No Fault in Our Stars for Aspiring Astronaut
Franklin & Marshall College first-year student Menelaos Raptis was just 7 years old when he received his first telescope – a surprise gift from his father. The perfect place for stargazing, Raptis says, is his hometown of Thessaloniki, Greece, a port city on the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea. “Through astro-gazing, I was able to develop my imagination and my interest in space – and to form some questions: ‘Is there alien life on other planets? What are the boundaries of the universe?’” Raptis said. “It was then that I decided to be the scientist who is going to give some answers to these questions,” he said. Now, Raptis is bringing his passion for planets to a wider campus audience. He pitched and helped facilitate the College’s first Space Week. The event begins today in Ware College House and will feature faculty and visiting speakers exploring the realm of astrophysics – and beyond. “Franklin & Marshall College is not just a place for students. It's a place for protagonists. For students with a vision to create something new, to promote their passion through their ideas. I feel very blessed that I have the opportunity to materialize that in a top institution,” Raptis said.In 2017, Raptis was named the youngest European Ambassador of Space after winning an Odysseus II competition, challenging contestants to depict the universe in the future. “That was the start of a very beautiful journey inside the path of the natural sciences,” Raptis said. In addition, Raptis is a former member of the Greek EduAct national robotics team and a NASA Hackathon participant. This semester, he will join the team of F&M students analyzing data for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope* under the tutelage of Ryan Trainor, assistant professor of physics. “I'm very lucky, because my role model happens to be my professor: Professor Trainor,” Raptis said. "From the first day he arrived at F&M, Menelaos has impressed me with his passion for astronomy and his perseverance. He jumped right into our research group during his first semester on campus, and I'm very excited to see what we uncover together in the next year while working on this project," Trainor said. Raptis hopes to follow in the footsteps of another idol: Thomas Pesquet, a French aerospace engineer, pilot and European Space Agency astronaut. “My biggest goal is to become an astronaut,” Raptis said.Menelaos Raptis '26Hometown: Thessaloniki, Greece Major: Astrophysics (intended) Minor: Mathematics (intended)
Why did you choose to attend F&M? I'm focused on the astrophysics field, but I'm also aware that a complete personality needs other aspects as well. These are offered here in the liberal arts education. Coming here includes the exploration of other fields. They're fascinating. One of them is Captivating Spaces, a [first-year] Connections course [taught by Kabi Hartman, director of the program in support of academic excellence and senior teaching professor of English]. That was a great opportunity to combine my scientific knowledge with the philosopher spaces.
Franklin & Marshall College first-year student Menelaos Raptis was just 7 years old when he received his first telescope – a surprise gift from his father.
The perfect place for stargazing, Raptis says, is his hometown of Thessaloniki, Greece, a port city on the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea.
“Through astro-gazing, I was able to develop my imagination and my interest in space – and to form some questions: ‘Is there alien life on other planets? What are the boundaries of the universe?’” Raptis said.
“It was then that I decided to be the scientist who is going to give some answers to these questions,” he said.
Now, Raptis is bringing his passion for planets to a wider campus audience. He pitched and helped facilitate the College’s first Space Week. The event begins today in Ware College House and will feature faculty and visiting speakers exploring the realm of astrophysics – and beyond.
“Franklin & Marshall College is not just a place for students. It's a place for protagonists. For students with a vision to create something new, to promote their passion through their ideas. I feel very blessed that I have the opportunity to materialize that in a top institution,” Raptis said.
In 2017, Raptis was named the youngest European Ambassador of Space after winning an Odysseus II competition, challenging contestants to depict the universe in the future.
“That was the start of a very beautiful journey inside the path of the natural sciences,” Raptis said.
In addition, Raptis is a former member of the Greek EduAct national robotics team and a NASA Hackathon participant. This semester, he will join the team of F&M students analyzing data for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope* under the tutelage of Ryan Trainor, assistant professor of physics.
“I'm very lucky, because my role model happens to be my professor: Professor Trainor,” Raptis said.
"From the first day he arrived at F&M, Menelaos has impressed me with his passion for astronomy and his perseverance. He jumped right into our research group during his first semester on campus, and I'm very excited to see what we uncover together in the next year while working on this project," Trainor said.
Raptis hopes to follow in the footsteps of another idol: Thomas Pesquet, a French aerospace engineer, pilot and European Space Agency astronaut.
“My biggest goal is to become an astronaut,” Raptis said.
Menelaos Raptis '26
- Hometown: Thessaloniki, Greece
- Major: Astrophysics (intended)
- Minor: Mathematics (intended)
Why did you choose to attend F&M? I'm focused on the astrophysics field, but I'm also aware that a complete personality needs other aspects as well. These are offered here in the liberal arts education.
Coming here includes the exploration of other fields. They're fascinating. One of them is Captivating Spaces, a [first-year] Connections course [taught by Kabi Hartman, director of the program in support of academic excellence and senior teaching professor of English]. That was a great opportunity to combine my scientific knowledge with the philosopher spaces.
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- In the Crosstalk—Race, Racism and PainIn her Africana studies research, Franklin & Marshall senior Amira Henry’s paper, “Black Bodies in Pain,” explores the media’s sensationalism of Black bodies in various states before a camera. Her work is “to find out how these things reflect a lasting legacy of racial dehumanization and the way that the media markets Black bodies in pain.” She will discuss her findings during a student-led panel for “Imagining African and African-diaspora Futures,” a March 25 joint conference in Africana Studies and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, organized by F&M, Gettysburg and Dickinson colleges.Typically, this Central Pennsylvania Consortium has conferences on the individual fields, each in a three-year rotation; each moving between the three schools. This year, they were combined. “The rotations were such that they landed at F&M for both,” F&M Professor of History Doug Anthony said. “I think the pandemic probably had a lot to with that. It seemed a wise use of resources, and also a new opportunity for, again, more kinds of productive crosstalk.” Henry is one of five F&M students presenting at undergraduate panels, which are scheduled in the afternoon, following the morning’s graduate and faculty panels. “That would, in theory, give the undergraduates the opportunity to see what an academic panel looks like before being on stage themselves in the afternoon,” Anthony said. “For many, this will be the first time they do it; for some, it might be the only time that they do it. The process itself leads to deeper understanding. For a lot of students, I think it’s a confidence booster.” Henry, a joint studies major, will speak at the first of two undergraduate panels, “Re-presenting the African Diaspora,” where she will take questions about her research. “I want my reader to better understand the use of Black bodies as entertainment in the past and present and how media from each period I examine profited from and highlighted Black bodies in pain,” she wrote in her paper’s abstract. On the “Reimagining Race Beyond Institutions” panel, Tiahna Thompson will present, “The relationship between sports and racially motivated political and social movements.” The American studies senior wrote in her abstract, “My objective is to explore how Black athletes have used their platforms to activate change within their personal communities … to help my reader understand how sports have served as a microcosm of larger American society.” Said Anthony, ”What we want the students to get out of it is the challenge of performing the research, organizing the research, and then presenting their research.”
- Building a Stronger Student-Alumni ConnectionOne 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 are leaders at every level, committed to successful careers and meaningful lives. They also are determined to support F&M and one another, continuing their quest for knowledge as they create the way forward together. While graduates of any age are Diplomats Forever, many of those making a difference in their communities are under 40. Several are featured in banners across the Franklin & Marshall campus and on the Diplomats Forever website. In this series, we’ll introduce you to a few of our many alumni making a difference. Edward “EJ” Schneider ‘14, whose career trajectory from Franklin & Marshall College to Boston attorney was due in no small part to an alumni mentor, follows a simple philanthropic philosophy. “I want students to have the opportunity I had, which goes beyond the classroom, and frankly, it goes beyond the football locker room and the field,” he said. “It goes to mentorship and connectivity and professional growth.”The former two-time Centennial All-Conference quarterback for the Diplomats was mentored first as a junior by Barry Finegold '93, working as an intern in the Massachusetts state senator’s legislative office and in his Boston law firm, Dalton & Finegold, LLP. “We really hit it off,” Schneider said of Finegold, a former Diplomat football player. “I think we saw a lot of similarities in each other—a similar blue-collar upbringing, but that burning desire for wanting more. Barry has been one of the most influential people in my life. ” The experience was life-changing for the philosophy major from New Jersey who, at Finegold’s invitation, moved to Boston after graduation to work at the firm as a paralegal while attending New England Law at night for three-and-a-half years. “It was working 8 to 5-ish, going to class 6 to 9:30 or 10,” Schneider says. “I took courses each summer so I could graduate earlier; a typical law school is three years, a night program is four, but you can take courses during the summer and get done a half year earlier.” After passing the bar in 2018, Schneider began work at Dalton & Finegold, representing high net-worth clients and professional athletes in residential real estate and estate planning. Two years later, he was made a partner, the youngest in the firm’s history, and now manages the Boston office. Last year, he made a philanthropic multi-year commitment to support financial aid through the Franklin & Marshall Fund and the football team through the Diplomat Athletic Club. Another donation named a locker in honor of his parents, Edward and Katherine Schneider P'14. “Without their sacrifice in sending me to a private high school, and their countless hours at youth sports fields and high school camps to give me every opportunity they possibly could, nothing that I’m accomplishing today would be possible without my parents’ love and support,” he says. And Schneider wants to do more than just donate. He wants to work with F&M in building a system in which students easily connect with alumni in the professional fields they are considering. “So many times it really is who you know, not what you know,” he says. “Opportunity is everything.”
- Generous Gift Furthers Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Efforts on CampusClass of 2000 alum Andrew Roth’s contribution will fund diversity, equity and inclusion programming on campus over the next five years. Franklin & Marshall graduate Andrew Roth ’00 has fond memories from his four years on campus. Time spent with Phi Kappa Tau fraternity brothers. Cheering on roommate Jerome Maiatico ’00 and other close friends when the Diplomats basketball squad advanced to the Division III Final Four in 2000. One memory, however, feels a bit absent. Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming, he recalls, was not the campuswide initiative found at F&M today. Events recognizing and supporting students of varying cultural backgrounds felt confined to a small handful of campus spaces. “It was a separation that didn’t have to exist,” said Roth, head of data and martech strategy for Publicis Groupe, a French multinational advertising and public relations company. Reflecting on a 20-year career in law and marketing, Roth realized the need for an understanding and support of underrepresented individuals.A government major at F&M, Roth started his career in private equity first as an attorney, and then in business development and corporate strategy at Blackstone. Prior to Publicis Groupe, Roth served as executive vice president and head of innovation strategy and corporate development at IPG DXTRA. He recalled a recent conversation with Gretchel Hathaway, F&M vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). “There was no overt racism that I saw on campus,” he said. “But here’s something I mentioned to Gretchel: I’ve learned a lot by speaking with a very good friend of mine, working with his minority-owned business. And I’ve realized, I don’t know anything. There’s a lot to learn. You have no idea what people are going through and the only way to begin to realize that is to educate.” Roth’s contribution will do just that, funding DEI programs on campus over the next five years. This includes a first-year student orientation curriculum with diversity education, bias awareness, enhancing cultural intelligence, and training on how to host conversations around challenging issues as well as continuing IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility) programs and training for all members of the campus community.
