Although the chair of UB's Department of Educational Leadership and Policy, William Barba, had seen his share of term papers, he had never experienced one like Kevin Pitra's. Determined to earn his master's degree, Pitra made sure to personally hand Barba his critical issues term paper -- from his hospital bed in a Cleveland clinic recovery room, having just been treated for cancer.
With a smile on his face and a gleam in his eye, Pitra told Barba that no student should have an excuse for a late paper if he could hand it in on time.
"That was the last time I really saw Kevin, just Kevin," Barba said. "He loved this program so much. It kept him going that last year."
Kevin Pitra, the UB graduate and star soccer player who never made excuses and never backed down from a challenge, lost his battle with cancer this summer at the age of 24. Pitra passed away Wednesday, July 7, surrounded by family and friends at his home outside Cleveland.
Pitra was a four-year letter-winner on the UB men's soccer team, graduating from UB with honors in 2002 after being named team captain, and third-team All-Region as a senior. A year after he was diagnosed with melanoma, Pitra received his master's degree in higher education administration in May.
"The inner strength that he had was incredible," said men's soccer coach John Astudillo. "I'm in awe of him."
Pitra also played soccer professionally in the Canadian Premier Soccer League and was involved in both various organizations on-campus and off-campus, such as the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and St. Joseph's University Church on Main Street.
Pitra, however, will probably be best remembered not for what he did, but for the effect he had on those around him.
Gabe Cagwin, UB graduate and one of Pitra's best friends, remembers how Kevin was never satisfied with the number of hours he studied or the effort he put into his work, and pushed Cagwin to be the same.
"I remember when I went down (to see him)," said Cagwin. "I was holding his hand and talking to him, and he said to me, 'I have to get better so I can walk again.' And that was Kevin."
At one point during his illness, Pitra had been traveling by himself for treatment to the Roswell Cancer Research Center in Buffalo. "He didn't want to bother anyone else to take him down there. He was stubborn," said Cagwin, who served as a pallbearer at Pitra's funeral. "He was a pain in the best way."
"I just miss him," Cagwin added.
Last November, hundreds of UB students, athletes and community members turned out at The Steer on Main Street to raise money for Pitra's treatments. Event organizers, Cagwin and Barba among them, hoped to raise $5,000. Instead, they ended up raising over $10,000.
Shortly after, however, doctors told Pitra that the treatments were not working and the cancer had spread. Barba, who spoke at Kevin's funeral, called that one of "the worst days" he can remember because it was practically a death sentence for Pitra.
"I still have nightmares," Barba said. "That kid was part of my life."
Hardly to Barba's surprise, Pitra decided to soldier on and obtain his degree, despite what the doctors told him. A framed picture of Pitra and Barba together at Pitra's conferral sits prominently in Barba's office.
Bill Norberg, who graduated from UB in 2002, played with Pitra on the soccer team. "He was intense. He loved the game, was a competitor - his dedication was both on and off the field," Norberg said. "He was always putting so much time into his schoolwork. He sacrificed a lot for the people around him."
"He was seriously the strongest person I've ever known in my life," he added.
Because of Pitra's strength, many who knew him were devastated when they heard of his diagnosis, but thought if anyone could beat cancer, it was Kevin.
"When he was diagnosed with cancer he attacked it the same way he attacked anything else," said Astudillo. "Towards the end, it was just heartbreaking for all of us to see him. But the courage he had, all of us wished we even had an ounce of that."
Remembering Pitra, Astudillo still cannot believe that Kevin went from a shy, introverted freshman to an open, strong team leader who pushed the entire team to its limits. "It was a metamorphosis like I've never seen," he said.
"When the end was coming it was just very, very hard," Astudillo said. "It made me think life is so unfair. What we should be doing is going to his graduation, and his engagement party and his wedding. Not his funeral."
The level of Pitra's melanoma, however, made the end inevitable.
"It was quite a shock because everybody thought he was going to beat this," said Norberg. "In some peoples mind's there wasn't a doubt."
"And yet in the end, he was still worried about his mom and his dad and his sister more than he was himself," said Astudillo. "He was still worried about how the team was going to do this year. He was totally involved."
Taylor Lehmann, who graduated from UB in 2004 and roomed with Pitra for two years, echoed others' sentiments. "Kevin was probably one of the hardest working students and athletes that I've ever come across," he said.
At Pitra's funeral, the turnout was tremendous. According to Barba, hundreds attended the wake, and there was a line around the building to get in. Many of those who attended were UB athletes, students and administrators.
"The UB connection is very strong," Barba said. "UB showed that it had heart through this whole thing. And in the end, that's what it's all about."
Barba hopes that in the near future, Pitra's legacy at UB will continue with a memorial scholarship.
"I think I've cried every day for Kevin Pitra since his passing," said Astudillo. "Because it is so unfair that this 24-year-old kid should have his life cut short with so much going for him."
