Blue & Gold Legacy
our hearts bleed blue & gold
There’s a passion that runs deep in every member of the Shady Side Academy community—a pride that’s impossible to shake and unmistakably blue and gold. Every student, every alumnus, and every employee is united by our shared legacy—a bond built on grit, loyalty, and the shared pursuit of excellence. It’s in the way we cheer each other on, on and off the field. It’s in the way we push boundaries in classrooms and beyond. It’s in the way we celebrate every achievement, knowing we stand on the shoulders of generations who’ve come before us. It’s something you carry with you, forever.
Bleeding blue and gold means embracing Shady Side’s mission to think expansively, act ethically, and lead responsibly, and always moving forward, together. Whether you’re just beginning your Shady Side journey or decades removed from your time here, this is your family—and you are blue and gold, through and through. Because at Shady Side, our hearts don’t just beat for blue and gold. They bleed for it.
Unleashing Pride
Blue the Bulldog's Origin
From the halls of Shady Side to the farthest corners of the globe, Blue the Bulldog is more than a mascot—Blue is a representation of our community’s bond. Whether Blue is cheering in the stands at a football game, welcoming students on the first day of the school year, dancing at an assembly during Annual Bulldog Day (mark your calendar for April 21 each year), or connecting with community members young and old at Homecoming and Reunion Weekend, the SSA spirit is embodied in our beloved bulldog, Blue.
After narrowing down more than 600 mascot suggestions from the community to three finalists, the Academy announced the Bulldogs as its new mascot and team name in December 2020. the Mascot Search Committee, composed of 20 community members, led the search process helping to identify 22 semifinalists. Shady Side students, alumni, faculty/staff, and parents then voted to identify three of their favorites before the final mascot was selected.
A Community that Moves Together, Forever
Our alumni network spans generations, careers, and continents. Over 9,000 living alumni strong, Shady Side graduates don’t just stay connected—they remain engaged, building bonds that ripple far beyond campus. From volunteering their time in the community to mentoring current students, from celebrating milestones to creating new ones, the Shady Side experience never truly ends.
Joyce Fu ’99 and Chad Martin ’98
Read About Joyce Fu ’99 and Chad Martin ’98
about Joyce Fu ’99 and Chad Martin ’98
Alumni Stories
![Anna Bruno ’00 Releases Second Novel Set in Pittsburgh]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1747680756/shadyside/mqz79jomf5uoqpivodoq/PB-AnnaBruno-FacebookWebsite_0.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1747680756/shadyside/mqz79jomf5uoqpivodoq/PB-AnnaBruno-FacebookWebsite_0.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1747680756/shadyside/mqz79jomf5uoqpivodoq/PB-AnnaBruno-FacebookWebsite_0.png","width":787}])
Author Anna Bruno '00 will publish her second novel, "Fine Young People," in late July with Algonquin Books. She will launch the book with a public event on August 2 at Penguin Bookshop, where she’ll appear in conversation with her former SSA English teacher, Buddy Hendershot.
![Dawn Teele ’01: Exploring Polarization Through a Gendered Lens]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1746457065/shadyside/ou0qlslkkpid9ry8in31/DawnTeele.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1746457065/shadyside/ou0qlslkkpid9ry8in31/DawnTeele.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1746457065/shadyside/ou0qlslkkpid9ry8in31/DawnTeele.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1746457065/shadyside/ou0qlslkkpid9ry8in31/DawnTeele.jpg","width":900}])
Dawn Teele ’01, a political science professor at Johns Hopkins University, has been named a 2025 Andrew Carnegie Fellow. Teele, who studies gender and politics, will receive a $200,000 grant to explore how differences in political preferences between men and women may be driving polarization in the U.S.
![Dominating the Pitch: Emory Anderson ’21]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1746016598/shadyside/oi3k6reqdeug1flksato/Screenshot2025-04-30at83228AM.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1746016598/shadyside/oi3k6reqdeug1flksato/Screenshot2025-04-30at83228AM.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1746016598/shadyside/oi3k6reqdeug1flksato/Screenshot2025-04-30at83228AM.png","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1746016598/shadyside/oi3k6reqdeug1flksato/Screenshot2025-04-30at83228AM.png","width":1126}])
Emory Anderson ’21 has spent the last four years making history. A double major in Neuroscience and Chemistry at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, Emory has also been a standout player on the university’s Women’s Football First Team—helping usher in an unprecedented era of success for the program and for women’s sport at St Andrews.
![Alumna Melissa VerCammen ’03 Returns to SSA with Washington Latin Honors Choir]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1744745695/shadyside/itskjt9pszorop39t7wm/SS_NEVOLA_DC_CHOIR_VISIT_040225-9565.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1744745695/shadyside/itskjt9pszorop39t7wm/SS_NEVOLA_DC_CHOIR_VISIT_040225-9565.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1744745695/shadyside/itskjt9pszorop39t7wm/SS_NEVOLA_DC_CHOIR_VISIT_040225-9565.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1744745695/shadyside/itskjt9pszorop39t7wm/SS_NEVOLA_DC_CHOIR_VISIT_040225-9565.jpg","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_5/v1744745695/shadyside/itskjt9pszorop39t7wm/SS_NEVOLA_DC_CHOIR_VISIT_040225-9565.jpg","width":1600},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_6/v1744745695/shadyside/itskjt9pszorop39t7wm/SS_NEVOLA_DC_CHOIR_VISIT_040225-9565.jpg","width":2200}])
On April 2, Shady Side Academy welcomed back to campus alumna Melissa (Nevola) VerCammen ’03, who returned with her Honors Choir from Washington Latin Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., where she serves as choral director. The visit marked a joyful reunion and a meaningful musical exchange between VerCammen’s students and SSA’s Chamber Choir.
![Forging a Path in Real Estate]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1742485558/shadyside/rmubtlsidrwh5iow0fjn/8245297_web1_her-JulieRost-030625.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1742485558/shadyside/rmubtlsidrwh5iow0fjn/8245297_web1_her-JulieRost-030625.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1742485558/shadyside/rmubtlsidrwh5iow0fjn/8245297_web1_her-JulieRost-030625.jpg","width":640}])
Julie Rost '89 has built a thriving real estate career in Pittsburgh, leveraging her deep community ties. A top-selling Realtor, she leads an all-female team at Berkshire Hathaway, The Preferred Realty, specializing in Fox Chapel and the East End.
![Unleashing Horror with John Harrison ’66’s "Residue"]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1742314675/shadyside/piqhxpe0csaju0uactft/Residue-Generic.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1742314675/shadyside/piqhxpe0csaju0uactft/Residue-Generic.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1742314675/shadyside/piqhxpe0csaju0uactft/Residue-Generic.png","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1742314675/shadyside/piqhxpe0csaju0uactft/Residue-Generic.png","width":1024}])
John Harrison ’66 is back with a chilling new novel, "Residue: Paramentals Rising," a continuation of his Netflix miniseries "Residue" (2015). Released on February 11 by WordFire Press, the supernatural thriller follows Miki Preston as she searches for her missing sister in a devastated city haunted by sinister forces known as Paramentals.