- Father-Daughter Grads Reward Faculty with ReadershipFather and daughter Robert and Sarah Glidden both graduated from Franklin & Marshall. Along with Bob’s wife and Sarah’s mother, Eileen, the two alums recently celebrated their alma mater and the professors that make it so special. The family has established the Robert Glidden ’69, P’99, Eileen Glidden P’99 and Sarah Glidden Kempson ’99 Endowed Readership. It is being used on a two- to three-year rotating basis to support one or more tenured associate professors in recognition of their impressive pedagogical and scholarly accomplishments and future potential. The College’s provost awards these funds in support of scholarly activities aligning with the professor’s teaching, including scholarship, research, professional development, and compensation. Associate professors in economics or business, organizations & society receive special consideration for the funding. “We agreed on this gift because it's the right thing to do,” Robert Glidden, an economics major, said. “F&M was a seminal experience. It began my career trajectory. I have created, and operate, two substantial businesses. My F&M education, with a major in economics, set me up and gave me the initial business acumen to be successful.”This academic year, the Glidden Endowed Readership recipients are Nicole Jones Young, associate professor of organizational behavior, and Leanne Roncolato, associate professor of economics. Young, who came to F&M in 2016, researches criminal history and employment. She has done fieldwork in correctional institutions and explored work-release programs through the lens of gender. She also has analyzed the impact of training programs on equitable employment access among incarcerated women. Roncolato, who has taught at the College since 2014, is a labor economist who studies questions of power and identity among marginalized populations. Her research has focused on international trade, gender, the economics of the household, job quality and informal employment.In 1972, Robert Glidden and his business partner, James Bokor Sr., founded Robert-James Sales, a nationwide distributor specializing in stainless steel pipes, valves and fittings. Glidden also co-founded Trebor, Inc., an international distributor of tissue paper, pulp and containerboard. Sarah Glidden Kempson majored in accounting at F&M. As an undergraduate, Sarah was active in Alpha Phi and the Student Managed Investment Portfolio. Like her father, she went on to earn an MBA from SUNY Buffalo, which launched her career in finance. She was a hedge fund analyst at Goldman Sachs, as well as the business manager of a private school in Princeton, N.J. Today, she is the director of concierge services at Roundview Capital. “F&M shaped who I am,” Sarah said. “I value the liberal arts education I received because it taught me to think broadly. It prepared me to have a well-rounded career.” F&M President Barbara K. Altmann extended her thanks to the Gliddens for their commitment to supporting the high-level teaching and research taking place at their alma mater. “The world needs Diplomats, and no one is better positioned to accomplish that goal than Franklin & Marshall’s faculty,” Altmann said. “Our students are launched into successful careers and lives of meaning in large part due to our faculty’s teaching and mentoring. We are grateful for this gift from the Glidden family. Their foresight in supporting faculty scholarship, research and professional development helps us attract and retain outstanding professors.” Both Glidden graduates cherish their F&M education, remarkably similar experiences despite being 30 years apart. “F&M is a great school,” Bob said. “Students should enjoy their education and think about what they want to do for the rest of their life. They’re going to have false starts, but that’s OK. That's why you go to a liberal arts institution. You learn what you want to do and what you're good at, and you learn how to grow and keep learning.” “I agree,” Sarah said. “I took music and oceanography, but I majored in accounting. I feel like I got to experience it all!”
- F&M Picks: Top Movies and PodcastsWhich movies and podcasts do Franklin & Marshall College faculty and staff turn to when it’s time to unwind? Students begin spring break today, so we sought recommendations for the best media during downtime. Check out top picks from familiar faces at F&M, including several of this semester’s featured Common Hour speakers. Movie: Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009, 20th Century Studios) From the producer: Devil-may-care Mr. Fox quits chicken-thieving to start a family with Mrs. Fox, but 12 years later, he leaves his columnist job to rob poultry from three mean farmers who devise a plan to trap Fox and others in the burrowing animal community. With his friends and neighbors, Fox saves his animal community and beats the farmers at their own game. Dan says: “Beautiful stop-motion animation with a heartwarming story and a great soundtrack. Animation isn't just for kids; trust me and indulge.”Podcast: People's Party with Talib Kweli, by Talib Kweli From the producer: A weekly