almost 16 million blood components are transfused each year, so more donations are always needed. If you or anyone you know are looking to sign up in the future, email Lauren Finlay at lfinlay@wyomingseminary.org.