Alumni
Highlights
Taking
the high trail
 |
| Steve
Czompo ’88 visits “The Priest” in Virginia
along his six-month trek. |
Suggest that he “take
a hike,” Andor “Steve” Czompo ’88 (film/video)
isn’t likely to think twice about it. The avid outdoorsman
completed a 2,173-mile trek of the Appalachian Trail in September.
Formerly a TV director
for WOKR, Channel 13, in Rochester and Televideo (DaimlerChrysler)
in Detroit, Czompo put his career on hold to fulfill this longtime
dream. Despite rugged terrain, unusually heavy rainfall and a
brief bout with Lyme disease, Czompo hiked from Springer Mountain,
Ga., to Mt. Katahdin, Maine, in just six months.
“The beauty of
the trail is its simplicity,” he says. “There is something
enormously liberating about heading out into the wilderness, knowing
that all you really need in this world can be carried on your
back.”
Images from Czompo’s
adventure can be viewed online at http://homepage.mac.com/sczompo/AT/.
Glass
action
Glass artist Eric
Dahlberg ’02 (MFA) is one of 149 recipients of 2003 fellowships
from the New York Foundation for the Arts. The award helps Dahlberg
continue his work and create an “artists and audiences”
exchange project. The body of work that won the award was glass
sculpture in the form of books.
A resident of Scottsville,
N.Y., Dahlberg is head instructor and shop manager at More Fire
Glass Studio in Rochester. His work “Old Friends” won
two awards in the 59th Rochester-Finger Lakes Exhibition at the
Memorial Art Galley in Rochester. Samples of his work can be viewed
online at www.morefireglass.com/edimages/dahlberg.htm.
Book
work
After moving to the
Pennsylvania Dutch country five years ago, Pete Beckary ’90
(business administration, finance) found inspiration for a book
on the signs outside churches in the area. Lancaster County
Signs of Faith is a collection of these spiritual gems such
as “When Trouble Grows, Your Character Shows,” “Come
In For A Faith Lift,” and “Praise Loudly, Blame Softly.”
Beckary paired each
message with a passage from the Bible and included photos of the
rural landscape by Robert Leahy. The postcard-size volume is available
at gift shops in the region, and also on the Internet through
Amazon.com and Borders.com.
“RIT and the education
I received is due credit for my success in self-publishing this
book,” he says. The self-employed accountant and computer
consultant adds that he already has enough material for two more
books.
Career
recognition
 |
| William
Keyser Jr. ’61 |
William Keyser Jr.
’61, who taught furniture design for 34 years at RIT’s
School for American Crafts, received The Furniture Society’s
Award of Distinction at the organization’s annual conference
in Philadelphia this past summer. Keyser was honored as a teacher
and furniture maker.
His furniture, sculptures
and paintings are represented in residential, corporate, ecclesiastical
and public art collections including the American Craft Museum.
Fire
works
 |
| A ceramic
plate by Douglas Kenney ’89 is displayed in Oahu, Hawaii.
|
Humanity and nature
in harmony form the main theme of the ceramic art of Douglas
Kenney ’89 (MFA). His designs incorporate American Abstract
Expressionist ideas with earth and landscape. Since moving to
Kailua, Hawaii, from Santa Barbara in 1999, Kenney’s work
has taken on a Hawaiian accent.
In 2002, the city of
Honolulu purchased three of his large, high-fire, ceramic plates.
Kenney, who has worked in clay for more than 23 years, also has
works in the permanent collection at the Smithsonian Museum of
American Art, Renwick Gallery and the Shigaraki Ceramic Park Museum
in Japan, as well as many other public and private collections.
Feeding
the troops
 |
| Rick
Farran ’03 |
Rick Farran ’03
(M.S., service management) is serving in Afghanistan as a food
service sergeant with the Army Reserves. A reservist for more
than 15 years (he joined at age 17), he manages and trains staff,
supervises food production, purchases rations and is responsible
for maintaining the equipment and dining facility. “It’s
the equivalent of a restaurant manager,” explains Farran.
Farran, who grew up
in Honeoye Falls, N.Y., gained plenty of civilian experience at
the Woodstock Inn in New Hampshire and the Highlands of Pittsford.
He expects to return from Afghanistan in the spring and will be
seeking a corporate position in the restaurant field in either
training or quality assurance.
New
waves
 |
| Mickey
Fagan ’47 pursues a passion for painting maritime subjects. |
As a semi-retired advertising
executive, Gordon “Mickey” Fagan ’47 (printing)
picked up a paint brush and answered the call of the sea. He’s
done well as a marine artist: His work has been included in shows
in New York, Ohio and Florida, and he’s won several awards.
Fagan is a professional
member of the International Society of Marine Painters and had
two paintings selected in the organization’s juried exhibition
this year. The ISMP has 150 members in the United States, Canada,
Australia, England and Portugal.
Fagan, who lives in
Hamburg, N.Y., serves as public relations director for the Centennial
Art Center there, and is also a member of the Arts Guild Inc.
of Old Forge, N.Y. Some of his work can be viewed online at www.geocities.com/marineartmickey/.
Information for
Alumni Highlights may be submitted to Kathy Lindsley, University
News Services, RIT, Building 86, 132 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester,
NY 14623, or via e-mail to kjlcom@rit.edu