interview show hosted by hip-hop legend Talib Kweli. The show features big-name guests exploring hip-hop, culture, and politics. David says: “Talib Kweli has intimate conversations with his peers that detail the ins and outs of their experiences in activism and the entertainment industries. As a music nerd myself, I enjoy hearing about artists' ways into the industry, and how they've navigated the ever-changing landscape of the music business. But, as a person always striving to impact my community, it's amazing to hear the paths activists have taken, as well as how they were able to build movements to make lasting change for their communities.”Podcast: The Memory Palace, by Nate DiMeo From the producer: A storytelling podcast and occasional radio segment created and produced by Nate DiMeo (former artist in residence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art) in 2008. Evan says: “With every episode running between five and 20 minutes, this non-serialized podcast on wonderful, weird and wholesome stories from our past is easily digestible and is sure to tug on your heartstrings. Two of my favorite episodes are episode 127 (No Summer) and episode 135 (Revolutions).”Podcast: The Great Women Artists Podcast, by Katy Hessel From the producer: Presented by art historian and curator Katy Hessel, The Great Women Artists Podcast interviews artists on their career, or curators, writers, or general art lovers, on the female artist who means the most to them. Katy is also the presenter of Dior Talks. Sandra says: “People want to think the arts field has reached greater parity than it actually has. Katy Hessel's incredibly entertaining interviews shed light on influential artists left out from the canon, and inspiring talks with artists today. This living archive of rebellious and intimate stories shows intersections between life and art, across class and culture. Katy Hessel is so passionate in her curiosity and need to uncover these stories – I listen to them in the studio, very addictive!” (For eye-opening facts about gender representation in the arts, visit the homepage of the National Museum of Women in the Arts).Podcast: American History Tellers, by Lindsay Graham From the producer: The Cold War, Prohibition, the Gold Rush, the Space Race. Every part of your life – the words you speak, the ideas you share – can be traced to our history, but how well do you really know the stories that made America? Amy says: “The podcast has dozens of seasons that tell the story of specific historical events. It's a combination of narration and dramatic retellings and the stories are captivating. I've learned so much about history I thought I knew, but had no idea about. My favorite one is about piracy – who knew the eye patch was actually a way for sailors to keep one pupil dilated so they could see better in the dark with that eye? The episodes are an easy listen, so it's a good podcast to have on when you're working on a project.”Documentary: Fight The Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World (2022, PBS) From the producer: Chuck D from Public Enemy explores hip-hop’s political awakening over the last 50 years. Gretchel says: “In four episodes, this truly shows how the brilliant musical culture of hip-hop, based around social events and social justice, impacted the history of many nations.” Movie: Black Panther (2018) & Wakanda Forever (2022) (Marvel) From the producer: Marvel Studios’ Black Panther follows T’Challa who, after the death of his father, the King of Wakanda, returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation to succeed to the throne and take his rightful place as king. Gretchel says: “When you watch these movies back-to-back, you will see how brilliantly the second movie, Wakanda Forever, picked up on the nuances of the original Black Panther and weaved the themes through the movies.” Series: Finding Your Roots (2012-present, PBS) From the producer: Henry Louis Gates Jr. has explored the ancestry of dozens of influential people from diverse backgrounds, taking millions of viewers deep into the past to reveal the connections that bind us all. Gretchel says: ”You will have a better understanding around the concept of race being a social construct. You will also see the impact of finding one's roots and ancestry has on famous and popular individuals.”Movie: Clueless (1995, Paramount Movies) From the producer: Jane Austen might never have imagined that her 1816 novel, “Emma,” could be turned into a fresh and satirical look at ultra-rich teenagers in a Beverly Hills high school. Courtnee says: “Having grown up in California, I enjoy the satire. I also think it is such a cool snapshot in time, from the clothing to the catch-phrases and cultural references. It's like a ’90s version of Mean Girls.”Podcast: This Land, by Rebecca Nagle From the producer: How a string of custody battles over Native children became a federal lawsuit that threatens everything from tribal sovereignty to civil rights. Alison says: “Each season focuses on the backstory of a Supreme Court case related to Native American rights. This season is about a case involving the Indian Child Welfare Act. The