Many people attending the NFL Draft this week in Pittsburgh came from all over the country. For some, it was their first time visiting the city.
But the festivities were just down the road for Andrew Knight and Stalea Chapman, both of Pittsburgh’s North Side.
Knight, a teacher at Pittsburgh Schiller 6-8, and Chapman, a nursing student at Carlow University, will announce the 224th draft pick Saturday. They will announce the pick — which belongs to the Steelers — alongside former Steelers defensive lineman Aaron Smith.
“It’s amazing being able to see what the city is doing,” said Chapman, 18. “I’m happy to be from the North Side.”
Knight and Chapman were selected because they both received the Art Rooney Scholarship award. The award, named after Steelers founder Art Rooney Sr., provides annual college scholarships in the amount of about $12,000 to select students in the Pittsburgh area.
Both are graduates of Perry Traditional Academy in the Pittsburgh Public Schools. Knight, 25, was the school’s Class of 2018 valedictorian, and Chapman was salutatorian for the Class of 2025.
Chapman said they have never met but know who each other is.
“We’re able to represent PPS in the light it should be,” said Knight, who is wrapping up his first year as an English teacher at Schiller. “It’s something the city deserves. Pittsburgh, in general, gets a bad rap. There’s so much in the city that people don’t know about or consider. I hope people that are here for the draft do things other than the draft.”
Knight hopes his opportunity can showcase the efforts made to improve the culture at Perry.
“They’ve gotten so much better at everything,” said Knight, who student taught at the school last year. “The academics are better, and there’s steady and good leadership.”
Referring to Principal Molly O’Malley-Argueta, Knight said: “She’s the principal I needed when I was at Perry.”
“In 2018, not many of us went on to college,” Knight said. “College isn’t everything, but the numbers were so low. It always felt like the odds were stacked against me.”
Now, Knight is working toward his doctorate in educational leadership from Duquesne University. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from the University of Pittsburgh — but it wasn’t easy.
“My first semester at Pitt was a struggle,” he said. “I just wasn’t prepared for college-level work. It was definitely a shell shock at first. But the thing I have, and Stalea has, is perseverance.”
At Perry, Chapman was a class officer and participated in the yearbook committee and the African American Centers for Advanced Studies executive council. She learned about nursing through the district’s career and technical education program.
“Nursing has a lot of different careers, and I was inspired,” Chapman said. “Nursing is not easy, but it’s nothing I cannot do. Perry gave me a great understanding that I can overcome anything and accomplish everything.
“The belief I have in myself came from Perry.”
Knight described the opportunity as a dream come true.
“I’ve lived in Pittsburgh my whole life. It was against the law in my family to not love the Steelers,” Knight said. “I bleed black and gold.”
The Perry alumni are not the only PPS representation on the draft stage Saturday. Brashear High School teacher Megan Perfetti and student Damon Richie are set to announce the Buffalo Bills’ fifth-round pick.
“The one thing I keep at the forefront of my teaching is, students know I care,” Knight said. “I care about their learning, their education and the skills they’ll work on.”