Best Of Edition: Best People

Best Student Government Board Member: Amelia Brause

Being named best SGB Member isn’t the only accomplishment the senior from Scotch Plains, N.J., has on her stellar resumé. Brause is also the undergraduate representative for the Chancellor Search Committee and a member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority. She is an active member in both Colleges Against Cancer and Take Back the Tap — and, oh yeah, she was also this year’s homecoming queen. Brause, a neuroscience major here at Pitt, is a determined and hardworking member of the Board who is also very active in the Pitt community.

Editors’ Pick: Mimi Frisch

Best Pitt Athlete: Tyler Boyd

Tyler Boyd has quickly become a fan favorite on the football team, and he’s not even through his freshman year. Perhaps the best-known wide receiver on the team, Boyd is tied with Devin Street for most touchdowns on the team this season with six. He leads Pitt’s offense with 53 receptions so far, which is good for 729 yards —  about 500 yards more than the next highest receiver, tight end Manasseh Garner. Boyd has drawn comparisons to the great Pitt receiver Larry Fitzgerald, now the Arizona Cardinals’ star receiver, whose number was recently retired at Heinz Field. Things are looking up for Pitt football as long as Boyd is around to jump-start the offense.  

Editors’ Pick: Aaron Donald

Best campus celebrity: Dave Uhrmacher

Dave Uhrmacher is more than just another Pitt student walking around campus. Sometimes described as a herculean demi-god who walks amongst us, his achievements as an undergraduate have made him an invaluable part of the University, and now an award-worthy local celebrity. Dave himself is not surprised. His extensive and impressive résumé includes founding and being president of the Pitt Club Golf Team, which has now appeared in two consecutive NCCGA National Tournaments, and in-depth and eloquent writing for the Pitt News as he continues to cover the women’s basketball team. Dave described the honor as “the latest confirmation that my status on campus is at an elevated level.” 

Editors’ Pick: Vladimir Padunov

Best University Administrator: Kathy Humphrey

Even on a campus with more than 18,000 students, Kathy Humphrey’s face is still one of the most familiar. Humphrey, the vice provost and dean of students, is known for her charisma and gregarious charm. Students who run into Humphrey note that she always takes the time to stop, say hello and ask how their day is going. Serving in her current position for seven years, Humphrey plays an integral role in fostering a strong relationship between the University’s administration and its student body, oftentimes bridging the gap and championing projects and efforts that work to improve Pitt. Take all of that and combine it with the fact that she’s known to occasionally bust a move at a student event when a good song comes on, and it’s easy to see why Humphrey is Pitt’s best administrator.

Editors’ Pick: Ken Service

Best WPTS DJ: Robert Sica 

Robert is a sophomore communications major from Doylestown, Pa., who hosts the WPTS radio show “Tech Talk.” He has been a passionate tech geek ever since he got his hands on his mom’s Windows 95 IBM desktop computer at 3 years old. The show is based on relevant technology news that is then discussed by Sica and an educated panel. In addition to hosting “Tech Talk,” Sica is also a Pitt Pathfinder. “Tech Talk” is on the air every Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. Be sure to tune in to hear the best WPTS DJ on campus.

Editors’ Pick: Steve Makin

Best Local Politician: Bill Peduto

Mayor-elect Bill Peduto has possibly made more connections to the student community than any other politician in recent memory. Representing City Council District 8 since 2002, Peduto has consistently put forth an agenda focused on raising the standard of living in Pittsburgh. His mayoral campaign made obvious his intent to make Pittsburgh as livable a city as possible, not just for its longtime residents, but for the students and young professionals he hopes are here to stay. No other politician in the city cares as much about the Pittsburgh of tomorrow as Peduto, and no other politician is better poised to make this great city even greater.

Editors’ Pick: Josh Wander

Best Local News Personality: Sally Wiggin

A humanitarian, an animal lover, a newswoman, Sally Wiggin does it all. Wiggin joined WTAE in 1980. This past July, she decided to take on a new challenge: the anchor desk of WTAE Chronicle, a one-hour primetime news special. Luckily for those who chose her as their favorite local news personality, she still hosts the Steelers pregame show, “Black and Gold Primetime.” She has already won a Lifetime Achievement award from the Pittsburgh Radio & TV Foundation and has been named a YMCA Woman of the Year. This year, she receives recognition from the students of Pitt.

Editors’ Pick: Ken Rice

Best Bartender: Gene Ney

Gene Ney – or just Gene, as those hanging out with him at his Louisa Street bar, Gene’s Place, call him — isn’t a bartender so much as a pillar of the Oakland community. When he isn’t making crowds smile at the neighborhood watering hole, he’s just as busy with college classes as his patrons, teaching Business Management at Carlow University.

Editors’ Pick: Gene Ney

Best Landlord: Harry Barnes

It’s not easy being a landlord in Oakland. In spite of the numerous complaints students make about their off-campus living conditions throughout the year, dealing with the thousands of needy, stressed out and – let’s face it folks – often destructive students that pack into apartment buildings and houses across the neighborhood is not a job many would willingly sign up for. It’s an endless stream of repairs, phone calls and wondering how exactly that mailbox wound up sitting on the middle of a tenant’s porch. So perhaps it’s a small token of gratitude, but the fact that local landlord Harry Barnes got the title shows that he most definitely earned it.

Editors’ Pick: Jordan Hines

Best Pitt professor: Tom Crock 

Professor Tom Crock, or “Captain Crock” as he is referred to in class, is a member of Pitt’s part-time mathematics faculty. He primarily teaches the Applied College Algebra course. Students have consistently praised his understanding, leniency, helpfulness as well as his strong, dry sense of humor. Even for students who don’t find math to be their strong suit, Crock makes the subject matter as painless and manageable as possible. Though most students take Crock’s class to fulfill a requirement, they often suggest that he is the professor to seek when crafting a schedule.

Editors’ Pick: Rob Ruck

Best RA: Emily Cramer 

Investing in her pursuits is what Emily Cramer, who has become Pitt’s most beloved RA, does best. Somehow the Somerset, Pa., native and German major finds time between leadership positions at the Pitt Dance Ensemble and Jumpstart to dedicate copious one-on-one time to each of the 60 Pitt students she oversees in Brackenridge Hall. She’s even working on a mockumentary about her adventures on her floors with Andrew Golden, one of her residents.

Editors’ Pick: Alayna Barko 

Best local business owner: Chas Bonasorte

Many students spend four or five years at the University of Pittsburgh. Chas Bonasorte has been here for nearly thirty. As a football player on Pitt’s 1976 national championship team, Bonasorte earned himself the nickname “Kamikaze Kid.”  For the last 25 years, his store, The Pittsburgh Stop, has set up shop on the corner of Forbes and Bigelow. Specializing in Pitt athletic apparel, he offers students a lower-cost and accessible alternative to university merchants. In addition to a variety of athletic tees, The Pittsburgh Shop also features some original holiday designs, such as the expansive “Kiss Me” series for St. Patrick’s Day. 

Editors’ Pick: The owners of It’s Dogg’n It