Hall of Fame
Amy Kessler, a 1991-92 Honorable Mention Kodak All-American, finished her Pitt-Johnstown women’s basketball career as the program’s second all-time leading scorer and was named the 1992 NCAA East Region’s Tournament Most Valuable Player. Ms. Kessler’s name can still be found at or near the top of many Lady Cat basketball record lists, as well on several NCAA lists.
After graduating from DuBois Area High School in 1988, Ms. Kessler, who became the Lady Cats’ 16th 1,000th career point during her junior season, came to Pitt-Johnstown to play for Head Coach Jodi Gault and became a four-year starter sharing time between both the guard and forward positions.
Ms. Kessler was named the 1990-91 Mideast Conference Co-Player of the Year and continued her stellar play throughout her senior season. In 1991-92, Ms. Kessler ranked in the Top-20 nationally in scoring at 20.4 points per game on her way to earning Honorable Mention Kodak All-America honors and Most Valuable Player honors at the NCAA East Region Tournament.
That same season, Ms. Kessler paced the Lady Cats in 3-point field goal percentage at 34.8% and led NCAA Division II in free-throw percentage at 91.3%.
When her college playing days ended, Ms. Kessler, stood atop of three Lady Cat basketball career records, including steals (405), and career 3-point field goals-made and attempted (191-519). She also set program records that still stand today for steals in a season with 140 and steals in a game with 14 against Quinnipiac University.
Ms. Kessler’s 1,662 career points currently rank third on Pitt-Johnstown’s All-Time Scoring List, while her 548 career rebounds rank 23rd all-time.
Ms. Kessler graduated in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Geography and has spent more than 20 years working in Transportation Planning managing the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s RPO Planning process for six rural counties in the north-central part of the state.
Today, Ms. Kessler is the Community Development/Regional Planning Director for the North Central Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission where she manages a $50 million a year Transportation Improvement Program that works closely with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
She recently chaired the RPO America Council of Peers, a national professional association for rural transportation planning professionals, practitioners, policymakers, and other stakeholders. In 2015, she graduated from the I-95 Freight Academy. The Freight Academy, developed by the I-95 Corridor Coalition, is a unique and comprehensive immersion program designed for public agency personnel focused on goods movement. The purpose of the program is to ensure current and future public-sector decisions and investments are made with an understanding of the comprehensive supply chain. The program consists of three components: pre-study materials, a one-week immersion program, and a group Capstone project which is continued after the academy to further promote peer exchange.
Ms. Kessler, a native of DuBois, was an inaugural inductee into the DuBois Area High School Hall of Fame in 2015.
She currently resides in Falls Creek, Pa., where she remains very close with her entire family, especially her niece and nephew.
“It is an extreme honor to be inducted into the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown Athletic Hall of Fame” Ms. Kessler said. “As a student-athlete at Pitt-Johnstown, I was extremely blessed and fortunate to be surrounded by remarkable teammates and coaches that consistently brought out the best of each other. We all recognized the minute we became a “Lady Cat” that the success of any individual was never as important as the success of the team and any success I ever have had at Pitt-Johnstown, I could not have done without my teammates, coaches, trainers and the support of my entire family.”
