Class Notes
Name: Lisa Kachigian
Class Year(s): 2003
Note: Lisa Kachigian BS ’03 and Joshua Doolin BS ’11 tied the knot on Oct 1, 2024 at the Cliffs of Moher in Doolin, County Clare Ireland, surrounded by family and many of their RIT friends. Josh and Lisa met at RIT and have been planning this event for twenty years!
Submitted on: October 26, 2024
Name: Edward Wolf
Class Year(s): 2009
Note: Edward Wolf BS ’09 and Elizabeth Ihidoy are proud to announce the birth of their daughter Eliza Amaia Ihidoy Wolf. Born 12/23, her Basque middle name ’Amaia’ symbolizes the end of the year and the completion of our family. Sisters Violet, Cora and Isobel are thrilled to have another future Tiger!
Submitted on: October 18, 2024
Name: Dina Johnson
Class Year(s): 2015
Note: Since attending RIT, Dina Johnson BS ’15 has been fortunate to advance to new heights. Dina recently graduated from the University of Rochester with a degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and is now working as a Mental Health Provider at St. Joseph’s Neighborhood Center. In 2020, Dina founded a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization called Monroe County Family Coalition, where Dina served as Founder, President, and CEO. In addition, Dina is excited to announce the upcoming launch of a for-profit venture, DJ Collaboratives LLC, which will focus on mentoring young girls and adults across three age groups: 13-17, 18-21, and life skills development for ages 22-30. RIT paved the way for Dina to rise and continue in education, and Dina is incredibly grateful for the phenomenal mentors and professors who invested in Dina’s success. Thank you, RIT, for everything!
Submitted on: October 8, 2024
Name: Valerie VanHoesen
Class Year(s): 2016
Note: Valerie VanHoesen BFA ’16 and Calvin González married 10/05/24. Valerie and Calvin met on the RIT Track and Field team and started dating in 2015. They have been inseparable ever since!
Submitted on: October 6, 2024
Name: Christopher Banas
Class Year(s): 2024
Note: Chris Banas BS ’24 and Patrick Curley BS ’24, recently had their daily puzzle app, Puzzlit, featured in Times Square. They make up the development team of Puzzlit and are proud of their achievement after a year of developing the app.
Submitted on: September 18, 2024
Name: Dr. Kara Calandrelli
Class Year(s): 1999
Note: Kara Calandrelli ’99 (CIAS) obtained a Doctorate in Healthcare Administration from the University of Lynchburg in 2023.
Submitted on: September 6, 2024
Name: Michael Bradbury
Class Year(s): 1976
Note: After retiring as a Professor of Biochemistry at ATSU-KCOM, Michael Bradbury BS ’76 has moved to the Orlando area and started a one-man consultant operation to provide faculty development for medical schools, along with advice on basic science curricular change and active learning strategies. You can find out more about it at www.bradmeded.com.
Submitted on: September 6, 2024
Name: Michael Lynch
Class Year(s): 2018
Note: Michael Lynch BS ’18 and Sara (Jacobus) Lynch BS ’18 announced their marriage surrounded by RIT alumni and friends in August 2024.
Submitted on: September 4, 2024
Name: Alicia Stenglein
Class Year(s): 2018
Note: Alicia (Wyble) Stenglein BS ’18 and her husband Zack welcomed their first child, a baby girl named Harper, in April 2024!
Submitted on: August 29, 2024
Name: Rick Colson
Class Year(s): 1971
Note: After careers in business, consulting, owning a marketing agency and sustainable real estate development, Rick Colson AAS ’71 is excited to announce the formation of a new not-for-profit art resource in the Pioneer Valley of central Massachusetts. Human Scale Art Space, Inc. is a revolutionary non-profit with both an educational and exhibition mission. Different from most galleries, Human Scale Art Space focuses on educational workshops that expand the definition of “art” to encompass a far wider range of art forms. They hold educational and experiential programs at affordable rates (free for those who can’t afford our suggested contribution), at various venues in the Pioneer Valley. Their fall 2024 programs related to photography include: Workshop: Rock & Roll and Stage Photography - Improve your photography! How to take better performance photos and make high quality images at concerts and stage venues under complex stage lighting. Workshop: Polaroid 20x24 Instant Images - Dedicated to the legendary Polaroid 20x24 camera and the opportunity to make your own 20x24 images. Instructor, John Reuter, October 26th. Workshop: From Personal Trauma to Public Stage - Mining personal experience to use as source material for monologues, storytelling, and solo shows. Ideas transformed into action and silence into voice. Taught by playwright Jay Sefton Workshop: From Analog to Digital and Back - film negative scans, digital negatives, paper negatives, digital positives and digital negatives that can be printed in a darkroom, plus new papers, films and specialty surfaces – vellum, rice paper, translucent papers, backlit mediums, adhesive papers. Workshop: Build a Large Format Camera That Makes Digital Files That Look Like Film! - We will take you through the necessary materials, sourcin everything you need, and we’ll actually build a large format “digital” camera that captures approximately 11×14 inch original images. Same shallow depth of field, same fall off at the edges! Not Photoshop effects. And you will be able to use it to make your own photographs! Workshop: Think Big - Creating large-scale art installations, for indoor and outdoor, private, public and institutional/corporate settings, from ideas to funding to installation. For more information on any of our programs, or suggestions for programs you would like to see offered, please visit www.humanscaleartspace.org.
Submitted on: August 23, 2024