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Swarthmore in the NewsJune 10, 2011

My Republica (Nepal)

Harry Potter in Nepali

June 10, 2011

Kathmandu, June 10 -- The first of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was translated into Nepali and launched in 2009.

...Why did Sunbird decide to translate and publish Harry Potter? Those of you who have read the Potter series, or are Potterheads, must realize the daunting task of taking Rowling's masterpiece, which includes the translation from English (read Muggle) into Nepali, but also from Magic (oft-borrowed from Latin), such as casting spells and Parseltongue.

... Interested translators were asked to translate a sample chapter and young readers were asked to pick.

Shlesha Thapaliya's and Bijaya Adhikari's translation were selected. Thapaliya, a graduate from Swarthmore College in the US, was working as a translator and editor at the United Nations Mission in Nepal. Bijaya Adhikari, veteran translator, helped her work on the book with the support of editor Kedar Sharma.

..."Harry Potter is extremely English and the setting is also very particular to an English boarding school. There are references to foods, which don't even exist in our culture.

Replacing the food items with something more Nepali would not have worked as it would mean changing the entire setting of the book, which is not even an option. So we had to come up with ways to describe the food as best as possible," says Thapaliya, currently working as a research analyst at an investment company in Singapore.

Rowling's invented words, names, and ideas made the translation even more of a challenge. However hard was the task, Thapaliya says, "The idea of translating Harry Potter into Nepali was born out of the Sunbird's desire to take the book, a global sensation, to rural children in Nepal who can better understand Nepali.

If children all over the world have enjoyed it, in English or other translated versions, then Nepali children should have the opportunity to experience it."  ...

 

The Santa Maria Times (CA)

SMHS Grad Spurns Ivy for Swarthmore

June Potthoff, Staff Writer

June 9, 2011

Not many graduating seniors would turn down the chance to go to Harvard University, but Yared Portillo is confident she's making the right choice.

"I'm doing what makes me happy," said Portillo, who graduates today as Santa Maria High School's valedictorian before heading this fall to Swarthmore College, a private liberal arts school in Swarthmore, Pa.

Though a lesser known school, Swarthmore admits fewer students worldwide each year than Harvard, and was named "Best Value Private College for 2010" by the Princeton Review and USA Today.

...She hopes to spend a good deal of time in "The Phoenix" newsroom at Swarthmore this fall, though she's not sure if journalism is a career path or more of an interest.

The plan right now is to study education or policy at Swarthmore, possibly political science.

...Many were surprised by Portillo's decision to ditch Harvard, including family and friends, but most now support her dream to head east and find her dream career.

...While most of her friends went on to Righetti High School after Lakeview Junior High, Portillo again surprised some by choosing Santa Maria High for its rich history. 

She said if she hadn't picked the "less popular" school back then, she wouldn't have learned to fight so strongly for her beliefs today.

 

The Bergen Record (NJ)

Breakfast of academic champions

By Deon J. Hampton, Staff Writer

June 8, 2011

Nearly 50 of Bergen County's brightest students were honored Tuesday for their long-lasting high academic achievement.

"It's important to give credit to the best and brightest honor students who have achieved during their four years in high school," said Jack Hurley, president of the Bergen County Coalition of School Administrators.

Patrick Ross, Rutherford High School valedictorian, led off the 29th annual valedictorian recognition breakfast, which the school administrators hosted, by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

"It was great to be honored and it was a really nice way to end the school year," said Ross, who plans to attend Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania.

The senior will major in theater and English, hoping to become an English professor and an actor, writer and director.

"Theater is something I discovered in high school and once I started, I fell in love. I wouldn't be myself if I didn't pursue it for a career. I want to act."...

 

Telegram & Gazette (MA)

State losing great renaissance woman in Ellie Horwitz

By Mark Blazis

June 7, 2011

...She has simultaneously carved a brilliant niche of her own, indelibly influencing countless numbers of us who revere the wildlife of Massachusetts.

Ellie inherited the right genes from her father, a prominent musician and operatic conductor in Vienna; and from her mother, a noted psychologist there. Having to flee Adolf Hitler's threat, they fortunately - for them and us - moved to New York, where Ellie was born. She attended the finest schools, including Swarthmore, NYU, Oregon and Cornell, where she studied conservation education under the famously charismatic, enthusiastic and childishly curious Dr. Richard Fisher. It was he who inspired her to dedicate herself to conservation, ultimately benefiting every sportsman and environmentalist in Massachusetts.

...Moving to Concord in 1971, she soon became an integral part of their Conservation Commission and began working for the National Wildlife Service.

...Returning to Massachusetts in 1976, Ellie shortly thereafter took on the daunting position of chief of information and education for the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, a position she has held for 34 years.

... Ellie has since earned vast respect from both field biologists and knowledgeable outdoorsmen, all the while teaching others, shooting her shotgun or .308, hunting caribou, whitetails and turkeys, and presenting opportunities for men and women alike to understand, enjoy and support Massachusetts wildlife.

...Happy retirement, Ellie.

 

The Herald-Journal (UT)

'I like putting myself out there': LHS grad named Utah representative for U.S. Presidential Scholars

By Satenik Sargsyan

June 6, 2011

When Peter Daniels walked into a silent room last month and saw his principal and parents, he thought he was being expelled.

Instead, Peter was told he was selected the Utah representative for the U.S. Presidential Scholars.

...A 2011 Logan High School graduate, Peter is one of 141 high school seniors across the nation to receive the prestigious title.

