Jon Naser

EDITOR’S NOTE: Jon Naser’s memories of the Cathedral of Learning provide a vivid reminder of how a person’s sense of place is inextricably connected to the full range of one’s life experiences. We are very grateful that Jon chose to share his story with the Pitt community, and we are happy to share his photo of him with his sister, Liz, and their mother, Joann, at the Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs Centennial Gala in the Cathedral of Learning in March 2026.

I competed at the 2007 Pennsylvania State Junior Championships at the William Pitt Union. It was a two-day chess tournament. My dad, Jim, stayed with me throughout the matches. In between the games, he showed me some sites from his childhood, including our former family business, the Village Flower Shop in Shadyside. The other thing my dad did to pass the time was climb the stairs in the Cathedral of Learning. I went on to earn the title of PA Age 14 Champion. The very next day, my dad was killed in a car crash while taking my sister, Liz, to basketball practice. Liz was life-flighted to Children's Hospital in Oakland. She went on to make a full, miraculous recovery. 

I attended Pitt as an undergraduate and had many memorable experiences and classes in the Cathedral, including being awarded a Hungarian Room scholarship to study abroad in Hungary.

I graduated in 2015 with a B.S. in Neuroscience and am currently Claims Manager at GBU Life. Liz graduated from Pitt in 2022 with a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education and is currently a preschool educator at Carnegie Mellon University.