Local Grad Takes Home Top Prize On Popular SyFy Channel Reality Show

MONESSEN (KDKA) -- Nora Hewitt, graduate of Tom Savini's Special Makeup and Effects program in Monessen, competes in the grand finale of the SyFy channel's "Face Off" reality show.

Tom Savini and others gathered to hear the final verdict Tuesday night.

There was a cheer as Nora's name was announced. She knew the outcome, of course, but wasn't telling.

"Keeping it from Tom was hard because he's very persistent," she laughed.

The winner says there were difficult moments.

"Especially when you've got all the cameras on you, and there's all this other pressure. And you're away from your family, and no one to talk to besides the people around you, it was just a million different things at once."

She overcame every one of them.

Classmates at the Savini School admit they would not want to face the pressures of "Face Off."

"That time crunch and that pressure that they're under, especially having people watching them, I'm sure is even more difficult," said student Stephanie Raap.

"I wouldn't want anyone to see me go through that," Hannah Penney added. "It's a horrible experience, and a horrible feeling. Got everyone watching you as you're struggling with it. It's not nice."

Twenty-one students from the Savini school have competed on "Face Off" in the past nine seasons. Several of them did make it to the finale. But no one has actually gone all the way, until now.

"Everyone is there to be a better artist," Nora recalls. "And with the help the artists around you, you become better artists. And I think that's the most rewarding thing I took away from doing the show."

She won $100,000, a Fiat, and a glittering resume for her job search in Hollywood. And if the going gets tough, she says, "Take a minute to breathe. Wait a minute, and just push through whatever you're going through."

Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page
Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter