IT’S SPRING! The calendar says Spring arrives in late March, but it took until late April for Spring to blossom on the Upstate campus.

EARTH DAY CLEAN UP: Famous local mascot Otto takes part in Upstate’s Earth Day clean up as the SU orange joined staffers cleaning up litter from around campus. Joining Otto was the Scooch from the Syracuse Mets.

TICK AWARENESS: Saravanan Thangamani, PhD, director of Upstate’s Vector Biocontainment Laboratory, second from right, is joined on the Assembly floor April7 by other state leaders fighting Lyme and tick-borne diseases, including, from left, Maribeth Rubenstein, Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies; Steve and Olivia Abrams, Project Lyme; Assembly members Pam Hunter and Didi Barret; and Elizabeth Balfore, CNY Lyme and Tick-borne Disease Alliance. The Assembly passed a resolution proclaiming April as Lyme Disease Awareness Month in New York.

GO BLUE: Pinwheels are ‘planted’ outside of Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital in support of McMahon Ryan Child Advocacy Center’s “Go Blue 4 Kids” campaign. Each pinwheel represents hope, resilience, and a brighter future for every child. Upstate recognizes National Child Abuse Prevention Month, standing together to protect and uplift the most vulnerable.

DONORS MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Dozens of kidney donors were honored at Upstate Transplant’s Living Donor Appreciation Luncheon April 5. Donors came from all across New York, including one donor from Portugal. More than 9,000 New Yorkers are waiting for a kidney transplant. April is Nartional Donate Life Month.

HAVE A HEART: Team Upstate was out in force once again as one of the premier fundraising organizations for the Syracuse Heart Walk, held March 30. More than 200 people walked on behalf of Upstate, raising more than $18,000 to benefit cardiac research and treatments.

DOCTOR APPRECIATION: National Doctors' Day, celebrated March 30, was a time to recognize and honor the lifesaving work of physicians, nurses and all health care professionals at Upstate. As part of its annual tradition, the Upstate Foundation gave grateful patients the opportunity to send tribute notes to thank their providers for exceptional care. This year, 478 tributes were received. Members of the Upstate Foundation development team delivered these heartfelt tributes throughout the week. To view the complete list of providers who received tributes, visit Upstate Foundation…

CRUNCH CASH: Syracuse Crunch members Daniel Walcott, left and Gabriel Dumont present Upstate Cancer Center Associate Administrator Jennifer Loguidice with a check for more than $10,000 that was raised this season at Crunch games to benefit Upstate’s cancer programming.

IT'S A MATCH: Norton College of Medicine student Nicholas Vazquez moments after finding out that he has matched at NYU Langone in psychiatry during Match Day March 21.