Shady Side Academy prepares young men and women to excel throughout their lives. Our alumni continue to flourish in all aspects of the professional world and continue to make notable contributions as society’s leaders. Here are just a few of our prestigious graduates and former students:

Childs Frick (1901), invertebrate paleontologist and son of Pittsburgh industrialist Henry Clay Frick

Edgar J. Kaufmann (1903), businessman and philanthropist; owner of Kaufmann's Department Store; commissioner of Frank Lloyd Wright's much-celebrated Fallingwater

Philip S. Hench (1912), co-winner of the 1950 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of cortisone and its application for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

Thomas Mellon Evans (1927), American financier and one of the early corporate raiders

Richard G. Colbert (1933), U.S. Navy four-star admiral

David McCullough (1951), two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian

Paul Martha (1960), football player for the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos; executive vice president for the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins and the NFL's San Francisco 49ers

John B. Taylor (1964), undersecretary of the treasury for the George H. W. Bush administration; professor of economics at Stanford University; the "Taylor Rule" of economics is named after him

Jerome "Jay" Apt (1967), former NASA astronaut with four Space Shuttle missions on the Atlantis and Endeavor; professor at Carnegie Mellon University

Tom Vilsack (1968), U.S. Secretary of Agriculture for the Barack Obama and Joe Biden administrations; former governor of Iowa

Chris Frantz (1970), drummer for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band Talking Heads and the band Tom Tom Club

Kerry Hannon (1978), award-winning author and nationally recognized expert on career transitions, personal finance and retirement; former journalist for The New York Times, Forbes, Money, US News & World Report and USA Today

Carl Kurlander (1978), screenwriter of the film St. Elmo's Fire; writer for the TV sitcom Saved by the Bell; producer of the films My Tale of Two Cities and The Shot Felt 'Round the World; president of the Steeltown Entertainment Project

Lisa Scales (1978), CEO of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank 

Dr. Leon Haley Jr. (1982), first Black CEO of the University of Florida Health Jacksonville.

Chris Meyer (1984), Research zoologist at the Smithsonian Institution

Jon Beckerman (1987), Emmy Award-winning writer for The Late Show With David Letterman; producer and creator of the NBC comedy-drama Ed and the ABC comedy The Knights of Prosperity

Jonathan Zittrain (1987), Internet law expert; co-founder the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University; professor of law and computer science at Harvard University; former chair of the FCC Open Internet Advisory commission

Peter Ackerman (1988), Hollywood screenwriter for the animated film Ice Age and voice actor for Ice Age and Ice Age: The Meltdown

Christian Borle (1991), two-time Tony Award-winning actor for Peter and the Starcatcher (2012) and Something Rotten (2015); star of the NBC-TV drama Smash (2012-2013)

Bentley Weiner (1992), vice president of HBO Sports Documentaries and Emmy Award-winning producer of the HBO Sports series 24/7. 

Tunde Adebimpe (1993), Grammy-nominated musician, actor, director and artist; lead singer of the alternative rock band TV on the Radio

Melena Ryzik (1994), reporter for The New York Times and part of the team that won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize in Public Service for reporting on Hollywood's sexual harassment scandal

Jesse Shapira (1995), executive producer of the film Room, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2015

Kim Castro (1996), first female editor and chief content officer at US News & World Report

Zachary D. Kaufman (1996), law professor, political scientist, social entrepreneur and author

Aarti Mann (1996), Hollywood actress, best known as Priya on The Big Bang Theory

Candace Otto (1998), operatic soprano and Miss Pennsylvania 2003

Rick Siger (1998), Pennsylvania Secretary for Economic and Community Development in Gov. Josh Shapiro's cabinet.

Skyy Moore (2019), NFL wide receiver drafted in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs