Building Bridges, Connecting Campuses

For three months, a group of nine students along with residential life faculty member Cassie Boblitt, spent three hours each week with Jesse planning and implementing the project. The bridge connects the Pine Hill Lower Field with the Children’s Village portion of the campus, including the beloved Early Childhood playspace, Dragon Tree, and the high school campus beyond. For years, small feet have traveled over the bridge, allowing passage without needing to walk on Pine Hill Drive. With all the wear and tear, the existing bridge had finally begun to rot away.

"When we were planning our woodworking elective, there were several projects that I had in mind," Jesse says. "The bridge was the right project for this moment, creating a physical connection to link the two campuses. Some of the students building it remember walking across every day as kindergarten children years ago, and now have the opportunity to give back something that will be a part of the daily lives of many more children for years to come."

The previous bridge was something that served a functional purpose, but, Jesse says, the new bridge was a more ambitious project that has already begun to inspire the community. Among the older children, there is hope for more exciting projects in future. In the kindergarten, imaginations are fueled by the trolls and billy goats who may inhabit the land beneath and around the new bridge.

"As a class, we were excited to open the bridge in June before the end of year Pine Hill Rose Ceremony," Jesse says. It was a real group effort.

Shown are (first row) Logan Roth '23 and Philip Buchanan '24; (back row) Cassie Boblitt, Ryan Jacobus '23, Jonathan Bonus '25, Jesse Randzio, and Owen Savage '25. Not pictured are Oliver Aichele '23, Justin Kaminsky '25, Michael Kunish '23, and Eden Passarelli '23.