...Peter received a perfect score of 36 on his ACT and was a valedictorian this year. He has also won in a number of prestigious competitions throughout his high school experience.

He will travel to Washington, D.C., at the end of the month to meet President Barack Obama at a presidential scholar conference and will be one of 12 selected scholars to go to China for a month and a half as part of a program conducted by the National Committee on U.S.-China relations.

Peter will then travel to Canada for a rafting trip before going to his college of choice, Swarthmore, where he will study international relations.

"I am petrified at the thought of going to China. It's really scary: I don't speak Chinese, I don't know much about China, but I am still going," he said. "I like putting myself out there."

Peter incorporates trying new things into his personal life as well. He and a friend taught themselves how to rock climb.

...When Swarthmore called him with a full-ride scholarship offer 30 minutes before the final deadline, Peter changed his previously made plans to go to Princeton, where he was also accepted.

"They saved me $80,000," he said.

Peter also had concerns about just how much the prestigious name of an Ivy League institution is justified by the best quality education.

"Swarthmore is still high up there," he said. "And they keep their undergraduate (international studies) program small."

Marketwire

Burrill & Company Appoints New Head of Its Merchant Banking Group and Augments Its Group

June 6, 2011

Burrill & Company is pleased to announce that Mr. Stephen A. Hurly has joined the company as Managing Director and CEO of Burrill Merchant Banking. Mr. Hurly was previously with the Philadelphia-based investment banking firm Boenning & Scattergood Inc., joining them in 2008 as a Managing Director and Global Head of the firm's Health Care Investment Banking Practice. Prior to that appointment, Mr. Hurly was the Managing Director and Head of the Life Sciences Group at Janney Montgomery Scott.

Mr. Hurly is an expert in strategic transactions and associated capital raising, and has completed over 100 deals with an aggregate value over $10 billion and over $400 million in capital. He has an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago and a B.S. in Engineering from Swarthmore College.

The Philadelphia Inquirer

For Doc Watson, folk music is elementary

By Dan DeLuca; Inquirer Music Critic

June 5, 2011

The esteem in which Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson is held in the folk-music community is best expressed by Texas troubadour Guy Clark in his song "Dublin Blues."

"I have seen the David," Clark sings. "And the Mona Lisa, too / And I have heard Doc Watson play 'Columbus Stockade Blues.' "

...Sunday, however, the revered, still fleet-fingered guitarist who got his nickname from Sherlock Holmes' sidekick - "I always did like Sherlock's stories" - makes a rare appearance in Glenside at the Keswick Theatre.

...Question: Do you remember your first experiences listening to music growing up?

Answer: My dad and two of my brothers worked for an uncle who bought a big old Victrola. And my dad and the boys worked half a week and he gave me that thing, and 50 records. Everything from the blues singers to the more modern music. I was 5 years old then.

...Q: How old were you when you first started to play?

A: Let me tell you a little story. My dad said, "Son, learn to play a good song and have it finished by the time I get back from work, and if you can play me a song and sing the words to it, we'll go to Wilkesboro tomorrow to a music store and we'll find you a little guitar."

That was during the Depression. He said, "I can't afford to buy an expensive one." . . . And he got me a little Stella guitar and I thought I had the king's treasure. I was 11 years old at the time. I played "When the roses bloom in Dixieland, I'll be coming back to you," the Carter Family tune. I could pick it and sing it. He laughed and said, "Son, I guess I'll have to keep my word, now, won't I?"

...Q: You're known for your acoustic guitar playing, in both the fingerpicking and flat-picking style.

A: Yes, I do some of both.

...Q: But then when the folk revival happened, and Rinzler brought you up to play at Swarthmore College and the Philadelphia Folk Festival, you only played acoustic. Why did you quit the electric?

A: I didn't know enough about using an electric guitar except playing lead notes. I could play some of the Merle Travis parts. And when I played the lead guitar for the dancing, I did it with a flat pick.

...Q: How has your playing changed?

A: I think it's better than it used to be. There are people who would argue with me, that would say that it's not. But most people who know the guitar know that I can play better now than I could before. My finger style has improved 100 percent. I do sort of like Merle Travis did: I can do the rhythm and the lead finger style. That's a little hard to do.

...

The Fayetteville Observer (NC)

Lumberton 15-year-old at the top of her class

By Kim Hasty

June 5, 2011

Lumberton -- One of Krystal Kala Brown's favorite stories is about Cornelius the alligator, who was born with a different perspective.

...When she addresses her Lumberton High School classmates Friday as one of the youngest high school valedictorians in the history of North Carolina's public school system, 15-year-old Krystal Kala Brown, like Cornelius, will have a different perspective to share.

...She may have chosen the road less traveled, but it is a road she has paved with indisputable academic success.

"She's very driven, very focused," said Lumberton High School Principal Stephen Gaskins. "She's an excellent student with a good attitude in school."

Krystal's high school transcript is punctuated with an impressive array of advanced classes in anatomy and physiology, calculus, biology and chemistry. She took classes at Robeson Community College and at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

She aced them all. She finished her high school career with a 4.98 weighted GPA. She took the SAT once, as a 14-year-old, the age of an average eighth-grader. She scored a 1,970.

...She's been accepted for the fall semester at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, known for being intellectually rigorous. Swarthmore accepts only 16 percent of the students who apply. Krystal will enroll with nearly enough credits to be considered a sophomore. She said she hopes to major in psychology and go on to medical school.