The Sem Scoop: Recent Episodes
Wyoming Seminary
Learn about what's happening at Wyoming Seminary with The Sem Scoop. In addition to announcements and news items, The Sem Scoop features interviews with the school's alumni, faculty and students. Wyoming Seminary is an independent college preparatory private school and boarding school in Northeast Pennsylvania with campuses in Kingston and Forty Fort.
Maya Evans is the new Director of Theatre for Summer at Sem. She joins us from New York City and talks about her experience and vision for the three-week program, which begins July 9, 2023. Visit summeratsem.org for more information. To submit a future news item or interview subject for The Sem Scoop, please email Matt Bufano at mbufano@wyomingseminary.org.
The position of Wyoming Seminary Head of School — formerly known as school President — has been held by just 14 individuals, dating back to Reuben Nelson in 1844. The 15th individual to serve as Sem's Head of School will be Martin J. "Marty" Mooney, a career educator who's worked since 2017 as Head of School at Bridgton Academy in Maine. Mooney joins The Sem Scoop for an interview about what's led him to this position and what he hopes to do when he begins working at Sem.To submit a future news item or interview subject for The Sem Scoop, please email Matt Bufano at mbufano@wyomingseminary.org.
Cornell Robinson, head coach of Wyoming Seminary's boys wrestling team, could not have asked for a much better rookie season in Kingston. He led the Blue Knights to team state and national championships and just returned from Rome, Italy, where he coached a pair of Sem standouts to World Championship titles. To submit a future news item or interview subject for The Sem Scoop, please email mbufano@wyomingseminary.org.
Benjamin (Ben) Zhao is set to graduate from Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School in a few weeks, wrapping up a four-year career at the school where he expanded his horizons by participating in everything from Mock Trial and Model UN to baseball and soccer, as well as Climate Science and Sustainability and numerous courses. To submit a future news item or interview subject for The Sem Scoop, please email mbufano@wyomingseminary.org.
The Wyoming Seminary boys wrestling team recently continued its historic run of winning championships at the state and national levels. Nic Bouzakis, a senior who will continue his career at Ohio State University, won the individual National Prep School Wrestling Championship at 132 in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, and shares the story of his wrestling career and his experience at Sem. To submit a future news item or interview subject for The Sem Scoop, please email mbufano@wyomingseminary.org.
Wyoming Seminary's second-year girls tennis coach, Raphael Cooper, joins the show to talk about his team's magical season that ended with a 3-2 win against Sewickley Academy for the 2021 PIAA Class 2A team championship. Ilana Rosenthal, Ella Krypel and Victoria Martinez won their singles matches in the state final, lifting Sem to the state title. To submit a future news item or interview subject for The Sem Scoop, please email mbufano@wyomingseminary.org.
Wyoming Seminary Interim President Tom Whitworth walks us through his philosophies, his life and his career, highlighting the people (including legendary basketball coach Dean Smith) and events that helped him along the way. To submit a future news item or interview subject for The Sem Scoop, please email mbufano@wyomingseminary.org.
Scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 7, the New York City Marathon will feature three women with ties to Wyoming Seminary and the Ryan's Run 12 fundraising team. Hear from parent Clancy Harrison, teacher Katie Callahan and Director of Communications Jill Snowdon, as they discuss why they run and also why they care about this special cause. For more information about WNEP's Ryan's Run, which in 11 years has raised $4 million-plus for Allied Services, please visit the link below.
https://www.allied-services.org/ryans-run/apply-to-run/
The countdown to Wyoming Seminary graduation on Saturday, May 29, is almost over. Shailee Desai, an academic and athletic standout, who's also served as the Class of 2021's President, tells us all about her — and her classmates' — experiences over the past four years. To submit a future news item or interview subject for The Sem Scoop, please email mbufano@wyomingseminary.org.
"The highlight of my year." That's how Jeremiah Downes, Wyoming Seminary's Director of Summer at Sem Creative Arts Theatre Program, describes Summer at Sem. Listen to our full interview to learn why. For more information, visit summeratsem.org or email Gayle Sekel, Director of Summer Programs, at gsekel@wyomingseminary.org. To submit a future news item or interview subject for The Sem Scoop, please email mbufano@wyomingseminary.org.
Summer at Sem is quickly approaching. Listen to Jason Sherry, Wyoming Seminary's Director of Filmmaking, tell you more about the fun ways in which his students learn the art of filmmaking. For more information, visit summeratsem.org or email Gayle Sekel, Director of Summer Programs, at gsekel@wyomingseminary.org. To submit a future news item or interview subject for The Sem Scoop, please email mbufano@wyomingseminary.org.
