When most people think about adult fitness, they picture treadmills, weights, or maybe even a yoga mat. But three nights a week, Monday through Wednesday, at 8:00 p.m., the sound of feet hitting a spring floor has become the normal to many as a very different kind of workout. 

At Gymsport Athletic Center, in Bridgeville, adults are tumbling, flipping, and rediscovering a piece of childhood many never expected to revisit. However, the gym’s adult tumbling program isn’t new. It’s actually been around for more than a decade, but since the Covid-19 pandemic, it has exploded in size. 

General Manager Lauren Bradford says the class once averaged “a core group of five people,” but now regularly draws 15 to 20 adults a night. Some of the attendees include students from local colleges, some from 9 to 5 jobs, and some who were once child gymnasts returning years later. 

Others are complete beginners.

For nineteen-year-old student Ivy Ferrand, she first joined the program three years ago and has never looked back.

“Since day one, I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread,” she said. As someone with autism, tumbling offers relief, comfort, and a place where she feels welcomed. “Being around people who make me feel happy and comfortable is really huge for me.”

For others, the journey began with a single goal. Jack Powell, 31, came in hoping to learn one specific skill for soccer, the flip throw. But stayed for something entirely different.

“In soccer, there's a thing called a flip throw. I always wanted to learn how to do that. And I just was calling a bunch of places and they're like, ‘oh, we don't take adults.’ And I was like, oh, because there were a few places like, hey, do you take like adults? And they're like, no,” he said, “So, I came here and did that for like a week. But then the group that's here is just so inclusive and kind. And like every week it was like, ‘oh, try this, try that.’ And it's just kind of, here we are, like a couple of years later.”

According to the coaches, the sense of belonging is just as strong a draw as the physical challenge. Recreational Director Jeremy Kazmierczak, a parkour athlete himself, says adults often surprise themselves with what they can do. 

“For the gymnasts, things like getting back their back handsprings are huge. For pretty much everyone else, the backflip is the pinnacle,” he said. “Seeing people do it for the first time, and showing them how accessible it is… that’s a great feeling.”

And as the program keeps growing, staff say they hope it expands into even more adult offerings, with the hopes of a competitive team someday. But, at the end of the day, many adults are going to be coming for something deeper.

As Powell said, “It’s always a good time… a flipping good time.”

Dollar Bank’s Public Affairs and Communications department, which had gone several years without a dedicated internal communications function, has been rebuilt over the past few years, a process that began with a small internal project.

When Allie Farabaugh joined Dollar Bank, one of the first tasks she took on was updating the internal employee newsletter. At the time, different departments were managing their own messages, and no single team was responsible for coordinating communication across the organization. 

Farabaugh redesigned the newsletter into what is now called the Dollar Digest, something that gives the bank a consistent channel for updates and employee information.

And, what began as a redesigned email, gradually expanded. This newsletter started as a monthly publication, shifted to weekly during the pandemic, and is now distributed every other week, along with new stories, everyday, that share stories within the bank. 

As the communication needs grew, the department eventually expanded beyond one role. In 2025, Ben Drickman and Rachel Soloff joined the team. Drickman manages multimedia content, while Soloff works on internal communications and corporate giving initiatives. 

Both described their roles as contributing to the department’s ongoing development as Dollar Bank continues to grow and share stories from the community. 

Together with Senior Vice President Maria Amoruso, the four-person team helps coordinate volunteer efforts, highlight nonprofit partnerships, and showcase Dollar Bank’s community initiatives, including a bank-wide diaper drive that brought in far more donations than expected.

“You have this idea and you’re not sure if anyone’s even going to want to do it,” Farabaugh said. “But the response was incredible.”

Through it all, she says the mission remains the same. To keep the focus on the people.

“There are so many beautiful and unique stories here in Pittsburgh,” Farabaugh said. “We want to shine a light on them, to help build a future for families, neighborhoods, and generations to come.”

And what began with one question, “Can I redesign this?” has since grown into a department dedicated to telling those stories every day.

Football drills, cheers, and high-fives filled the Steelers’ practice field Thursday night,  but this time, it wasn’t from the typical players in uniform. This time, veterans and their families took the field inside the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex for the annual “Prime Time With the Steelers” event.

Hosted in partnership with the Veteran Tickets Foundation (VetTix), a nonprofit organization that provides free event tickets to U.S. veterans, the night gave service members and their families a chance to take part in football drills, meet real players, and experience a side of the Steelers few ever get to see.

Inside the complex, one half of the field was lined with punt drills led by current Steelers punter Corliss Waitman. On the other, Charlie Batch, a two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback, ran passing drills and shared laughs with participants. Both sides of the turf were filled with energy as veterans tossed spirals, caught punts, and exchanged stories between plays.

As the night went on, families lingered on the field after the drills ended, staying for autographs, photos, and conversations with players and organizers. Children ran through the turf clutching footballs while parents shared stories with other veterans and families alike.

After the on-field activities wrapped up, guests were invited inside for a private dinner in the team’s dining facility, sitting side by side with other service members and their families. The night continued with a behind-the-scenes tour of the Steelers’ locker room and private weight room, areas typically reserved for players and staff. For many, it was a rare opportunity to see what life looks like beyond game day.

As the lights dimmed and the field began to clear, one thing was clear,  the night was about more than football and what stayed behind was a connection between the veterans, families, and the people who helped make it happen.

Hundreds of people gathered outside the City-County Building in Downtown Pittsburgh Saturday afternoon as part of a coordinated national series of “No Kings” protests. The events, held in all 50 states, were organized by Indivisible Pittsburgh and other advocacy groups in opposition to what organizers describe as the rise of authoritarianism and the influence of President Donald Trump.

The Downtown rally, which began around 12:30 p.m., featured speeches, live music, and community outreach from local organizations. Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato addressed the crowd, saying, “When we work together and we respect one another’s humanity, we can and we will defeat Trumpism, and we will build a better America.”

Other speakers, including Beth Foringer of CeaseFirePA, called for policy change on issues such as gun violence prevention. “We are steady, unyielding, and we will rise up and flood the halls of power with our voices and our stories until lawmakers act,” said Foringer.

The rally also featured performances by local artists Phat Man Dee and Sugar Ray Morriso. Volunteers registered voters, while vendors sold shirts and buttons supporting the movement.

Public Safety officials reported no major incidents or arrests during the entire event, which concluded with marchers heading toward Mellon Square and other neighborhoods for additional demonstrations.

As attendee Barbara Delraso put it, summing up their day’s message, saying, “We have a Constitution, not a king.

Conan Gray brought his Wishbone Pajama Show tour on September 17th to the Peterson Events Center on the University of Pittsburgh’s campus. During this show, his opener Hemlock Springs got the crowd engaged, with Gray himself taking the stage at exactly 9:00 PM. He also had a fan, Sandy Graham, a grandmother from Idaho, pull the wishbone during one of his segments, with this being the first ever winner for the entire tour.

This was a package I created for the Pittsburgh Playhouse’s first-ever “Fall Festival.” The event shut down Forbes Avenue, right in front of the Playhouse, to host games, drinks, food, and a lot of fun! I interviewed Point Park University students to see what they were enjoying and also promoted the show, “Boo’s Halloween House Party,” written, directed, and choreographed by Point Park University alumni, Ahmad Simmons.

This was a package I created to showcase Point Park University’s Family Weekend and the ongoing contract negotiations that teachers have been fighting. During the weekend, faculty and staff stood outside of Village Park and the Student Center to advocate for their cause. I interviewed faculty members and the President of the university to get their insight.

This was a package I created promoting the upcoming journalism event, "Newsapalooza." I interviewed Andrew Conte, Director and Vice President of the Center for Media Innovation, the organization running the event.

This was a package that I created when I traveled to Philadelphia to see Nicki Minaj's "Pink Friday 2" tour. The performance included multiple guests, such as Monica, and was just the beginning of her world tour.

This was the first ever package I created in the spring semester of my freshman year. I focused on the Condom Carnival, an event hosted at Point Park University that focuses on promoting sexual health-related topics and issues.