Individuality, humilty will be missed

Intelligent, hard-working and humble, Shane Schulte was a model student in Pitt’s… Intelligent, hard-working and humble, Shane Schulte was a model student in Pitt’s mechanical engineering program. And the department had a car to thank for his presence there.

A beat-up 1986 GT Mustang is listed on Schulte’s personal Web site as “the number one reason I wanted to become an engineer.”

“Ever since I got the car all I wanted to do was work on it,” the site reads. “I always wanted to know how this and that worked and what materials would make it work better. The first thing I thought when I had to choose a major was, ‘What kind of profession can I have that does stuff like that?'”

Schulte’s enthusiasm and good nature were two of the qualities that endeared him to the professors and students around him. And the same individualism that led Schulte to devote two years of his life to a car was a driving force in his life.

“That was Shane,” his father, Chuck Schulte, said. “You had to love him for who he was. He was a great kid.”

Shane graduated from Bethel Park High School an honors student with a 4.0 grade point average. In addition to the physics, chemistry and humanities courses he enjoyed so much, his hobbies ranged from his beloved car to skateboarding and motorcycle riding.

Kim Allen and Becca Daley are Pitt students who graduated from Bethel Park with Shane and they have fond memories of him.

“He was such a smart guy and had so much going for him,” they wrote in an e-mail. “He always had a smile on his face.”

Shane’s teachers remember him, not only for his talent, but also for his humility.

“He always came to class with a ready joke,” said Betsy McCall, a teaching assistant in the mathematics department. “Self-deprecating, he usually was better at math than he imagined.”

Bob Lorence, a freshman engineering academic adviser who advised Shane last year, remembered him as “one of the most genuine, nice students I have worked with in my time at Pitt.”

“He was a very modest student who worked very, very hard at his studies,” Lorence said. “His only shortcoming was his lack of confidence, which was also his most endearing quality.”

Shane had a love for learning his entire life. Even Jeff Simon, Shane’s eighth grade social studies teacher, remembered that “he liked to learn and was always very pleasant.”

“He tried to please and was conscientious,” Simon said.

Allen and Daley wrote that Shane’s disposition was a constant joy to those around him.

“He was one of the nicest guys we ever met, He was not only nice to his closest friends, but to everyone around him,” they wrote.

One of the most striking things about Shane was the universality of the impact he made on people. Lorence echoed the sentiments of those who remembered Shane for his attitude and individuality.

“Shane was a quiet, laid-back kid who did not let the stresses of life bring him down,” he said.

According to Chuck Schulte, Shane was planning on going to business school after getting his engineering degree.

“He really had a plan,” he said. “He worked hard in school, he was getting good grades.”

Shane was killed on April 15, while riding his motorcycle in his hometown of Bethel Park. Chuck Schulte said that motorcycle riding was Shane’s favorite hobby. “He was a great kid,” Chuck Schulte said. “It’s just unfortunate that things like this have to happen to good people.”