Alumni Success Stories

Nothing makes us prouder (Mountain Cat Prouder) than being able to talk about the success of our alumni.  If you have something that you would like to share, please tell us about it... we'd love to feature you on our web page and in a future alumni publication.  You can submit your information on line by clicking here.  (If you have a photo, please send it to us via e-mail: upjalum@pitt.edu).

   Pittsburgh native Jessica Bellas (’93) has published a memoir entitled, Maotai, Mooncakes & Monks: Misadventures in Hong Kong & China.  The memoir, which the publisher describes as a “culture shock guide, travelogue, political, commentary and adventure rolled into one,” chronicles Jessica’s experiences after moving to Hong Kong in 2006.

    Jessica is a professionally licensed civil/environmental engineer and PMI-certified project manager with broad experience in the U.S. and China, and currently works at Hong Kong Polytechnic University.  There, she has helped to establish two research centers in Hangzhou and Ningbo, China.  She has facilitated climate change workshops at the Clinton Global Initiative in Asia, and has developed tools for Chinese electronic manufacturers to achieve environmental compliance with three European Union directives.  Her book can be purchased online at www.tamcopublishing.com.

Melissa A. Bunk, assistant vice president and client services officer for F.N.B. Wealth Management, has received the Martin Rosenberg Academic Achievement Award from the Education and Examination Committee of the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA).  Bunk received the award due to her outstanding performance on the spring 2008 DC-2, a defined contribution administrative and compliance issues examination.  Bunk has been invited to receive her award at the 2008 ASPPA Annual Conference on Monday, October 20 at the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC.  Her accomplishment and biography will also be featured in an upcoming issue of The ASPPA Journal and the Candidate Connection. 

The Martin Rosenberg Academic Achievement Award was designed to recognize the top performing candidates on the retirement plan examinations offered by ASPPA.  The award is presented in honor of the late Martin Rosenberg, a Fellow ASPPA.  Mr. Rosenberg served as an Education and Examination Committee member from 1979 to 1985 and as General Chair from 1985 until his death in 1987. 

Dr. Gary J. Gates of Los Angeles has received a 2008 Recent Alumni Award from Carnegie Mellon University's Alumni Association in Pittsburgh. As a doctoral candidate at Carnegie Mellon's H. John Heinz III College, Dr. Gates established himself as a national expert on the demographic and economic characteristics of gay and lesbian populations. His dissertation remains a primary document for researchers using U.S. Census data to study same-sex couples.

Dr. Gates earned a bachelor's degree in computer science from Pitt-Johnstown and a master's degree in divinity from St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pa. After receiving his doctorate in public policy and management from Carnegie Mellon in 2000, Dr. Gates co-authored The Gay and Lesbian Atlas at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C.

He is now a senior research fellow at UCLA's Charles R. Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy, where his work is often featured in national media outlets and scholarly journals. Dr. Gates continues his involvement with Carnegie Mellon as an advisor to doctoral candidates and frequently encourages students to enroll in the Heinz College.

Information courtesy of Carnegie Mellon University.

Born in Johnstown, Kathleen George (’63) is a professor of theatre at the University of Pittsburgh.  She received her doctorate in theatre and master of fine art from Pitt.  Prior to joining the Pitt faculty, she taught theatre at Carlow College.  She published her latest novel Aftermath on December 12, 2008.  She is the author of Taken and Fallen, and a short story collection, The Man in the Buick.  Dr. George has been granted fellowships at artists’ colonies, including the VCCA and MacDowell.  Her short fiction has appeared in journals and magazines including Mademoiselle, Cimarron Review, North American Review, New Letters, and Alaska Quarterly Review.  She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and one story was listed among the Distinguished in Best American Short Stories.  She is married to writer Hilary Masters.  For more about Kathleen, visit www.kathleengeorgebooks.com.

   George Gvozdich, Jr. (’75) has been elected president of the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation, the charitable affiliate of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. A solo practitioner, Gvozdich graduated from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown with a degree in Political Science and received his Juris Doctorate from the Dickinson School of Law.

   In addition to his general law practice, Mr. Gvozdich is involved in the legal community holding various positions at the local and state levels.  He has served as a bar examiner for the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners and is part-time instructor at Pitt-Johnstown. He has been a delegate to the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s House of Delegates since 1992, and in May of 2004 was elected to serve a three-year term on the Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania Bar Association.  He is a past president of the Cambria County Bar Association, where he continues to serve on its Board of Managers and as its Secretary.  In 2007, he was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Cambria Bar Foundation.