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Name: Eric Rakov
Class Year(s): 1996
Note: St. Augustine’s Butterfield Garage Art Gallery will present work from Eric Rakov BFA ’96, their February 2025 featured artist. His exhibit opens on the first Friday Artwalk, February 7 from 5-9 p.m. Eric will give a short artist talk at 6 p.m. to share his journey and discuss his technique. Eric Rakov is an award-winning collage artist who primarily uses recycled magazines as his palette to create vibrant impressionistic artwork. He applies the media in a painterly style, building colors in layers, creating dark shadows and bright highlights. Eric’s subjects range from tabletop still-life scenes to vignettes from his international travels.
Submitted on: January 12, 2025

Name: Kelly Cheatle
Class Year(s): 1999
Note: Kelly Cheatle BFA ’99 is excited to announce her candidacy for Rochester City Council in 2025! With over two decades of experience as artistic director at Airigami (www.airigami.com), Kelly has led large-scale community artistic installations worldwide, showcasing the power of collaborative creation. The foundation of her skills was formed as a graphic design undergrad at RIT, giving her a unique perspective as an artist and problem-solver. After years of advocating for equitable arts funding and leading a successful David vs. Goliath campaign to prevent the privatization of public space in downtown Rochester, Kelly is ready to bring her collaborative approach to local government. Supporters can follow and support her campaign by visiting her official website: www.VoteforKelly.com.
Submitted on: January 10, 2025

Name: Branden Jaquays
Class Year(s): 95, 12
Note: Branden Jaquays BFA ’12 became a NYS licensed Funeral Director, Fall 2024, and works at Frary Funeral Home in Tupper Lake, NY.
Submitted on: January 1, 2025

Name: Mehwish Nasir
Class Year(s): 2008, 2010
Note: Mehwish Nasir MBA ’10 was recognized for Expertise in Business Technology and Consulting on July 15, 2024. (Ref: https://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/513832/mehwish-nasir-mba-recognized-for-expertise-in-business-technology-and-consulting). Mehwish, an executive board member at OPEN (Organization of Pakistani Entrepreneurs) Global (San Jose, CA) is a Pakistani Canadian American and a former Fulbright Scholar (2008-2010) to the U.S.A. Mehwish was inducted as Marquis Who’s Who-Honored Listee in America (2024-2025); and as Marquis Who’s Who of Professional Women, Professional Women Honoree (October 2024) and Honoree, Distinguished Worldwide Humanitarian (August 2024). Ref: https://whoswhoofprofessionalwomen.com/mehwish-nasir/ and https://worldwidehumanitarian.com/2024/08/28/mehwish-nasir/
Submitted on: January 1, 2025

Name: Taylor Rakocy
Class Year(s): 2018
Note: Conor McKaig BS ’19 and Taylor Rakocy BFA ’18 met at RIT in April 2016 and were married in Rochester in April 2024. They were surrounded by incredible friends from school as they celebrated their long awaited union at the Harro East Ballroom.
Submitted on: December 29, 2024

Name: Thomas Harvey
Class Year(s): 1975, 1987
Note: Tom Harvey BS ’87 won a Best of Category award and a Best of Show 1st Runner-Up award at the 2023 Image City Photography Gallery Exhibit titled, Photographers Journey. The photo was of a young Orthodox Jewish boy walking two Cheder in the Ultra-Orthodox section of Jerusalem. The photo was taken on Tom’s 2022 tour of Israel.
Submitted on: December 10, 2024

Name: Stephen VanDeWater
Class Year(s): 1970
Note: Stephen Vandewater ’70 (CIAS), photojournalist, has been in contact with many famous people during his career. He has met and photographed, most notably, President John F. Kennedy shortly before his assassination. Other celebrities are George Jessel, Kenny Rogers, Charlton Heston and President George H. W. Bush. He was also in the Vietnam War as a photographic reconnaissance photographer. He was awarded The Commendation Medal and Conspicuous Service Medal for outstanding work there. He joined Eastman Kodak Company as a photojournalist and covered a wide range of assignments. One of interest was the making of a Gene Hackman movie, where one of the characters crashed through the Kodak Colorama display in Grand Central Terminal. Steve has received several awards from Eastman Kodak Company for his photography. Steve met his wife, Susan (Young) Vandewater AAS ’68, while at RIT and they were married in 1969. Sue is a 1968 graduate and his forever partner giving him much needed support. Steve retired in 2005 and they are currently enjoying life in Bristol, New York. Steve’s photographs and history are archived at Rochester Institute of Technology and The University of Rochester.
Submitted on: December 6, 2024

Name: Emily Bogle
Class Year(s): 2011
Note: Emily Bogle BFA ’11 and Tom Sciotto BS, ME ’11 welcomed their son, Alexander, in the summer of 2024.
Submitted on: December 5, 2024

Name: Andrew Schall
Class Year(s): 2003
Note: Andrew Schall BS ’03 recently published his new book, The Persona and Journey Map Playbook. While serving as senior director of experience design research at Mayo Clinic, he pioneered a new strategy for creating personas and journey maps to deeply understand user needs and guide product and service experience roadmaps.
Submitted on: November 30, 2024

Name: James Rowe
Class Year(s): 2008
Note: James Rowe BS ’08 published thoughts on AI. AI Primer for Business Leaders is a quick read. Check it out. Thanks RIT. https://www.amazon.com/Primer-Business-Leaders-Demystifying-Generative-ebook/dp/B0DKQSV5H4/
Submitted on: November 26, 2024