Media Advisory: Student Story Ideas for Graduation Season

PITTSBURGH—Approximately 6,000 students will graduate from the five campuses of the University of Pittsburgh this spring. They will be among the first in Western Pennsylvania to shift the tassels on their graduation caps. The following students from the Pittsburgh campus, which is hosting its commencement ceremony April 27, are available to tell their stories.

Identical Twins Pursue Different Paths, Both in Japanese Studies
Fulbright Scholarship winner Zeba Ahmed’s middle-school preference for manga and anime over American comic books and cartoons foreshadowed her decision to study Japanese at Pitt. Winning a pair of scholarships to study in Japan enabled Ahmed, whose family is from Wyomissing, Pa., to immerse herself in learning the language, and a Browne Leadership Fellowship, awarded through the School of Social Work, allowed Ahmed and a fellow student to create a documentary film exploring the relationship between Pitt students and lifelong residents of South Oakland. Ahmed, who majored in Japanese and sociology and will earn her bachelor’s degree from Pitt’s Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, plans to use her recently awarded 2014 Fulbright award to undertake a similar documentary, this time in Japan.

Ahmed’s identical twin sister, Sanaa Ahmed, a psychology major, is also studying Japanese, chemistry, and sociology at Pitt but has delayed graduation to complete a one-year internship in chemistry at Tokyo’s Central Glass Company. President and founder of Pitt’s Origami Club, Sanaa also developed a Community Engagement Experience as part of Pitt’s Vira I. Heinz Program for Women in Global Leadership. Sanaa’s project, the Diverse Dinner Series, was held in February 2014 with the goal of building better relationships between domestic and international students. The project was so successful that hopeful participants had to join a waiting list to sample the diverse dinners. Contact Zeba at 610-698-1375 or zsa2@pitt.edu and Sanaa at 610-413-4122 or sna12@pitt.edu.

Marketing Whiz Secures Position at LinkedIn
Following graduation, College of Business Administration student and Darby, Pa., native Rose Choi will start her dream job in LinkedIn’s rotational program in San Francisco. Choi was the head of campaign strategy for a “Projects in Marketing” class effort that won first place in a national Mazda college competition. She completed a sales internship with a Madrid company through the College of Business Administration’s International Internship Program and is the former president of the school’s chapter of the professional business fraternity Phi Beta Lambda. Choi is receiving a bachelor’s degree in marketing and two certificates—one in leadership and ethics and one in international business. Contact her at rose.m.choi@gmail.com or 610-888-6713.

Former Foster Child Takes Steps Toward Career in Law
Bryant Andrews-Nino of New Hope, Pa., is the founder of the University Pre-Law Association, Pitt’s only nonfraternal pre-law student organization. He has had to overcome numerous personal obstacles: born into an abusive home, he spent a significant portion of his childhood in New Jersey’s foster care system. Upon adoption at the age of 8, he took advantage of new opportunities and better living conditions to improve his life. Andrews-Nino will enter Pitt’s School of Law in the fall and eventually plans to pursue a career in small-town politics. A double major in communications and political science, Andrews-Nino will earn a bachelor’s degree from Pitt’s Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. Andrews-Nino can be reached at 412-291-0571 or baa56@pitt.edu.

Social Work Student Plans to Start Her Career in Ghana
When Chelsea Davis of New Castle, Pa., enrolled at Pitt four years ago as a social work student, she assumed she would live and work in Pittsburgh after graduation. What she didn’t count on was becoming attached to the people and culture of Ghana on a study-abroad trip just after her sophomore year. While there, she adapted quickly to her studies at the University of Ghana and volunteered at a local orphanage in her spare time. Later, she returned to the city of Accra to study Twi—the regional language. She will graduate from Pitt with a bachelor’s degree from the School of Social Work and certificates in African studies and children’s literature. During her experience at Pitt, Davis volunteered with several organizations, teaching literacy skills to special needs children and fighting blighted housing in Homewood. But her heart is in Ghana, and she plans to return there this summer, seeking employment in community development. Chelsea Davis can be reached at 724-651-4868 or cjd50@pitt.edu.

Recipient of Prestigious Churchill Scholarship to Study Solar Technology in England
David W. Palm of Warren, Ohio, is one of only 14 students in the nation to be awarded the prestigious Churchill Scholarship from The Winston Churchill Foundation of the United States this year. As a Churchill Scholar, Palm will pursue a Master of Philosophy degree in chemistry at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom while conducting research on solar and alternative energy technologies. Palm’s long-term career plans include earning a PhD in chemical engineering and entering the solar energy field to develop technologies that will be more sustainable and cost effective for society as a whole. A triple major in chemical engineering, chemistry, and history and philosophy of science, Palm will earn bachelor’s degrees from both Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering and the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. Palm, the son of William and Rozanne Palm, can be reached at 330-984-3454 or dwp12@pitt.edu.

Honors College Graduate Conducted Thesis on Disparities in Wealth
A semester as a high-school exchange student in Spain sparked Julia Radomski’s interest in cross-cultural interactions, so it was natural that in her first year at Pitt she took courses in cultural anthropology, a field she soon fell in love with “not only as an academic discipline but as a way of thinking about the world.” An interest in economics as a way to understand disparities in wealth followed, and Radomski, who is from Silver Spring, Md., eventually traveled to Cuba for a semester abroad and then to Ecuador, where she conducted interviews (in Spanish) for her thesis for her Bachelor of Philosophy in International Studies from Pitt’s University Honors College. Julia, who majored in anthropology and economics and minored in Spanish, will also earn a bachelor’s degree from Pitt’s Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences in addition to certificates in women’s studies and Latin American studies. She has complemented her academics with volunteer work such as holding a leadership role in Keep It Real, a Pitt student-run tutoring organization that helps resettled Somali Bantu refugees, and serving as co-president of Americans for Informed Democracy, working on international labor rights campaigns. Julia Radomski can be reached at 301-520-9100 or julieradomski@gmail.com.

Graduate Who Led Thousands of Pitt Students in Volunteering Will Teach in Brazil
Mary Mallampalli has been awarded a Foreign Language Area Studies Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Education, which will give her the opportunity to study the Portuguese language in Brazil during the summer of 2014. The native of Franklin Park, Pa., also has received a Fulbright U.S. Student Scholarship to teach English in Brazil in 2015. Her other recent honors include Pitt’s John P. Bracken Undergraduate Political Science Award and the 2013 Pearson Prize Fellowship, which recognized her commitment to public service and distinguished academic achievement. Mallampalli has held numerous leadership positions in her four years at Pitt. Most notably, she served as chairwoman for the 2012 Pitt Make a Difference Day, where she led more than 3,000 student volunteers at 60 service sites. A triple major in philosophy, political science, and Spanish, Mallampalli will earn a bachelor’s degree from Pitt’s Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. Mallampalli, the daughter of Rama and Anne Mallampalli, can be reached at 319-331-3880 or marymallampalli@gmail.com.

For more information on any of the above graduates, contact Sharon Blake at 412-624-4364 (office), 412-277-6926 (cell), or blake@pitt.edu.

###

4/23/14/klf/cjhm