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Five join Bethel Park Great Alumni Hall of Fame

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The Bethel Park Great Alumni Hall of Fame will induct five new members Jan. 31 during halftime of the school’s boys varsity basketball game against Upper St. Clair.

The Class of 2020 features:

Shantanu K. Gaur

  • Dr. Shantanu K. Gaur, Class of 2004, who was valedictorian for his class and graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College. He earned his doctorate from Harvard Medical School, where he was a Paul Revere Frothingham Scholar and a Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow.

He co-founded Alluron Technologies, of which he serves as chief executive officer, while at Harvard to develop “Weight Loss 2.0” experiences that are safer and less expensive procedures, which have helped more than 20,000 people around the world to shed an estimated 600,000 pounds. He holds more than 30 patents and has been featured on CNBC and Bloomberg.

Dr. Geoffrey Oakley

  • Dr. Geoffrey Oakley, Class of 1984, earned his undergraduate degree from St. Bonaventure and his dental degree from the University of Pittsburgh. After serving more than 20 years in the U.S. Navy, he retired as a commander and has served as Bethel Park School District’s dentist for the past 21 years. He also is an assistant clinical professor for University of Pittsburgh’s School of Dental Medicine.

At Bethel Park, he served as an assistant varsity hockey coach on the 2000 Penguins Cup and state championship team, and has coached other Bethel Park sports, including baseball and lacrosse.

Jim Shooter

  • Jim Shooter, Class of 1969, began writing for DC Comics at age 14 to buy a new engine for his father’s car so that he wouldn’t have to walk to work. He went on to serve as Marvel’s ninth editor in chief, under which Marvel saw some of its best successes, including “Uncanny X-Men,” “Fantastic Four,” Frank Miller’s “Daredevil,” “The Avengers” and “The Amazing Spiderman.”

Under his tutelage, Marvel’s missed deadlines ceased and new titles and talent were created, including “Thor.” He also shared involvement in the founding of Valiant Comics and Broadway Comics.

  • Nicholas F. Smerigan Jr.,

Class of 1965, exhibited an attitude of excellence in the entertainment industry with his company, Roadtown Enterprises, at which he excelled in the design, construction, management and operations of recording studios, along with scoring, film and television sound stages.

Nicholas F. Smerigan Jr.

He incorporated the innovative folding acoustic door into his work, allowing two stages to become one with double the shooting area. He and his wife, Gail, designed curriculum for colleges, technical schools and high schools to provide training to those interested in entertainment industry jobs.

  • Wayne Trapp, Class of 1954, Mr. Trapp was a world-renowned sculptor and painter, with more than 50 commissions, 23 museum and university collections and 12 public exhibits.

After attending the Art Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Arts Student League in New York, Pratt Institute and Ohio State University to study sculpture, he opened studios in Vermont and Ohio. The majority of his work was created at his home in the North Carolina mountains. He enjoyed taking new artists under his wing to share with them his love for all things art and life in general.

Wayne Trapp

The Bethel Park Great Alumni Hall of Fame was created in 2013 to recognize and honor Bethel Park High School alumni who have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments either personally or professionally after graduation.

Honorees are selected because they significantly improved the lives of others, contributed significant volunteer or community service, or achieved significant advancement in their professional field.

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