Former Seneca Valley student Gary Jordan helps bring America’s space missions—including the recent Artemis II—to audiences around the world from inside NASA’s Johnson Space Center. NASA/Robert Markowitz: Gary Jordan directs the video shoot with Artemis II astronauts ahead of the crew reveal event at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in 2023. Growing up in Cranberry, Gary Jordan never imagined he would one day sit inside mission control helping narrate one of NASA’s most historic ev

Sophomore Dominic Porter talks about his love for dek hockey, and why more kids should give the sport a try. Dominic (Dom) will be a sophomore this fall, and he’s excited to play for the Penn Hills Indians Ball Hockey team (sometimes called dek hockey) for the second year. As a freshman player, he was the third top scorer for the year and was voted Most Valuable Player twice. He started playing the sport when he was just six years old. “I started out as a center, but I now pl

Fort Couch Middle School student Juliette Hirzel pushes past limits to honor the legacy of World War II heroes. Juliette Hirzel crossing the 13-mile marker in the shadows of the Organ Mountains of New Mexico. It’s not every day that a 14-year-old chooses to test her limits. But for Juliette Hirzel, who took on one of the most grueling endurance challenges in the country, the 65-mile Bataan Memorial Death March, the challenge meant something more. The 14-year-old Fort Couch Mi

South Fayette resident Kathleen Stanley is helping reshape another local community through compassion, connection and a bold vision for affordable housing. For Kathleen Stanley, the path to transforming a community didn’t begin with a grand plan—it began with people. A longtime resident of South Fayette Township, Stanley has spent more than a decade working in Sharpsburg, where she now serves as executive director of Roots of Faith. When she first arrived, the borough faced s

Adrianne Arena-Jacobs has been dancing in the spotlight since she was a child. Decades later, she still derives joy from her lifelong passion. Adrianne Arena-Jacobs may be a familiar name to those who have participated in Moon Area High School theater productions. She has choreographed more than 20 productions for the school’s spring musicals, which are noted for their high-caliber performances. Her dance journey began when she was just 3 years old. Her mother, hoping to expe

Preston Smith is winning championships and bringing attention to the sport of bowling locally! Preston, who lives in Whitaker, started...

West Mifflin resident Kennedy Bakota is making her mark on and off the field. Kennedy Bakota, a sophomore at Seton LaSalle High School,...

Bridgeville resident Mark Berton’s debut novel, “Aroughcoune,” is a tale of mutant killer raccoons, government conspiracies and social commentary. Mark Berton and his daughter, Juliette, at Cooper’s Rock State Forest. A secret government project goes awry and breeds a giant, genetically modified killer raccoon. This wild science fiction and horror adventure from the mind of Bridgeville’s Mark Berton may be exactly what you need for an escape from reality. Berton has lived in