In the third and final interview with Wyoming Seminary's Summer at Sem program directors, we catch up with Tim Early, who leads the dance program. Tim tells us what students should expect to learn and experience in his course. For more information, visit summeratsem.org or email Gayle Sekel, Director of Summer Programs, at gsekel@wyomingseminary.org. To submit a future news item or interview subject for The Sem Scoop, please email mbufano@wyomingseminary.org.
We catch up with award-winning alumna Paige Allen, whose academic career at Princeton University was recently topped off with the Pyne Honor Prize, the highest general distinction for an undergraduate. Paige’s studies at Princeton have included English, theater, creative writing and humanistic studies. To submit a future news item or interview subject for The Sem Scoop, please email mbufano@wyomingseminary.org.
Fundraising for the 2021 Sem Dance Marathon is well underway and continues this weekend at Rita's Italian Ice on Wyoming Avenue in Kingston. Wyoming Seminary senior Shawna Casey joins us to talk about this year's Sem DM and how you could help a good cause and help yourself to some frozen treats this weekend. To submit a future news item or interview subject for The Sem Scoop, please email mbufano@wyomingseminary.org.
We interview Jill Carrick, a Lower School teacher with an interest in environmental science, and Adam Ruderman, a Sem parent, about Wyoming Seminary's involvement with The BARKA Foundation. Adam is on the Board of Directors for The BARKA Foundation, a non-profit charity whose work includes bringing clean water to the people of Burkina Faso, West Africa. To submit a future news item or interview subject for The Sem Scoop, please email mbufano@wyomingseminary.org.
We learn more about swimming — both her career, plus her record-breaking, medal-winning relay team — from Wyoming Seminary's Aviah Dahlgren '22. Dahlgren, Skylar Roerig, Ryleigh Collins and Alyssa Kelly won the gold medal in the 400 free relay at the 2021 PIAA Class 2A girls swimming championships. To submit a future news item or interview subject for The Sem Scoop, please email mbufano@wyomingseminary.org.
We catch up with Nansen Wang '22, a native of China, who contributed to Wyoming Seminary's 200-yard freestyle relay team, which placed second in the state's PIAA Class 2A swimming championships. To submit a future news item or interview subject for The Sem Scoop, please email mbufano@wyomingseminary.org.
We have a new leader for Wyoming Seminary's rowing program and it is Chris Rechen, a former standout in the sport at Marist College in New York. Having originally played more traditional sports, Chris picked up rowing in ninth grade and has never looked back, as he's eager to begin a new chapter at Sem. To contact Coach Rechen, please email him at crechen@wyomingseminary.org. To submit a future news item or interview subject for The Sem Scoop, please email mbufano@wyomingseminary.org.
We learn about writing — and teaching — from Nina Cinti, who, under the name Nina Bocci, has written several books and even has had one short story recently turned into a short film. Nina, a teacher at the Lower School, is participating Thursday, March 18, 2021 in an edition of Sem Talks. For more information, visit https://www.wyomingseminary.org/alumni/semtalks. To submit a future news item or interview subject for The Sem Scoop, please email mbufano@wyomingseminary.org.
We talk ice hockey and much more with Christophe Beluse '21, a native of Lachine, Quebec, who tells us about his experience of playing ice hockey and studying at Wyoming Seminary. At the time of this recording, Christophe, a goaltender and team captain, has helped the Blue Knights to an 11-2 record. To submit a future news item or interview subject for The Sem Scoop, please email mbufano@wyomingseminary.org.
We catch up with Yifei Liu (Class of 2021), who joins us all the way from China to talk about her artistic endeavors during the past four years at Wyoming Seminary. Recently, Yifei placed first in Sem's Literary & Arts Magazine's (SLAM) Winter Contest for Visual Piece. To submit a future news item or interview subject for The Sem Scoop, please email mbufano@wyomingseminary.org.
We catch up with Wyoming Seminary Upper School students Hope Austin (Class of 2021) and Julia Poole (2022), who recently put their performing arts talents to good use for a good cause. To submit a future news item or interview subject for The Sem Scoop, please email mbufano@wyomingseminary.org.
We go directly to the source, head coach Pete Moses, for insight about this season's talented Wyoming Seminary Blue Knights boys basketball team. Coach Moses also dished about his own coaching career, as he recently surpassed 100 career wins from his time at Wyoming Area and Sem. To submit a future news item or interview subject for The Sem Scoop, please email mbufano@wyomingseminary.org.
The Sem Scoop will officially launch soon with an actual episode! In the meantime, here’s a brief introduction.