A Family Tradition: Chatham & the Reznik Sisters

Chances are if you’ve been at Chatham for more than a minute, you’ve encountered a Reznik sister. Bright, sunny, and exceptionally good at their jobs, Lindsay Barkschat ‘14 (nee Reznik) and Allie Reznik ‘11 bring something special to the Chatham community in their respective roles as IT Campaign Administrator and Assistant Professor of Humanities. But did you know that there is a third Reznik sister, Kiersten Reznik ‘13, MPAS ‘15? All three of the Reznik sisters are Chatham alumnae who attended during overlapping years.

Lindsay, Allie, and Kiersten

Interestingly enough, their Chatham tapestry doesn’t stop there. Allie met her wife, Jenn Van Dam ‘12, at the Women of the World Retreat when they were both students and resident assistants (RAs). And a long time before that, the Rezniks’ Great Aunt Dolly was one of the Heinz Women who spent relaxing weekends at Eden Hall Farm.

Allie was the first sister to make her way to Chatham: “My high school English teacher Hilary Domencic, MAT ‘11, shared the opportunity with me to take Chatham classes as a senior. I took philosophy and interior architecture courses. I fell in love—Chatham was the only school I applied to.” After seeing how Allie “was succeeding and making wonderful relationships at Chatham,” Kiersten opted to transfer to Chatham from the University of Pittsburgh.

During Pittsburgh’s famous snow storm “Snowmageddon” in January 2010, Allie was an RA in Rea House, where Kiersten had just moved. Kiersten remembers the inclement weather fondly:

“I didn’t know many people yet and Allie had so many friends. All of our classes had been cancelled and we decided to roam around Squirrel Hill with Allie’s friends. It was one of the most fun experiences I had at Chatham.”

This was also Lindsay’s first meaningful Chatham experience: “Getting to roam around [the city] with just my sisters and friends was so much fun,” says Lindsay. Though she was a high school senior at the time, Lindsay wound up transferring to Chatham the following January. 

At Chatham, each Reznik sister pursued a very different path. Kiersten earned a B.S. in Exercise Science in 2013 followed by her Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) in 2015. Lindsay graduated in 2014 with an interdisciplinary degree in Marketing and Psychology; Allie in 2011 with a B.A. in English and Cultural Studies. Despite their divergent studies, the sisters were always very much in sync at Chatham: “Throughout my college career, Allie and Lindsay were my only roommates. I lived in multiple Chatham dormitories including Rea House, the Chatham Apartments, and Fickes,” says Kiersten.

As a student at Chatham, Allie founded the Rachel Carson Academic and Creative Writing Conference with encouragement from Professor of English Emertius, Dr. Bill Lenz. In addition to fostering strong relationships with her English faculty, Allie was highly involved on campus: “I was a student worker in the music department, Student Accounts, Student Affairs, an RA, a phone-a-thon caller, a tutor, and an English department assistant.” Returning to Chatham now, as a professor, is what she calls “the cherry on top of a great undergraduate and graduate experience.” 

Kiersten now works at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh as a Physician Assistant in Child Neurology, a specialty she discovered as a student: “During my time at Chatham, I had the wonderful experience of working at Child’s Way, a daycare for medically fragile children. This job led me to become interested in pediatrics, specifically neurological disorders and medically fragile children,” says Kiersten. At Children’s Hospital, she works alongside experienced pediatric neurologists who she is eager to learn more from: “I have experienced all aspects of the division and am excited to continue to expand my knowledge of the brain.”

Lindsay, Allie, Kiersten and their parents at Allie’s PhD graduation

Lindsay’s Chatham career also stemmed from her time as a student: “I applied to work in Chatham’s [IT department] because Megan Linton Becker, IT Systems Analyst, encouraged me to. We previously worked together at the Helpdesk when I was a student worker and she was a tech. I’m so grateful she told me about it.” In Lindsay’s position, she meets with different departments to help them streamline workflows using CampusNexus. One such workflow, created for Student Accounts, earned the team an Operational Efficiency Award at the Campus Management Conference: “Every time I can create a workflow for a department and see how much time it saves them, it’s amazing to be a part of.”

We couldn’t be prouder of these three Chatham alumni and their contributions to the larger Pittsburgh community, but we’d be remiss not to mention an even bigger fan of theirs: their mom, Linda Reznik, a.k.a. @chathamu’s most supportive Instagram follower. The sisters took the opportunity to shower her with love:

“She has a knack for fostering genuine community on social media. She recently created a Pacemaker Support Group for Women after realizing there was a need for a women-focused space to discuss challenges and successes while adapting to a pacemaker. Her group includes over a thousand women from around the country, and continues to grow each day. Our dad doesn’t do social media, but he’s always been a cheerleader in our personal and professional pursuits. Both of our parents are born and raised Pittsburghers; they love that we all attended Chatham.”

If you (and your family) are interested in learning more about Chatham, join us for one of our virtual summer events!