Court has heard the case, but has not yeMovie: The Banshees of Inisherin (2022, Searchlight Pictures) From the producer: Two lifelong friends find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship, with alarming consequences for both of them. Amelia says: “It's got everything you might want for St. Patrick's Day: an Irish island in the 1920s, eccentric characters with unexplained grudges and affections, excellent wool sweaters, humor, drama, pathos and surprise. Drop everything and watch it!”Movie: Farha (2021, Picture Tree International) From the producer: Farha is a 14-year-old girl who lives in a small village in Palestine in 1948. Girls her age are traditionally married off or spoken for, yet Farha wants to continue her education despite traditions and the restrictions on schooling in her village for boys only. Adeem says: “It’s at once devastatingly beautiful and claustrophobically unsettling in the ways in which it filters the brutality of settler-colonial violence through the eyes of a young girl, challenging the audience constantly to rethink how our silent witnessing reveals our complicity in the sustenance and intensification of such projects.” Podcast: Bad Faith, by Briahnna Joy Gray From the producer: Bad Faith is two shows in one: a panel show about politics and pop culture with a rotating cast of performers and politicians, artists and activists, writers and radicals; and a two-way podcast where two people from two very different parts of the left make the case for one less terrible world. Adeem says: Former lawyer and former Bernie Sanders' communications and media manager Briahnna Joy Gray is a refreshing ray of historically informed, incisively thoughtful and profoundly empathetic sunshine amidst the morass of USian political media commentariat. She curates important conversations, twice a week, that really hone in on our (USian) place and role in the world today.
- How to Have Hard Conversations: Sarah Pharaon '00Franklin & Marshall College alum Sarah Pharaon has built a career in some of the nation’s most renowned museums – but her fondest campus memory takes place in an unexpected venue. “I loved the Other Room Theatre. It was a little grimy, a little forgotten,” said Pharaon ’00, founder and principal at Dialogic Consulting Inc. “It had this beat-up metal sign, and you walked up these stairs feeling like you maybe weren't supposed to be there. And then, if you were lucky, you got to see or be in work that you maybe weren't supposed to do,” she added. Diving into discomfort is Pharaon’s specialty. After 20 years of museum work, she launched Dialogic to help nonprofit institutions have better conversations around difficult histories. Pharaon has since led internal focus groups for organizations such as Smithsonian American Women's History Museum. Pharaon will lead a March 9 Common Hour titled, “Having Hard Conversations in Even Harder Times.” The lecture, open to the public, takes place in F&M’s Mayser Gymnasium at 11:30 a.m. A recording will be available after the event. Below, follow Pharaon’s path from F&M to Dialogic.What path led to your current role as founder and principal of Dialogic Consulting? In my senior year, the late David Schuyler [Arthur and Katherine Shadek Professor of Humanities and American Studies] called me into his office and asked me if I knew what I was going to do with my American studies degree. I wasn't sure. And then he said: "I do. You are going to get your master’s degree in museum studies. And then you are going to change museums." And so, I did. Dialogic is the result of years spent in the museum and cultural space working as a curator, an educator, a director. It's my way of using my training as a facilitator to help our nation's storykeepers, our storytellers, do so more effectively – with the hope that we can use historic and cultural spaces to enable the conversations we keep avoiding. How did your liberal arts education prepare you for this career? My liberal arts education has meant that I have a working knowledge of many fields and many subjects which, as a facilitator, is an asset. People always ask if I have to have in-depth knowledge about each museum I work with, about the history or art that it presents. The short answer is no. But people build trust with me easier if they know I understand what they are talking about. I learned critical thinking and compassionate response on this campus. Why did you choose F&M? Honestly? I had a great tour guide. I was set on a liberal arts education, liked the campus, and was impressed with the passion they showed toward F&M and the experiences it afforded them. In a sea of college visitations, that tour stood out. What activities were you involved with on campus? I performed on both Green Room and Other Room stages and with F&M Players. I was a house adviser, a tour guide, and was in Chi Omega. And my now-husband (Amer Pharaon '00) and I wrote a "he said/she said" column in The College Reporter. Most importantly, I was a part of Students for Students, a group of activists and allies dedicated to opening spaces for dialogue on some of the most challenging issues affecting students at F&M.