the almanac F E B R U A RY 22, 2026
SOUTH HILLS COMMUNITY NEWS
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Junior Achievement ‘A Time to Act’ honors Peters Township sixth-grader
By Paul Paterra
ppaterra@observer-reporter.com
A Peters Township sixth-grader is among the youngest Junior Achievement 18 under Eighteen honorees for 2026, presented by the EQT Foundation. Lily D’Antonio, who turned 12 on Feb. 7, created the Childhood Inclusion Pageant, which creates empowering, accessible events celebrating every child’s unique strengths. Lily admits to dealing with bullying and a feeling that she didn’t belong. The Peters Township Middle School student turned those challenges into an initiative to help others who may feel the same way. “The purpose of the pageant was to create a space for individuals who are typically made to feel (that they don’t fit in) to give them an opportunity to feel confident and beautiful,” Lily explained. “They get to have a day to spend with their families and friends that is truly about them, celebrating their abilities and their strengths. It’s about giving them one day out of the 365 days of the year that’s truly focused on them and them only.” The Childhood Inclusion Pageant is held annually on the Saturday before Martin Luther King Jr. Day at St. John XXIII Parish’s Pope Benedict Center As many as 100 dresses are donated for participants as well as free makeup services. Community members donate baskets for raffles, and others volunteer the time on the day of the event. All proceeds go to charity. The most recent pageant, the second held, raised $4,000 for Variety Pittsburgh, a program for children with disabilities, and $800 for the Peters Township Best Buddies program. The 2025 pageant had 14 participants, and this year there were 17, rang-
Lily D’Antonio
ing in age 2 to 20. Participants model their dresses but are judged in various personality categories. “It’s very focused on them and are they having a good time and the positivity of the event that we try to portray in as many ways as possible,” Lily said. This year’s participants came from as far as Charleston, W.Va., and Butler County. Lily said the 2024 Miss Little Italy Pageant in Bloomfield triggered the idea for her annual event. She initially entered the pageant because she thought it would be fun and ended up winning. “I met so many people from the pageant community who are doing community service initiatives,” Lily said. “That really opened my eyes to how many kids who feel like they’re left out on a regular basis and how important it is to get involved in the community, even though I was only 10 years old. I
was able to blend my love for working with these individuals with something that was relevant to me.” Christy D’Antonio, Lily’s mother, is proud of her daughter’s accomplishments. “Seeing her be able to give back to these individuals and families is personally rewarding to me,” Christy D’Antonio said. “I think her impact has been greater than I could have ever imagined with her vision becoming a reality in such a quick window of time. I definitely think there’s only more greatness coming in the next couple of years.” This is the fifth year for the Junior Achievement’s 18 Under Eighteen. During that time, 90 youths from across 10 counties have been recognized. Lily is the fifth Washington County resident to be honored and one of the youngest to receive the honor. “In just five years, we’ve had the privilege of elevating 90 young people whose ideas, compassion, and leadership are transforming communities,” said Patrice Matamoros, president of Junior Achievement. “This program not only recognizes achievement, but it builds a lasting alumni network where honorees collaborate, inspire, and even launch new initiatives together. We see those same qualities in this year’s class and can’t wait to watch their impact grow.” Other awardees for this year include Vanshika Jain of Mt. Lebanon High School and Lily Baumgardner of Baldwin High School. Jain, 16, is founder of the student chapter of DTCare, leading more than 60 students in distributing more than $20,000 in annual donations to children and families in need. Baumgardner, 16, is the founder of “Hear About SEE HONORS PAGE A4
Citizen Science Lab founder talks with South Fayette students By Brad Hundt
bhundt@observer-reporter.com
Anyone who has ever struggled with a quadratic equation or a Bunsen burner can take comfort in the knowledge that Andre Samuel once failed microbiology and chemistry classes. However, that didn’t prevent him from ultimately earning a doctorate in biology at Duquesne University and founding and leading the Citizen Science Lab. The Citizen Science Lab is designed to help students in disadvantaged communities learn about the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. One location is in the Landmark Building in Bethel Park while another is in the works in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. “I didn’t like science classes, though I liked science,” Samuel said. He talked about his life and work at South Fayette High School on Feb. 12 for a Black
History Month event sponsored by the school’s SHOUT (Social Handprints Overcoming Unjust Treatment) organization. An aversion to science classes wasn’t the only hurdle facing Samuel – the product of a broken home, he had a tough upbringing in Washington, D.C., where addiction and “sleeping on the streets” were part of the picture. He cites Thanksgiving morning in 1995 as the day he woke up “from a terrible binge” and decided to point his life in a newer and healthier direction. “Hip hop and ‘Star Wars’ kept me grounded,” according to Samuel. “There were rap artists who had messages of advancement for people of color. … I identified with the dark side and the Force. I would often say to myself, ‘Don’t fall into the dark side.’” Samuel eventually earned a biology degree at the General University of the District of Columbia, then another
LOCATION Cards brighten local seniors’ holiday PAGE A6 What’s happening, B3
COURTESY OF CITIZEN SCIENCE LAB
Dr. Andre Samuel founded the Citizen Science Lab in 2015.
