Click on a photo to view it at a larger size.
Joe Bruch ’17
I’ve always had a passion and interest in filmmaking, and so knew I wanted to major in film production before even choosing Allegheny. Aside from the major, Allegheny also had that community feeling and layered curriculum I was looking for to round myself out as a filmmaker and also just as an individual.
I have always had a natural passion for traveling and so took the opportunities available through Allegheny to study abroad in England last spring. I made my way throughout almost all of Europe and took my bookbag everywhere. A lot of times, it was just me and my bag. I feel very connected to it. I love how sturdy and reliant it is, as well as its ability to carry almost everything and anything I need. I know it will see many more adventures to come beyond Allegheny.
Halie Gary ’17
I carry everything I would ever need in my backpack — my classwork, books, computer, chargers for phones, wallet, extra sweaters, art supplies, etc. I tend to pack my bag based on what I need to do and my free-time opportunities. I am involved in choirs, am a Resident Advisor, and am a part of many clubs — too many to count.
Hannah Kitchen ’20
Tri Delta has a second philanthropy, 3D Body Image, which I feel is just as important as St. Jude and sometimes doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. The idea is that a lot of people, especially in college, have difficulty with body positivity, and we want to bring awareness to what can happen when someone is experiencing feelings of worthlessness. We want to do what we can to show everyone that they’re unique and beautiful in their own individual way, and that’s something that is so so important to me
Marco Lagnese ’17
One of the most memorable things that I keep in my backpack is a string of paperclips that was given to me as a first-year by Larry Hailsham, who was a junior at the time. He told me, “Marco, you never know when you’ll need paper clips throughout your time at Allegheny, but you definitely will at some point so here you go!”
Those paper clips have always come in handy for different times throughout college. Whether it was giving one to a friend who needed it to organize his essay during my sophomore year, to the most recent time when I used one for my senior comp literature review before handing it to my first reader. I guess Larry was right!
Johanna Stanley ’17
I love my backpack. It has some good stories in it. I’d like to add some more inside jokes from Allegheny to it before I graduate to remember. I’m involved in a lot of theatre at Allegheny, both the Playshop and S.E.T. (Student Experimental Theatre). I’m a member of the college choir and the chamber choir. I write for the Krampus, and I work for Creek Connections, teaching local middle and high school aged kids about water quality.
Walter Stover ’17
I am a senator in Allegheny Student Government and serve as the secretary for sustainability on the Sustainability Committee. This is my last year in student government, but I started in the spring semester of my sophomore year, so it’s been a journey!
This will also be my fourth year of practicing Aikido, a Japanese soft-style martial art that focuses on defense and resolving conflict peacefully. I suppose my third main activity is my position as treasurer and co-founder in the Chinese-American Friendship Society, a new organization dedicated to promoting Chinese culture on campus and increased dialogue between the Chinese student population and the wider Allegheny student body.
Jackie Verrecchia ’17
The unicorn leather charm is from my time between sophomore year and junior year, a summer working in Morgan County, Tennessee for the Appalachia Service Project. Additionally, the “I love Lee” button is from my time between junior year and senior year working for the Appalachia Service Project in Lee County, Virginia. I did construction management for households in poverty and low-income in rural Central Appalachia, specifically Morgan County and Lee County, and I plan to do this for an additional summer after graduation.
These experiences of managing home repair (ranging from new tin roofs to drywall to foundation work) in poverty stricken communities in rural Central Appalachia were the starting point of my comp ideas. I witnessed almost all the houses and mobile homes I managed lacked properly working septic systems, had inadequate systems for the types of soil, or simply didn’t have septic systems and “straight-piped” their septic (a PVC pipe that runs from the toilet into local waterways by the house or distant locations in their yard) and I became interested in the health and environmental impacts of this. These experiences helped become the foundation of my comp.