Pittsburg, PA

Over 600 students from Pittsburgh region participate in medical field career fair

Published

1 year ago

December 4, 2024

Over 600 students from Pittsburgh region participate in medical field career fair

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – More than 600 students from around the Pittsburgh region got hands-on experience learning about careers in the medical field at a special career fair on Wednesday.

UPMC brought the hospital to Acrisure Stadium where instead of scoring points, students were scoring health metrics like blood cell counts looking through a microscope and heart rates using a Bluetooth stethoscope.

The job fair, put on by UPMC, taught students about more than 50 different careers related to medicine using hands-on demonstrations, including one using pig lungs; one healthy and one that had been exposed to smoke.

“There was a healthy lung, and like a dead lung, and in the healthy lung, we stuck a tool in it with a camera, and I maneuvered it a bunch of different ways to go through the cavities and that was really neat,” said West Allegheny High School senior Sarah Lowman.

At the fair, there were jobs working in labs, imaging, nutrition, emergency medicine, pharmacy, sports medicine and more.

“Everything from working in our hospitals, where they are patient-facing, to office jobs to jobs behind the scenes, supporting patients. We have our actuary department here with a math game show. We have our legal department here,” said Erin Viale, with UPMC Human Resources, when asked what jobs were represented at the career fair.

Serenity Adams is a senior at Carrick High School and already knows she wants to be an anesthesiologist, but she also loved learning about the pharmacy department.

“I went over there to get a little bit more insight,” Adams said, “Because I saw they were working with insulin and stuff, and I’m a diabetic, so it was really interesting to see how they learned and how they were teaching other people how to inject insulin.”

Students were often surprised to learn that many jobs in health care do not require a four-year college degree, and some will even help pay for college after working there first.

“I definitely think that it helps with like financial troubles people have,” Adams said.

It was a school day spent learning about careers by talking with the people doing them, one of the best ways to learn and hopefully find a passion they love.

Kristine Sorensen

Kristine Sorensen joined KDKA as a reporter/anchor in April 2003. She anchors KDKA-TV News at 5 p.m., as well as special reports and Kidsburgh stories, in partnership with Kidsburgh.org, featuring the positive things in our community for kids and families. Kristine also hosted “Pittsburgh Today Live” for 11 years on KDKA.

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Pittsburg, PA

Emotional 2026 Pittsburgh Marathon saw multiple new records set

Published

11 hours ago

May 3, 2026

Press Room

Emotional 2026 Pittsburgh Marathon saw multiple new records set

This year’s Pittsburgh Marathon is one for the record books. More than 52,000 runners crossed the finish line, with more than 300,000 spectators cheering them on.

“We’re welcoming people from around the world,” P3R CEO Troy Schooley said. “This event has turned into an international event for our city. We’re going to show it off today. The runners will run through 14 neighborhoods. We have 33 different countries represented today and all 50 states.”

Mohammed El Youssfi claimed the men’s division of the Pittsburgh Half Marathon, crossing the finish line and immediately wrapping himself in the Moroccan flag.

“This is my first time in Pittsburgh, but the special moment for me today is the people here cheering me on,” El Youssfi said. “That helped me to win the race.”

Emotions ran high for Pittsburgh’s very own Will Loevner. The Winchester Thurston graduate has run the Pittsburgh Marathon multiple times, finishing as the runner-up in 2024 and fifth in 2025. But in 2026, he took home top honors, crossing the finish line first at 2:14.

“I’ve now won the Philadelphia marathon, the Cleveland marathon twice,” Loevner said. “To win Pittsburgh, I feel like it was the trifecta and the most special one for me. I mean, being in the hometown, nothing even compares.”

Buze Diriba Kejela is 2026’s women’s Pittsburgh Half Marathon champion, setting a course record for women and crossing the finish line at 1:08:39.

“I’m happy to set the course record. I like it,” she said.

Before the runners crossed the start line, the handcyclists got a head start. Marshall Tempest of Monroeville came out on top in the Pittsburgh Marathon Handcycle Division, finishing at 1:40:16.

“I’ve done 13 Pittsburgh marathons, and this is my 5th time winning it, in a row,” he said. “It feels good. It was a rough one, but I was determined to get that 5th one.”

“I love running,” said Will Henry Lawrence, who ran the half-marathon. “I love being able to have breath in my lungs and let my feet hit the pavement. I had a stroke six years ago, and so I give all glory to God for being able to get out and exercise.”

Tickets for the 2027 Pittsburgh Marathon are on sale for 48 hours, starting at 3 p.m. on May 3, 2026. You can register at thepittsburghmarathon.com

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