degree from George Washington University in genomics and bioinformatics, both fields that involve the study of DNA. He received his degree from SEE SCIENCE PAGE A4
SPORTS Mt. Lebanon aims for WPIAL trophy PAGE B1 Classifieds, B4
FRI: 3 pm - 8 pm • SAT: 10 am - 6 pm • SUN: 10 am - 5 pm
ZACH MENDEZ
Crystal Manich, graduate of Mt. Lebanon High School, wrote the libretto for the world premiere production, “Time to Act.”
Mt. Lebanon grad collabs on world premiere opera By Brad Hundt
bhundt@observer-reporter.com
Crystal Manich remembers the fear. She remembers the safety drills, the whispers, the sense of panic that would arise at the sight of a student in a trench coat. Manich was a junior at Mt. Lebanon High School in April 1999, when the mass shooting happened at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., that left 15 people dead and more than 20 injured. The horror of the massacre riveted the country, and was of particular interest in Mt. Lebanon, which had a demographic makeup similar to that of Littleton. Then, just a year later, a Mt. Lebanon man went on a shooting spree across Allegheny and Beaver counties that left five people dead and one person injured. On the verge of graduation, it shook Manich and her classmates even further. “People were very scared,” Manich remembered. “There were fake threats and rumors going around. Tensions were really high.” Manich used some of those long-ago experiences in writing the libretto for “Time to Act,” a world premiere opera that is being presented by the Pittsburgh Opera starting Feb. 28 at the Bitz Opera Factory in the Strip District. A collaboration with composer Laura Kaminsky, “Time to Act” touches on issues surrounding trauma and school violence as a group of students gather to stage a production of Sophocles’ “Antigone.” With “Time to Act,” “I wanted to place myself back in that moment,”
said Manich, who is also directing the production. The sense of trepidation surrounding school shootings has lingered – and arguably, intensified – in the years since Columbine. It now hangs over the school days of young people today “and that was something I wanted to explain in the piece.” Manich first started working on “Time to Act” in 2018 in Puerto Rico, which she now calls home. By 2022, she had penned a couple of drafts and had an online meeting with Kaminsky, and work on the opera began in earnest. “We started reconstructing what the story should be,” Manich said. “She really wanted to work on this with me.” A resident of Peters Township when she was a child, Manich’s family eventually moved to Mt. Lebanon, and she credits the high school’s arts program for fueling her interest in theater and opera. She worked in the school’s television studio, co-hosted a weekly movie review program that was carried on a community public access channel and aspired to be an actor. However, she served as an assistant director on a production of the musical “Fiddler on the Roof,” and discovered that she had an aptitude for directing. From there, she attended Carnegie Mellon University and began a varied career that has encompassed work not only in opera, but also musical theater, plays, and with Cirque du Soleil. It has taken her around the world, from Argentina to SEE OPERA PAGE A2
SIGHTS & SOUNDS Baked Bean brews up excitement PAGE B3 Real estate transactions, A3
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Cool Springs Sports Complex