Zachary Hellman, Justin Hellman, and Sierra Hellman of Swarthmore have all been named to the dean’s list at the University of Pittsburgh.

Ruth Wells Fischer and Michael Steven Schultz are proud to announce that their son Garrick Schultz (Strath Haven High School ‘16) has graduated from Kenyon College, receiving a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, with a dual degree in political science and theater. Upon graduation, he was inducted into Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honor society. Photo: Rebecca Gudelunas

Construction has begun on the Swarthmore College Dining and Community Commons project. Greg Brown, vice president for finance and administration, wrote in an email to the college community: “This summer’s work will involve a considerable amount of utility relocations around Sharples [Dining Hall], and will also, unfortunately, involve some tree removals. We have worked closely with the Scott Arboretum on the selection of the trees and on their replacement at the end of the project. Due to the extent of the work this summer, the site perimeter is quite large, resulting in some regular pathways being closed.” The college plans to ultimately plant twice as many trees as they remove. The new dining center is expected to be completed in summer 2023. Photo: Rachel Pastan

Girl Scout Troop 5789 from Swarthmore-Rutledge School completed their Bronze Award project this spring in the midst of the pandemic. The troop of fifth grade juniors affixed medallions that said “NO DUMPING ~ DRAINS TO CREEK” to all the storm drains in Rutledge. The girls spent the last two years learning about water ecology, visiting the Fairmount Water Works, the Heinz National Wildlife Refuge and the Stroud Water Research Center. Their project was funded by a grant from the Delaware County Conservation District. “We did this to teach people in the community that you shouldn’t dump things down the storm drains, like oil or trash,” the girls explained. “If people dumped 15 pieces of trash down each of the 15 drains each day, there would be 225 pieces of trash down in our creek, and that would really harm our environment.” The troop hopes the medallions help everyone to remember not to pollute.

Girl Scout Troop 5789 at Rutledge Borough Council on February 3. Council members (l to r): Ken Torres-Zickler, Marlaina Kloepfer, Mayor Kevin Cunningham, Heidi Sentivan, Lindsay Reed, Samantha Newell, Jody Roberts. Girl Scouts (l to r): Elaine Herndon, Anabella Larin, Hannah Kille, Maeve Raffaele. Photo: Kathleen Raffaele

“I sort of feel like I have a new granddaughter!” That was how Nancy Daniel said she felt after corresponding for seven weeks this spring with her young pen pal, Sophie Jackson. Jackson enjoyed the exchange, too. She discovered that she and Daniel share a love of camping and languages, and are planning to study Spanish on the same app. “Having a pen pal made quarantine more enjoyable,” she said. The seven-week pen pal program, Senior Connect, was started by Autumn Mansor and Pat Francher of the Swarthmore Farmers Market, in collaboration with the Swarthmore Senior Citizens Association. The idea was to “promote and support intergenerational camaraderie during the COVID-19 pandemic.” They also figured that kids would enjoy helping seniors. After participants in the program were paired up, the pairs emailed each other once a week. Parents screened the emails before passing them on to the kids. (Two of the pairs communicated by phone instead.) Dog photos were shared, and newly invented games were described. Travels — great and small — were recounted. The Eagles were considered, and their tactics debated. Many of the pairs plan to keep corresponding on their own, now that the program is over, and are looking forward to meeting in person one day. Maybe at the farmers market!