Pat Weldon is a junior and leading scorer on the Seton LaSalle basketball team who has achieved a lot on the court, but his achievements have been even more impressive off of it.
Weldon is one of 18 individuals set to be honored Tuesday night at Acriscure Stadium after being selected to Junior Achievement of Western Pennsylvania’s prestigious “18 Under Eighteen” Class of 2024, which showcases the talents and achievements of some of the region’s most impressive young people.
But here’s the thing … At the same time the event is taking place on the North Shore, Weldon’s basketball team has a gigantic game in Coraopolis against Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (15-4, 9-1). A win would clinch Seton LaSalle (15-4, 10-0) the Class 3A Section 2 title and put the Rebels just one more section win away from finishing as unbeaten section champs for the first time since 2018.
So, what is a kid to do?
“I had originally been planning on going to Junior Achievement, but whenever we had a chance to go undefeated and win the section, I knew I had to be [at the game] for sure,” said Weldon, who lives in Monongahela.
Weldon said the Junior Achievement staff has been very accommodating. Instead of spending the entire evening at Acrisure Stadium (the event is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.), Weldon will drive there after school to have some pictures taken before returning to school for a team meal. Seton LaSalle will then travel to OLSH for a 6 p.m. junior varsity game and 7:30 varsity game.
Winners of 10 of its past 11 games, Seton LaSalle has been on a roll as it continues to get strong play from Weldon, who moved into the starting lineup this season after being one of the first players off the bench a season ago. A 6-foot-1 guard-forward, Weldon has more than done well, averaging 15 points a game for a WPIAL title contender.
“He’s really learned how to play a couple of different positions for us,” Seton LaSalle coach Mark “Knobby” Walsh said. “He can take the ball to the basket, and he’s worked really hard on his outside shot. He’s really developed his physical strength. That’s been evident every year. He and Hayden [Merchant] complement each other on the scoring, and sometimes when you have a one-two punch like that, I think it makes it difficult for opponents.”
Weldon would love to lead Seton LaSalle on a long postseason run and perhaps even its first WPIAL title in 10 years. If nothing else, the Rebels should have some good luck coming their way after being eliminated from the WPIAL and PIAA playoffs on buzzer-beaters a season ago.
“If we can make it very far, which I think we can, that would honestly mean the world to me,” he said.
Weldon, 17, has done a great job of impacting the world in a positive way. At the heart of his work has been “Art for Heart,” a service project he founded in May 2020 just as the pandemic was in its early stages.
“I just had so much time on my hands,” Weldon recalled. “I really had nothing else to do, so I figured I might as well help people. I signed up for Meals on Wheels at the time, too. Seeing the senior citizens home-bound and no one being able to visit them, I decided to do something about it.”
What Weldon did was create a card-making initiative that supports those in need. At first, Weldon would design the cards and distribute them to people along with their meals. But Weldon then expanded the program as he began recruiting his peers to make and distribute their own cards. He currently collects them from Seton LaSalle and St. Louise de Marillac School, where he attended middle school.
The project has gotten to the point where Art for Heart has collected and distributed over 15,000 cards to 18 facilities in the Pittsburgh area. They are delivered to places such as hospitals, senior living facilities, monasteries and food banks.
It turns out that one person Weldon has not asked for help creating cards is his basketball coach.
“If he did ask me, he probably wouldn’t ask me a second time, because I’m probably the least creative person that I know. Especially in art,” Walsh said, laughing.
Weldon is a well-rounded teenager with a 4.0 GPA who at school is a member of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) and Rebels For Life. He has already been honored by winning awards such as the Chrome Federal Credit Union Random Acts of Kindness Award, Prudential Spirit of Community Award and the Carson Scholar Award.
The “18 Under Eighteen” honor is arguably Weldon’s biggest yet. A total of 100 people were nominated for the award. Weldon was nominated by his history teacher, Suzanne Maffei. After being named one of 36 finalists in November, Weldon moved onto the video interview phase of the process. He must have fared well because he found out later in the month that he was among the 18 winners ranging from ages 11 to 18. According to the Junior Achievement website, judges evaluated each nominee in the following categories: leadership, community service, entrepreneurial spirit, extraordinary skill sets, and any talent or intangible qualities that contribute to the nominee’s road to success.
“I think it just shows the tremendous leadership he shows on and off the court, to be able to dedicate so much of his personal time to helping other people,” Walsh said. “I think it is getting the attention it deserves based on the time and effort he puts into it.”
That attention includes honorees finding their names and photos on billboards. One with Weldon on it is located near the At Home store in Coraopolis.
“Whenever they said they were doing that, I was really shocked,” Weldon said.
Honorees have also been meeting on Zoom each Friday with BeNeca Griffin, a “White House recognized community leader” who provides leadership training to the honorees, including tips on how to create their own business.
Weldon said he is not sure what career path he will take. He mentioned possibly health care. His father is an anesthesiologist.
Whatever this junior achiever decides, his basketball coach said he is lucky to have him.
“He’s a very respectful kid and an outstanding student,” Walsh said. “Fortunately, we get him for another 13 or 14 months.”
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.