Category: News

Wyoming Seminary’s Hexagon Art for Opening Reception(Photo Courtesy of PA Environment Digest Blog)

The Hexagon Project at Wyoming Seminary

By Lanie Fenster ‘20

Wyoming Seminary’s Kirby Center for Creative Arts has been brought to life with a new imaginative project that brings artists and scientists together.

This collaboration, known as The Hexagon Project, according to the official website, “…invites young people, adults, and communities worldwide to realize social and global challenges facing the world today and use art as a vehicle to reimagine how these challenges can be addressed through critical thinking, research, and creative expression. The project illustrates the connections between the society, economics, and the environment in the solution to the problems created by local abandoned mining operations.”

The idea of the project is simple yet creative. As the name suggests, students used their talent to design individual hexagons to highlight one aspect of the nature of the local community and the impact of abandoned coal mines. Once this step was completed, they composed their work into one cohesive design meant to tell a story that words would not do justice.

Dr. Andrea Nerozzi, teacher, Science Research Group Coordinator, and former Science Department Chair, established the idea at SEM after a positive experience visiting the Eastern PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation on Service Day this year. She encouraged her STEM program students to take part in the inspiring project and ultimately coordinated the production and development.

The students involved also had a great experience participating in the project. Emily Urbanski ‘20 contributed immensely to the project. “Making the hexagon was a really cool experience because I got to use paint with the iron pigment from the mines,” Urbanski remarked. “I liked how all the hexagons from the students came together into one cohesive exhibit.”

The surrounding school community is greatly appreciative of the project. Kirsten Kizis ‘20, a student who observed the exhibit on its opening night, provided her opinion on the exhibition. “I decided to go to the opening of the Hexagon Project, and I am so glad I did. The project is so creative and informative, and everyone who worked on it is really talented.”

The Hexagon Project truly opened up a conversation that did not exist at SEM before. It brings people from different backgrounds and interests to talk about important aspects of Earth science, historic preservation, and creative arts. The Eastern PA Coalition will further use the display for Abandoned Mine Reclamation in their educational programs.

Katsuyoshi (left) and Bartlett (right), founders of the clothing line Project Ivy. (Photo Courtesy of Beau Bartlett and Niko Katsuyoshi)

Sem Students Start Stylish Streetwear Syndicate

By Philip Gristina ’20

Sem students and wrestlers Beau Bartlett ‘20 and Niko Katsuyoshi ‘20 have released a new line of sweatshirts as a part of their clothing brand, Project Ivy. The brand has been a new venture for the two young men, and it has already found success within the Wyoming Seminary community.
The brand has origins in a concept Bartlett and Kastuyoshi thought of in 2018. They wanted to create a clothing style that embodied west coast fashion and came up with the name Next Wave Apparel accordingly. Early in the following year, the idea solidified under the name Project Ivy.

The name came from Bartlett and Niko’s dream of reaching the Ivy Leagues for college. That goal lasted for a few months until Bartlett announced his commitment to Penn State. The name stuck even though the reasoning changed. According to Katsuyoshi, the “Ivy” part is more for the sound of it. He says it sounds suave and professional, which makes it useful for branding.

The line has produced a limited number of items. For instance, there are t-shirts and, more recently, hoodies for sale. The company started with branded t-shirts and a free sticker. This past month, hoodies have gone up for sale on their Instagram page as well.

The shirts and hoodies come in several different colors, like Carolina blue, red, and yellow. All feature the name of the brand, or simply Ivy with the logo of an ivy branch.

The acceptable payment method is through the application CashApp. Both Bartlett and Katsuyoshi claim it is much more streamlined than sites like Venmo or PayPal. With every new signup to CashApp, the company is offering five dollars off of the first purchase.

In an interview with the two founders, they discussed what the business means to them. Bartlett said, “It’s fun to be an entrepreneur. Besides this, Niko buys and sells clothes. I make graphic designs. It’s more fun to see the people around us support us with our gear. It’s less about the money and more about the support.” Bartlett, as another venture, creates graphic designs and edits for wrestlers when they commit to a college.

Katsuyoshi stated that “going into Project Ivy was to be able to create clothing that actually had meaning behind it and wasn’t just a name. Our goal is to push people to be their best selves and be great people in their community. That’s what Project Ivy represents.”

To these two young men, the brand is a message of unity under a community. With many wrestlers and some non-wrestlers endorsing the brand, it has proven to be efficient in showing support within the Sem community for new ideas and ventures.

Students hard at work during Sem Day of Service 2019.

Community, Love, Heart

By Sophia Galante ‘22

Community service is always a special thing. It brings people together and provides a sense of accomplishment and pride to a person in a way only good deeds can. At Wyoming Seminary, we know this to be true, and nothing captures the warm and loving feeling of our Sem community than our annual Service Day. This year’s Day of Service was one of the best, for it not only was a beautiful day for clean-ups and outdoor service work but the love and kindness forever touched the people of the greater community of our small section of Northeastern Pennsylvania Sem spread all over.

Holly Egbert ‘23, a freshman this year, experienced her first Service Day: “Service Day was so much fun this year! I went to Riverside Parks, and our job was to clean up garbage near the waterfront. I drive past the park all the time and never gave it much thought. Spending time there are cleaning the environment made me realize what a beautiful place it can be!” Holly is one of many Sem students who were genuinely touched by how little needs to be done in order to make a small section of the community beautiful. Some students remained on campus and helped within the Sem community to make Sem better. Organizing costumes and helping different departments in the school were huge roles taken by many. Others went to places such as St. Joseph’s, Mcauley House, and Headstart centers to interact one-on-one with people of the community.
No matter the year, Sem always seems to have an excellent Service Day. The amount of love, energy and commitment put into the projects this year was unfathomable, and the support from the entirety of the Sem community was overwhelming. As a whole, Sem is a community that is like no other and can create a beautiful day surrounded by one of the essential lessons in life, which is community service. Here is to an amazing one, and to many more to come! Well done, Sem.