The year 2021 was an introduction to a “new normal” at Franklin & Marshall College. January began with a hybrid academic model for the spring semester. Then, in August, the College welcomed students of all class years back to campus to resume in-person teaching and learning. This year demonstrated the F&M community to be agile, creative, dauntless and committed. After facing more than a year of uncertainty and change, our students and alumni proved that they can transform any challenge into opportunity and possibility.
Explore the top 10 stories that helped define the year:
F&M Junior Earns Prestigious National Scholarship
Parents Donate Photographs Worth More Than $2.5 Million to the Phillips
Two F&M Swimmers to Compete in Olympic Trials
F&M's Iconic Dining Hall is Revamped and Ready for its Close-up
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President Barbara K. Altmann congratulates Junior Makaila Ranges on her Truman Scholarship
Image Credit: Deb Grove
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“My F&M education gives me the flexibility to do what I think will prepare me for the future,” Ranges says. "Knowing more about the intersection of science and human rights helped me understand how to formulate my Truman application and create a toolset where I can work in various fields of study.”
Image Credit: Deb Grove
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Dr. Stephen Nicholas and his wife, Eileen—parents of twins and Class of 2020 graduates Michaela and Stephen Jr.—graciously donated photographs worth over $2.5 million to the Phillips Museum of Art at F&M.
Image Credit: Dr. Stephen Nicholas
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![Danny Lyon (American, b. 1942). Outside, Lester MacKinney, Bernice Reagon, and John O’Neal wait to get in [a Nashville Tic Toc restaurant], 1962. Gelatin silver print, printed later, 11 x 14". Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Stephen Nicholas.](https://www.fandm.edu/uploads/files/90534936939355619-outside-lester-mackinney-bernice-reagon-and-john-o-neal.5.140.1837.1106.full.jpg "...")
Danny Lyon (American, b. 1942). Outside, Lester MacKinney, Bernice Reagon, and John O’Neal wait to get in [a Nashville Tic Toc restaurant], 1962. Gelatin silver print, printed later, 11 x 14". Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Stephen Nicholas.
Image Credit: Danny Lyon
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F&M swim team captain Chris Schiavone '22 competed in this year's Olympic trials. "We came together as a team, unsure of what the season was going to look like, and did our best to motivate through hard work," he said.
Image Credit: GoDips.com
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"I've found the swim team to be just such a great social group and outlet. Immediately as a first year, I had a group of people to hang out with, to train and be around," said Brendan Cline '23, who competed in Olympic trials.
Image Credit: GoDips.com
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This summer, the College extensively renovated its primary dining facility, the Restaurants at Ben Franklin. The entrance to the dining hall has been opened up to allow more light and give diners more space to move freely during peak hours.
Image Credit: Deb Grove
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Students dig into the expanded salad bar at the Mongolian Grill station.
Image Credit: Deb Grove
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A streamlined and easier to navigate beverage station is one of the improvements made over the summer.
Image Credit: Deb Grove
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First-year students completing convocation in Fall 2020 by walking through the Lux et Lex arch. Last spring, first years studied remotely in an effort to reduce the number of students in on-campus residential halls. ASPIRE—which stands for Authentic Success & Possibility in Reach for Every Student—was designed to not only make students aware of the resources available to them and keep them on track as they move to a remote environment, but to set students up for success early at F&M.
Image Credit: Deb Grove
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F&M students of all class years reflect on robust life in the College Houses, a distinctive feature of the F&M experience. Each of F&M's five Houses has its own crest to identify the House and denote its purpose. Banners are carried into Convocation at the academic year's start in August and into Commencement in May.
Image Credit: Nick Gould
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Hermela Assefa '22 appreciates the value that Bonchek residents place on embracing cultural differences among members of her House.
Image Credit: Submitted
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Omar Guerrero '22 of Roschel House, pictured here with Trinity Nguyen '22, likes the fact that the House community encourages students across all class years to find common ground and bond. (Photo taken pre-pandemic.)
Image Credit: Submitted
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Members of the Class of 2021 celebrate during F&M Commencement held May 15 at Lancaster Clipper Stadium. F&M alumnus James “Jim” Stengel delivered a refreshing dose of philosophy to Class of 2021 graduates saying, "The world needs diplomats like never before."
Image Credit: Eric Forberger
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Members of the Class of 2021 celebrate during F&M Commencement held May 15 at Lancaster Clipper Stadium.
Image Credit: Deb Grove
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Aerial footage of the Class of 2021 Commencement ceremony held May 15 at Lancaster Clipper Stadium.
Image Credit: Eric Forberger
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East side of the U.S. Capitol. This summer, four Franklin & Marshall College students traveled to Washington D.C., where they worked in Congress or at a federal agency, either remotely or on location. The Ken Duberstein '65 Public Service Internship Endowment provides F&M students who receive federal government internships in Washington D.C. the financial support they need to afford the expense of living in the nation’s capital.
Image Credit: Martin Falblsoner
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Senior Ali Husaini is a government major who worked remotely for Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley under the Islamic Scholarship Fund’s Congressional Internship Program, which provides scholarships to Muslim students to fund their studies in policy. “This internship has been an opportunity for me to gain firsthand experience with the legislative process and with policy issues that I care about, from education to health care and civil rights,” he said. Here as a first-year and Model U.N. officer, Husaini took the podium to cite examples of successful American intervention including eradication of many diseases in the world.
Image Credit: Deb Grove
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Junior Nadezhda Ivanova, who was one of the four recipients of the Ken Duberstein '65 Public Service Internship Endowment, is majoring in government with a minor in German. She is interested in foreign relations and worked for the Congressional Office for International Leadership. “This internship is really important to me because Eastern Europe and Central Asia are often put in the background when it comes to international relations,” she said. “My favorite event so far has been with Ukrainian lawyers and judges focused on anti-corruption.”
Image Credit: Nadezhda Ivanova
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F&M warmly welcomed students, parents and alumni back to campus for True Blue Weekend, its first since 2019. Held Oct. 15-17, the annual Homecoming and Family Weekend offered something for every class year.
Image Credit: Eric Forberger
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F&M True Blue Weekend 2021
Image Credit: Deb Grove
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F&M True Blue Weekend 2021
Image Credit: Eric Forberger
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F&M True Blue Weekend 2021
Image Credit: Deb Grove
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F&M True Blue Weekend 2021
Image Credit: Deb Grove
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F&M True Blue Weekend 2021
Image Credit: Deb Grove
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F&M True Blue Weekend 2021
Image Credit: Deb Grove