CGS - College of General Studies - University of Pittsburgh

Alumni Profile: Cathy LoAlbo Opsitnick

"When I was a girl, I dreamed of growing up to be the first female president of the United States," confides Cathy LoAlbo Opsitnick, a 1981 graduate of Pitt's College of General Studies (CGS).

Obviously, Opsitnick has yet to meet that goal. But she did go on to win a number of elective offices—most notably, serving as mayor of her hometown of Verona, Pa., from 1989 to 1993.

And, Opsitnick is a world leader of sorts. As president and CEO of Pittsburgh-based Management Science Associates, Inc. (MSA), she heads a diversified information management and analysis company with offices in Wales, Malaysia, and China, as well as in five U.S. cities.

Incorporated in 1963, MSA was a pioneer in data mining, using computers to sift through massive amounts of information in order to identify market trends and opportunities, and develop successful business strategies, for clients such as Clairol Herbal Essence shampoo, and Lite beers and snacks. Today, MSA provides information management services to the auto, steel, medical, consumer packaged goods and television industries, among others.

There's even an MSA Sports Network—featuring radio and Internet broadcasts and a Web site—that covers high school sports in Western Pennsylvania. "My love child," Opsitnick affectionately calls the network, proudly noting that it offers broadcasting experience to local university students and enables Western Pennsylvania-bred U.S. military personnel in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere to follow their high school teams. MSA loses money on the network but considers it a public service, says Opsitnick. "Of course, we hope to see it become self-sustainable in the future," she adds.

Opsitnick started at MSA as a data processor in 1971. She left the company in 1977 to work as a computer programmer, complete her CGS degree and begin raising a family, including a son, Zachary, and a daughter, Allison. She returned to MSA in 1994 as a consultant and then in 1998 as executive vice president and proceeded to work her way up the corporate ladder. Opsitnick attributes part of her success in business and politics to her CGS education.

"What I found refreshing about CGS was that everybody in my classes was there because they genuinely wanted to be there," she recalls. "Most of us were paying our own tuition. I sensed a strong focus and a certain worldliness among CGS students and in the attitudes of our instructors.

"My major in speech emphasized rhetoric and the great rhetoricians of history, and the things I learned in those courses sharpened my reasoning and communication skills. This experience also showed me how important it is to continue to learn, both in additional formal education and in the work and other activities that I have pursued," says Opsitnick. "Of course, I later found a big gap between the Golden Age of Pericles and the realities of government in Verona, Pa.," she acknowledges, with a laugh, "but I received a great education nonetheless."