Meet Four Students From Chatham’s Biggest Incoming Class Ever
From left: Grace Beal, Pierce Baumgartner, Anna Schnabel, and Celia Kuffner (left).
This fall, Chatham University is preparing to greet its largest incoming undergraduate class in its 157-year history.
To celebrate and welcome these more than 500 new students, Pulse spoke to four first-year students about where they’re from, why they’re studying at Chatham, and what they have planned for their first year at the University.
Grace Beal poses for a photo at Chatham’s Shadyside Campus. (Courtesy of Grace Beal)
Grace Beal ’30
Clarion, PA
Major: International Business
Grace Beal applied to over 30 colleges and universities, but she chose to go to Chatham.
“Chatham scored at the top of the list,” Beal says. “Then, whenever I toured Chatham, my friend and I toured on the same day in January. The big snowstorm had just hit, and when we got to Chatham, it was covered in snow, and it looked so pretty.”
Beal spent the first several years of her life in West Virginia. Because she was born deaf, she went to the DePaul School of Hearing and Speech in Pittsburgh’s Shadyside neighborhood. That was when she first spent time in Pittsburgh—not too far from Chatham’s campus, either.
She graduated from Keystone Jr. / Sr. High School in Clarion County, where she’d volunteer for events with the National Honor Society. In high school, she also spent time volunteering at her local Catholic church.
Beal says she’s too squeamish to work in healthcare, so she’s studying international business with a minor in economics. “I want to be somewhere I can always grow,” she says. “I don’t want to be stagnant in a place. I want to keep learning and meet new people.”
She’s also part of the Chatham Honors Program and is looking forward meeting new people from diverse backgrounds when she starts college, as well as learning German and hopefully studying abroad someday.
Pierce Baumgartner plays in a high school volleyball game. (Courtesy of Pierce Baumgartner)
Pierce Baumgartner ’30
Las Vegas, NV
Major: Exercise Science
Though he grew up amid the bright lights of Las Vegas, Pierce Baumgartner says what he enjoys most about home are the simple things: spending time with friends, putting in work at the gym, and playing volleyball and basketball.
“I have a pool, so I love going to the pool,” he says. “I love hanging out with my dogs. It's all the little parts and pieces that make Vegas a home for me.”
Living on the other side of the country, Baumgartner hadn’t heard of Chatham until he started putting together a list of all the collegiate men’s volleyball programs in the country. He emailed every school he considered attending; Chatham’s Joe Bortak texted him back.
“I saw how Coach Bortak was, and I really appreciated his personality and him trying to really connect with me as a player and as a person,” Baumgartner says.
Though he didn’t get the chance to make a campus visit, Baumgartner says an online deep dive on Chatham still made an impression on him.
He’s known he wanted to study exercise science since he was a sophomore in high school. “I love sports and I love everything about sports,” Baumgartner says. “My initial thought was, if I don't play past high school, I always want to tapped into the sports realm.
“As a gym goer, and as an athlete myself, you get curious as to why certain things hurt, or how certain things work, and how to better it in the most meticulous way possible.”
When he gets to Pittsburgh, Baumgartner says he’s looking forward to seeing some concerts, as well as a Steelers game at Acrisure Stadium.
Anna Schnabel poses for a photo. (Courtesy of Anna Schnabel)
Anna Schnabel ’30
Whitman, MA
Major: Communications
Anna Schnabel is from Massachusetts, but she first heard about Chatham in Florida.
At a soccer tournament there, Schnabel was approached by a coach from Chatham’s women’s soccer team.
“I wouldn't have heard of it otherwise, which is kind of funny to think about,” she says.
With a grandmother who grew up in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood, Schnabel was familiar with Pittsburgh and had visited the Steel City a few times. She’d been to the Carnegie museums and saw a Pirates game at PNC Park.
Last year, Schnabel visited Chatham’s campus for the first time.
“I liked how small and tight-knit Chatham was,” she says. “In a big school, I wouldn't be as close and connected with other classmates and professionals.”
Coming to college, she says, “I'm excited to be busy right away with soccer and getting into classes.”
Soccer, which Schnabel has played since she was five years old, was a major factor in choosing Chatham. “I couldn't really picture myself not playing it,” she says. “When my high school season ended, I was like, “Oh, I don't think I'm ready for it to be done yet.’”
Sports also inspired her to pursue her major of communications with a journalism concentration. “I love writing and sports, so why not put it together?” she says.
Celia Kuffner stands for a photo with her friend, Peter. (Courtesy of Celia Kuffner)
Celia Kuffner ’29
Louisville, KY
Major: Food Studies
An artificial intelligence chatbot introduced Celia Kuffner to Chatham.
“I was looking for some schools, and [my friend] was like, ‘What if you just use ChatGPT to pull up a list of colleges?’ And Chatham was on that list,” Kuffner says.
“I had a really hard time, when I was looking for schools, finding a major that aligned with what I wanted,” she says. “When I read about the food studies major, it sounded perfect. And then I started looking into it, and the school was beautiful, and the volleyball program was great.”
Already, Kuffner says, the faculty and staff have been helpful to her. She’s emailed an called food studies professors and has connected with coaches and players on the women’s volleyball team.
She fell in love with volleyball after starting the sport in eighth grade, though she never considered playing in college, feeling she couldn’t compete with Division I athletes. “For me, I enjoy that you have a strong connection with the players on your court, so everyone is doing their own piece and working together.
When she comes to Pittsburgh, she says, she’s excited to go to Point State Park in Downtown, the spot where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers form the Ohio. “That's something that, when I think of Pittsburgh, I'm really excited to see.”
Learn more about Chatham University’s programs with purpose at chatham.edu.