Future Teacher and Running Back Finds His Stride

As a Duquesne Dukes running back (and 2024 NEC Offensive Rookie of the Year), Shawn Solomon, E’27, can stand on Rooney Field and look across the Monongahela River to George K. Cupples Stadium on the South Side—the site of many Friday-night victories and high-fives with high school teammates. For Shawn, the view represents growth, ambition and years of hard work.

Pittsburgh proud

Shawn is grateful he grew up in Pittsburgh. It means Duquesne home football games are flooded with cousins, nephews and other members of his large family. The kids look up to him—and for good reason.
 
Growing up in the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Shawn attended Pittsburgh Brashear High School as a student in their teaching magnet program. In addition to preparing high school students for future careers as teachers, the program readies teens for college coursework and helps them build confidence. 
 
Shawn’s college and career plans were cemented during a teacher magnet program field placement where he shadowed his own fourth grade teacher. He remembered how she taught him how to “double down and do the work,” and she remembered him as the student with loads of potential.
 
“The type of teacher she was really resonated with me,” said Shawn. 

Prepared for anything

After graduating from Brashear, Shawn arrived at Duquesne to pursue a middle-level education degree. He was already an alum of the AD99 Foundation, a non-profit established by three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald that empowers youth from underserved communities by supporting educational, arts and athletics initiatives that foster growth, opportunity and success. 
 
Through Foundation programming, Shawn found his voice and was excited to use this newfound self-assurance as he began studies on the Bluff.
 
“I learned that closed mouths don’t get fed,” said Shawn. “It instilled a lot more confidence in me.”
 
Support from School of Education faculty also was instrumental in helping Shawn get a running start so he can realize his boldest goals.
 
“School of Education professors are really helpful,” he said. “They always put their hand out and extend extra resources with students.” 

A professional path with purpose

Shawn has overcome adversity in his first two decades of life. Born with bilateral hearing loss, he started wearing hearing aids at just three months old, and when he was 10 his father passed away. As a teacher, he hopes to provide support, instill strength in his students and inspire them to face challenges head-on. 
 
Shawn already has started sharing his gifts and talents through School of Education field placements at Falk Laboratory School and the Campus Laboratory School at Carlow University. Additionally, he’s embedded himself in the community, coaching flag football on weekends at Schenley Park where several of his Falk students have joined as teammates. 
 
Shawn also participated in a social justice field placement at a former Homestead church transformed into a ropes course. There, he greeted each child with compassion and empathy, relating to some of their struggles. The experience added an even greater sense of purpose to his aspirations.
 
“A lot of them don’t realize how smart they are. They’re so creative and they’re able to work their brain with different things rather than just pencil and paper,” said Shawn. “Sometimes those kids may feel like they’re not smart because of where they come from and the situation they’re in.” 

Paying it forward

While Shawn continues to touch lives of students throughout the Pittsburgh region, the Brashear teaching magnet program is never far from his mind. Once a year he reunites with his former teachers and meets current Brashear students as they visit Duquesne to learn more about opportunities within the School of Education. Shawn visits with the group, provides a campus tour and leads a mock lesson-planning activity. 
 
He hopes to inspire the next generation of education students to pursue their passions and experience campus life at Duquesne.
 
“I had a lot of schools interested,” he said. “I took a visit to Duquesne and fell in love with it.”