Presidential Personalities: Andrea DeChellis

At 14 years old, Andrea DeChellis left for the first of several trips to Nicaragua where she… At 14 years old, Andrea DeChellis left for the first of several trips to Nicaragua where she took part in programs to improve the lives of those working in the sweatshops of the free trade zones.

One of the programs she was involved with was a refuge for children orphaned by war, some of whom had been the victims of sexual assault and domestic abuse.

“It was beautiful because we were teaching these kids how to take control of their lives – they had no control,” DeChellis said.

She went on to say that she felt “incredibly lucky, blessed and fortunate to have had these experiences because they made me become a whole human being. They made me realize how power and privilege can distort perspective.”

Here at Pitt, DeChellis said that she has unfortunately witnessed the negative effects of power and privilege. As a result, she said, she has had to say goodbye to too many friends because they could not afford to continue, or have felt disconnected from the student community.

While she is proud that Pitt is becoming a world-class institution she feels that, in the process, it is leaving a lot of people behind.

DeChellis had the opportunity to get to know two farmers recovering from a recent mudslide while working in Nicaragua shortly after Sept. 11, 2001. As she talked to one of them who had just lost a child, she said that she was taken aback by the sympathy he felt after hearing of the World Trade Center disaster.

“It really hit me hard. He felt so horribly that people had died, and I don’t know that we do that on a surface level – that we even pretend to value human beings in the same way.”

She said that experience epitomized what she believes in, that without equal access to resources, people suffer immeasurable consequences.

“It was a very true and real experience,” DeChellis explained. “It is something to consider when examining what it is we are doing in our own community and with our own resources.”

DeChellis said coming to Pitt was not her first choice; she originally wanted to join the ministry. While at Pitt she has become involved in several service-oriented organizations including Campus Women’s Organization, Rainbow Alliance and Sexual Assault Services.

As a member of these organizations, DeChellis seems to naturally lend herself to giving voice to those who have previously not been heard.

“As Andrea, I can represent women, I can represent queer students, I can represent the concerns of the black students, but I cannot represent [the black students themselves.] I can just represent the basic concerns of student’s welfare – being able to stay in school and to control our resources here,” she explained.

DeChellis’ sister, Dara, a freshman at Pitt, described her sister as, “probably one of the most compassionate people I’ve ever known. She has so much empathy for people, I sometimes wonder where she gets it.”

DeChellis said she would describe herself as “really an overexerted activist.”

As a member of SGB she sees her role as a bridge between the student body and the administration.

“There is no power in working with a handful of your cronies. I generally don’t work upstairs; I work with other action and service oriented organizations,” DeChellis explained. “You know, it’s not so scary to be open to everybody.”