Debbie Whitfield

Alumni, Staff CGS '06

I had started college at another school right after graduation from high school. I always intended to finish but life has a way of going on its own course. When I started to work at Pitt, it seemed to be the perfect time to return to school and finish what I had set out to do many years prior. My children were in middle and high school and didn't need mom all the time, and the staff tuition benefit made it so much more affordable. I had no reason not to return, but I was so nervous about my ability to compete with much younger students. I was driving in for my first ever class at Pitt on a snowy Saturday. Entering Oakland on that quiet morning, the Cathedral, in all its splendor, loomed in front of me. I thought about that beautiful building being first an idea and, through hard work and dedication, becoming, in my opinion, the most exquisite building in Pittsburgh. Thinking about what it took to build the Cathedral inspired me to apply the same kind of mindset to my studies. I proudly graduated from CGS in 2006, at the age of 51, and it truly was one of my most gratifying moments. That beautiful building changed my mindset from one of fear to one of determination to accomplish the task at hand. Hail to Pitt!