Ridley remembered as leader, friend and community activist

A Navy veteran, a former Port Authority Transit bus driver and an employee of several… A Navy veteran, a former Port Authority Transit bus driver and an employee of several nonprofit agencies in the area, Todd J. Ridley was a Pitt student leader when he died.

The death of Ridley, Pitt’s College of General Studies Student Government president, on Oct. 16, shocked his many friends on and off campus. Ridley’s spirit of community involvement amazed his classmates and advisers. Ridley had no doubts for his future – he wanted to help people achieve their dreams. His friends agreed that his love of life was driving his dreams for success.

Ridley was the first CGS Student Government president to occupy a new office in the McCarl Center for Non-Traditional Students on the fourth floor of the Cathedral of Learning. Ridley was inaugurated in the position in March of 2003. He encouraged people to get involved and give back to the community, here at Pitt and in their neighborhoods.

“He was very outgoing; a very nice person; always willing to help anyone,” said Arash Mazarei, budget and finance division director in the CGS Student Government.

“Todd was the most positive person, encouraging everyone to get involved,” said Joyce Giangarlo, CGS Student Government adviser.

Ridley was going to be a newly inducted member of Alpha Sigma Lambda, the CGS Honors Society.

“He was a positive role model for African-American males,” said Benita Johnson, one of Ridley’s classmates and an Alpha Sigma Lambda member.

Johnson added that she hopes Ridley’s friends take the things that they admired about him and include them in their lives – and that they give back to their community.

A senior in Public Administration, Ridley wanted to make less affluent neighborhoods better places to live for residents. He participated in the Community Outreach Partnership Center as an intern with the Hazelwood Initiative.

The COPC programs are a partnership initiative of the U.S. Housing and Urban Development and the Office of University Partnerships. The COPC programs encourage higher education institutions to use their resources to help the rebuilding of neighboring communities, according to the COPC Web site.

“Todd was committed to getting students involved, and he practiced what he preached,” said Tracy Soska, co-director of COPC from the School of Social Work, as well as Ridley’s faculty mentor.

The COPC program enabled Ridley to intern with the Hazelwood Initiative, where he helped to coordinate the 5K race, a tour of Hazelwood, and many other activities sponsored by the initiative. Ridley just finished a housing development course to help future homeowners navigate the maze of mortgage lending services. He was in the process of starting a neighborhood newspaper to highlight the Hazelwood area.

“Todd was sensitive [and] strongly committed to achieving his goals,” Soska said.

Ridley was a student representative of community relations and a committee member at the Coro Center for student and civic leadership. At the Coro Center, he was active in civic engagement and the political-process training programs.

“He was a positive, uplifting guy who had the ability to fire up your passion to do things,” said Marylouise Turano, fellow CORO member and Criminal Tax Investigator for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

“He had a vision for Pittsburgh and for the young people of Pittsburgh,” Turano added.

Ridley planned to attend graduate school to further his pursuit of making less affluent neighborhoods more hospitable in Southern communities.

A scholarship is planned in honor of Ridley and the contributions he made to the University community and the surrounding neighborhoods.