With a smile from ear to ear, William Barba, chairman of UB's department of educational leadership and policy in the Graduate School of Education, proudly displays a room filled with donations - baskets of food, cards and gifts - to be auctioned off Wednesday night at The Steer on Main Street in an effort to raise money for a UB student living with cancer.
Kevin Pitra, a second-year student in the Graduate School of Education and former captain of the UB soccer team, learned last spring he had melanoma.
Pitra, 24, is now receiving expensive Interferon-A chemotherapy from the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo.
"We're all just in shock," said John Astudillo, UB's men's soccer team coach. "At this young age it's tough."
To help offset the costs of the treatment, of which only a small part is covered by his insurance, friends of Pitra have organized a large-scale fundraiser to be held at The Steer Wednesday night.
Barba said the response from the UB community has been overwhelmingly supportive. He expects the night to be a success.
"No one will ever tell me as long as I'm breathing that this is a cold, heartless university," said Barba.
Organizers expect over 1,000 people to come through the doors of The Steer Wednesday night.
"Kevin will receive 100 percent of the profits," said Gabe Cagwin, Pitra's best friend and an organizer for the event.
Cagwin said that the support Pitra has received has far exceeded expectations.
"Our original goal was to raise $5,000 to $10,000, but we're going to shatter that," said Cagwin, a second-year student in the GSE.
"GSE has contributed $2,000 cash and we haven't even had the fundraiser yet," Barba said.
Astudillo, who recruited and coached Pitra on the soccer team, has also taken a leading role in raising money for Pitra, who earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from UB in 2002.
Astudillo said he was privileged to have Pitra on the team for all four years, especially as captain his junior and senior seasons.
"Kevin was key his senior year," said Astudillo. "We had a team that was okay, but Kevin made it much better."
According to Astudillo, Pitra earned not only his and the team's respect, but also the respect of his peers in the Mid-American Conference. He was named MAC Defender of the Year and MAC Academic Player of the Year his senior year.
Members of athletic community have also shown support by acting as foot soldiers to collect funds for Pitra.
"We set up zones in the community and have athletes go out with a script and solicit donations for Kevin," said Kellie Peiper, a student athlete services coordinator in the Division of Athletics.
Peiper said in addition to traveling door to door, student athletes have been signing up to work a table in the Student Union, pitching local businesses for their support and using word of mouth to advertise for the fundraiser on Wednesday.
Throughout his treatment, Pitra's friends say his determination to finish his graduate degree has been admirable.
"The kid is so dedicated and hardworking that he gave me his term paper right out of his hospital room," said Barba, who has been Pitra's instructor for three different classes. "I now tell my students that there's no excuse for turning in a late paper if Kevin can do it."
Barba said Pitra has attained a very high GPA and is near the top of his class academically. He said that the GSE program and his UB family are driving forces in his life.
According to Cagwin, the 18-and-over event at The Steer on Wednesday will have two phases.
First, there will be a Chinese auction where the donated baskets and gifts will be sold to the highest bidder.
After, the band Andever, whose lead singer attends service at St. Joseph University Church on Main Street with Pitra, will perform during the second half of the evening. Drink specials will be available for those 21 and over.
Donations can be made out to the Kevin Pitra Fund. For further information, contact the department of educational leadership and policy in the Graduate School of Education at 645-2471.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
