The week's good news: May 23, 2019

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1. Soldier reunited with puppy he saved from Syria
2. Sherpa climbs Mount Everest for a record 24th time
3. Minnesota woman donates kidney to man who helped rescue her daughter
4. Commencement speaker shocks Morehouse graduates by paying off their loans
5. Classmates work together to help friend see color for the 1st time

published 23 May 2019

1. Soldier reunited with puppy he saved from Syria

Army Spc. Tyler Mosley and Daisy had an instant connection, and he knew their story wouldn't end in Syria. Mosley and the German shepherd puppy met in January while Mosley was serving a five-month deployment. A technician brought Daisy to the Army compound after she was found abandoned on the side of a road. Daisy and Mosley quickly bonded, and when it came time for Mosley to return to the U.S., he made a plan to get Daisy out of Syria. He contacted the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals International, and after he filled out forms and paid a small fee, Daisy started her trek to the U.S. Following stops in Iraq, Germany, and New York City, she arrived in Florida last month, with a tearful Mosley greeting her at the airport. "I just knew that I would do whatever it takes to get her home," Mosley said.

Kami Rita makes climbing Mount Everest look easy. The 49-year-old sherpa reached the top of the world's tallest mountain for a record 24th time on Tuesday, less than a week after he last successfully conquered the peak on May 15. Rita climbed Mount Everest for the first time in 1994, and told BBC News he "actually never knew that you could make a record. Had I known, I would have made a lot more summits earlier." Sherpas not only guide people up the mountain, but also prepare everything, from setting the route to fixing ropes to delivering oxygen and supplies. Rita doesn't plan on stopping anytime soon — he wants to "keep going until I am 60 years old. With oxygen, it's no big deal."

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When Becca Bundy learned that Bill Cox needed a kidney, she had a feeling she'd be the perfect match. "I couldn't get it out of my head," Bundy told KARE 11. "I just said, 'I'm the one and I know it.'" She met Cox two years ago, when her daughter had a seizure. She called 911, and Cox, a volunteer firefighter, was the first person to arrive. Bundy said she could tell Cox cared about her daughter, and she remembered him when they met again at a benefit last year. Cox, who was born with one kidney, was wearing a T-shirt that said he was in kidney failure and looking for a donor. Bundy got tested and was a match, and they underwent surgery in February. "I feel pretty blessed to be chosen to be on his journey with him," Bundy said. Cox is doing great, and is no longer on dialysis.

Robert F. Smith gave a commencement speech on Sunday that won't ever be forgotten by Morehouse College's Class of 2019. The billionaire founder of investment firm Vista Equity Partners announced that he is creating a grant that will cover the cost of every single student loan held by all 396 graduating seniors. "On behalf of the eight generations of my family who have been in this country, we're going to put a little fuel in your bus," he said. The graduates erupted in cheers and gave Smith a standing ovation. Morehouse President David A. Thomas told CNN Smith's "liberation gift" will cover about $40 million worth of loans. Smith's generosity, he added, gives graduates "the liberty to follow their dreams, their passions." Smith encouraged the Class of 2019 to pay it forward, so other students can benefit and "have all the opportunities of the American dream."

When Savannah Allen's classmates at UC Blue Ash College in Ohio learned she might have to quit the dental hygienist program because she is color blind, they worked fast to make sure that didn't happen. Allen, 22, says that what looks red and green to her is usually brown. This wasn't an issue until one day in class, when an instructor watching her work on a patient told her she was missing a lot of plaque. "I'm like, 'I can't see, I have no idea what you're talking about,'" Allen told WLWT. Worried that this would end her career as a dental hygienist before it even started, Allen's classmates decided to surprise her with a pair of glasses that helps with color blindness. When they presented Allen with their gift, she began to cry as she saw her friends clearly for the first time. "You guys are so beautiful," she said.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.