Brett Fadgen has always been driven to excel. His ambition has only been sharpened by the reactions he receives from others when they see he has only one arm. Due to a congenital defect, Fadgen was born with his right arm ending just below the elbow.

Fadgen’s career in healthcare began as a volunteer at the Elfinwild Volunteer Fire Company in Shaler. Always growing his skills, he became a paramedic at the EVFD, before earning his nursing degree and becoming a pre-hospital registered nurse with Ross/Westview EMSA and Shaler Hampton EMS, then a STAT MedEvac flight nurse. While working as a flight nurse, he earned his Master of Science in Nursing focusing in Nurse Anesthesia from the University of Pittsburgh. He now works for UPMC as a Nurse Anesthetist and is continually helping individuals reimagine how they see individuals with disabilities.

Fadgen was nominated for this honor by his classmate, Beth Sanchez, who reflected, “Brett exemplifies our core values of pride, respect, and honor. Brett was born without a fully formed right arm, but never let that stop him. I remember that he had a prosthetic arm, his warm smile, and the fact that he never treated his disability as anything other than part of who he was.”

Fadgen received his award on November 2nd, 2023, at the National Honor Society induction ceremony.