F&M Stories

At Franklin & Marshall College, we connect our students with extraordinary opportunities so they can accomplish great things in their four years on campus. Here are just a few of their stories.

01/11/2023

'Dance Brought Me to Life': Meet Kendall Lipham '23

As winter break comes to a close, a group of thespians is hard at work rehearsing the first Franklin & Marshall production of Meet sen Kendall Lipham, director of the latest F&M Players musical theater production

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01/10/2023

Making Connections: Unraveling Political and Social Upheaval in Hugo’s ‘Les Misérables’

Lisa Gasbarrone, professor of French, taught a Connections course, “Les Misérables,” an in-depth reading and analysis of Victor Hugo’s renowned, 19th-century historical novel. Professor Gasbarrone — who joined F&M in 1986 — has recently...

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12/21/2022

F&M Mourns the Loss of Former Interim President and Longtime Trustee John F. Burness '67

John F. Burness '67, former interim president for Franklin & Marshall College and longtime F&M trustee, died Monday, Dec. 19. He was 77. Burness served on the Board of Trustees for 12...Franklin & Marshall College offers students a hands-on education...

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12/20/2022

F&M Launches the American Liberal Arts Classroom

Franklin & Marshall College is launching a distinctive English-language immersion program for international students from highly-regarded international institutions. The American Liberal Arts...F&M is launching the American Liberal Arts...

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12/13/2022

Winter Graduate Spotlight: Erin Maxwell Follows a Family Legacy

At age 6, Franklin & Marshall senior Erin Maxwell attended her first protest. A passion for civic engagement has followed since. Meet the editor of The College Reporter.

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12/08/2022

Election Season at F&M

When Franklin & Marshall junior Liz Joslin began interning for Josh Shapiro, she never expected to go viral on TikTok alongside Pennsylvania's Governor-Elect. The video — a clever take on a...When F&M student Liz Joslin began interning for Josh...

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12/01/2022

Rouse Scholar Turns Adversity into Curiosity

Stricken with a mysterious illness in high school, Franklin & Marshall student Sara Beqiraj took adversity and spun it into curiosity. That perspective is what put Beqiraj, a biochemistry and molecular biology major and Spanish minor, on the path...

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11/29/2022

Sana Rafi '06 Delves Into Her Childhood to Bring Authenticity to Her Writing

One clear strength of Franklin & Marshall College throughout its 235-year history is its outstanding alumni. Today, its living graduates number more than 29,000 and stretch around the world. They...Franklin & Marshall College offers students a hands-on...

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11/21/2022

Students Decode Zoom Gestures

A team of Franklin & Marshall College students combed through six hours of Zoom class footage to identify gestures exhibited by participating professors and students. The results were overwhelming. Over the span of four recordings, the team identified...

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11/14/2022

A Burning Passion for Anthropology

A childhood spent growing up around Native American artifacts unearthed in her backyard left F&M senior Madison Fortier with an abiding interest in archaeology.

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11/11/2022

F&M Compost Co-Op Diverts Costs and CO2 in Lancaster

A Franklin & Marshall College compost initiative has evolved into a co-op saving the City of Lancaster $5,215 per year — all while diverting 16,638 pounds of food waste from the solid-waste stream each month. The Lancaster Composting Co-Ops (LCC)...

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11/09/2022

Making Connections: Exploring the Role of Emotion in Music with Karen Leistra-Jones

We met with Associate Professor of Music Karen Leistra-Jones to discuss her Connections course, Music and Emotion. “The course is structured around a single foundational question: Why does music move us?” Professor Leistra-Jones said. “We look...

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