Graduating Pitt student battled cancer diagnosis while juggling school work, campus leadership role

On a resume, Sarah Pine’s experience at the University of Pittsburgh doesn’t seem atypical for an ambitious college student.

She was a honors student. She served as editor-in-chief of Collision, Pitt’s student-run literary magazine. She even conducted undergraduate research.

But in the foreground of those traditional college experiences was something much more life-altering.

The spring of her freshman year, Ms. Pine was diagnosed with a rare liver cancer that plagued most of her time at Pitt.

While her peers were choosing which general education courses to take, Ms. Pine grappled with whether she should undergo a liver transplant. While her friends studied at the Hillman Library, Ms. Pine got more homework done at the Hillman Cancer Center.

This fall, Ms. Pine finally enjoyed what fel