Best of 2008… The Best People

‘ ‘ ‘ SGB member: Nila Devanath ‘ ‘ ‘ Nila Devanath tackled SafeRider and the final exam… ‘ ‘ ‘ SGB member: Nila Devanath ‘ ‘ ‘ Nila Devanath tackled SafeRider and the final exam policy during her tenure on Student Government Board. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I guess people think I’m a hard worker,’ she said. ‘I get things done that I say I’m going to get done.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ For much of the year, she worked with students who voiced concerns about the SafeRider system. After working with the administration to look into getting an additional phone line or a fixed-route shuttle for SafeRider, Devanath made a brochure for students on how to use SafeRider more effectively. ‘ ‘ ‘ A member of Delta Phi Epsilon, Hindu Students Council and the United States Student Association, Devanath is running for re-election on the Students First slate with Amanda Reed and Charlie Shull. -By Lindsay Carroll ‘ ‘ ‘ Best Pitt Sports Star: LeSean ‘Shady’ McCoy ‘ ‘ ‘ Readers voted football player LeSean ‘Shady’ McCoy as their favorite sports star. The sophomore running back made a name for himself last year as the third Pitt player to earn the title of Big East Rookie of the Year. McCoy came back strong this season and helped the Panthers earn their first trip to a bowl game in four years. McCoy has already rushed 1,043 yards this year and is currently leading the Big East in touchdowns, with 16. McCoy is on the prowl and has run Pitt right into its 7-2 (6-1) record. -By Stacy Herman ‘ ‘ ‘ Best Campus Celebrity: JJ Abbott ‘ ‘ ‘ With the swagger of a young Marlon Brando, the looks of a young Brad Pitt, the fame of a young Donnie Osmond and the charm of a young Susan Sarandon, JJ Abbott is Pitt’s campus celebrity. When Jayge isn’t using his fame to save starving children and raise money for obscure disease research, he spends his busy days as the executive director in the Pitt Program Council office and his massive nights at Peter’s Pub. ‘ ‘ ‘ Abbott said he didn’t think he was a celebrity at all. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I think a bunch of my friends just put my name there as a joke,’ he said. ‘But since I won, I will be celebrating at Peter’s Pub.’ -By Justin Jacobs and Simone Cheatham ‘ ‘ ‘ Best University Administrator: Kathy W. Humphrey ‘ ‘ ‘ Kathy Humphrey said she’s made it her life’s mission to help students, and through doing that, to make the world a better place. As vice provost and dean of students, Humphrey oversees numerous University departments, including Student Life, Residence Life, the Counseling Center, Student Health, Disability Resources and Services and Career Services, among many others. She coordinates programs and activities between these offices to ensure that students get the most out of their college years. -By Kelly Thomas ‘ ‘ ‘ Best Pitt Police Officer: Curtis Smith ‘ ‘ ‘ Students know Officer Curtis Smith for the unique self-defense class he teaches. The final includes a mock mugging. Students wander the streets of Oakland waiting for someone to ‘attack’ them so that they can demonstrate the skills they’ve learned in class. Smith has been with the Pitt police for close to 30 years now and is also a certified police academy instructor. He teaches fitness classes in addition to self-defense. In the 1970s Smith played fullback for Pitt football. -By Kelly Thomas ‘ ‘ ‘ Best WPTS DJ: Hannah Brizzi ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Hannah Brizzi’s radio show, which airs from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursdays, can be an eclectic mix of different genres, but it usually focuses on the mainstream music that WPTS offers. Playing music people can chill to is what Brizzi is all about. Add to that the fact that Brizzi’s soft voice allows her to relax her WPTS audience effortlessly, and you’ve got a hit. On top of having her own show, Brizzi also works as WPTS’s traffic ‘amp; continuity director, regulating public service announcements and on-air commercials. Brizzi can be considered a renaissance woman of sorts. -By Brian Honigman ‘ ‘ ‘ Best Pitt News Columnist: Justin Jacobs ‘ ‘ ‘ Where I grew up, people like me never got to dream. ‘You’ll never amount to nothin,” they said. ‘Better quit that writin’ garbage and learn how to farm.’ But I never gave up my dream, and for years I fought through swarms of mulleted Kid Rock fans and tiny children dancing to Soulja Boy to bring the gospel of rock ‘n’ roll to the relative masses. Now, with my dream of winning a hat trick of Best Pitt News Columnist awards realized, I can finally rise above my scarred past, head held high, and cry at the top of my lungs until I’m hoarse and blue in the face: ‘Nickelback still sucks.’ -By Justin Jacobs ‘ ‘ ‘ Best Local Celebrity: Ken Rice ‘ ‘ ‘ Ken Rice, an anchor for KDKA’s 5 and 11 p.m. news shows, has won national, state and local awards for journalism. He also hosts the Saturday morning quiz show Hometown High-Q and co-anchors on The KD/PG Sunday Edition. Rice’s reporting on Pittsburgh’s recycling program in 1996 exposed its flaws and led to the firing and prosecution of the program contractor. Rice has also won a first-place Associated Press award for Harrisburg Paydirt, a report that exposed corruption in the Pennsylvania legislature. -By Kelly Thomas, Staff Writer ‘ ‘ ‘ Best Bartender: Gene of Gene’s Place ‘ ‘ ‘ Students know Gene’s Place as a friendly bar with plenty of cheap specials. You’ll find owner Gene Ney behind the bar serving drinks or off to the side hanging out, often in his gray ‘Gene’ T-shirt. Ney, who has owned the bar for three years, serves several locally brewed beers, including Iron City, I.C. Light and Old German. During the day, you’ll find Ney teaching economics at Carlow University. -By Kelly Thomas, Staff Writer ‘ ‘ ‘ Best Pittsburgh Politician: Luke Ravenstahl ‘ ‘ ‘ Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, 28, made a name for himself by pledging to improve education, a topic near and dear to college students. But his age, his press secretary said, might be one of the main factors that drew Pitt students to him, causing them to vote him Best Pittsburgh Politician. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I think the mayor being young and energetic is really great for the city of Pittsburgh,’ said Joanna Doven, Ravenstahl’s press secretary. ‘He’s getting the job done in respects to what matters most, which is finance.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Doven said that under Ravenstahl’s leadership, the 300,000-person city of Pittsburgh is growing, despite increasing concerns of a recession across the nation. ‘ ‘ ‘ Ravenstahl took office two years ago, when he was 26, making him the youngest mayor of any major city in the country. -By Jayson Myers ‘ ‘ ‘ Best Dorm Security Guard: Phyllis Harris ‘ ‘ ‘ This is the second time Phyllis Harris, who works in Lothrop Hall, has been voted Best Dorm Security Guard. Harris, known to her residents simply as ‘Ms. Phyllis,’ is known for taking time to get to know the students who pass by her station each day and developing inside jokes with them. Most students say they can’t ever remember seeing Harris without a smile. It’s clear she loves her job. -By Stacy Herman ‘ ‘ ‘ Best Professor: Dan Budny ‘ ‘ ‘ Not every Pitt professor has an impressive 21 pages on Ratemyprofessors.com describing him as ‘the man,’ a ‘funny guy’ and a ‘great teacher.’ Dan Budny has that, as well as the title of Best Pitt Professor. As an associate professor in the civil and environmental engineering department and the director of the Freshman Engineering Program, Budny has published at least 95 articles. -By Halyse Domencic ‘ ‘ ‘ Landlord: Soffer Organization ‘ ‘ ‘ Tired of life in Oakland? The Soffer Organization, which received a perfect score on the landlord rating Web site landorslum.com, offers one- or two-bedroom flats or loft-style apartments in the South Side. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The apartments, which range in price from $1,100 to $2,800 a month, depending on size, are just a short walk from the SouthSide Works, which the 40-year-old organization developed. -By Liz Navratil ‘ ‘ ‘ Best local business owner: Chuck ‘Chas’ Bonasorte ‘ ‘ ‘ Chuck ‘Chas’ Bonasorte has been selling shirts at The Pitt Stop, which sits on the corner of Forbes Avenue and Bigelow Boulevard, since April of 1989. His inspiration: a high-cost pair of shorts. The shorts caught Bonasorte’s eye, and then he found them cheaper elsewhere. So, he decided he could sell them cheaper, as well. He brought down a box of T-shirts and shorts with the same Pitt pattern, and University history was made. Bonasorte, a member of Pitt’s 1976 National Championship football team, said he’s been able to stay in business by cutting deals with the student groups. -By Lori Stover