Class Notes

Eric Rakov BFA ’96 with one of his award winning collages

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

Kelly Cheatle BFA ’99 speaking at a post-2024 election organizing meeting

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: MIchael Sciotti

Class Year(s): 1988

Note: Michael Sciotti BS ’88 is practicing law at Barclay Damon LLP. In December 2024, Michael was awarded the Honorable George Lowe Pro Bono Service Award by the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. This is only the second time the award has been given out in the history of the Court.

Submitted on: January 5, 2025

Outside St. Alphonsus Church, Tupper Lake, NY

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: Kate Gunderson

Class Year(s): 2015

Note: Kate Gunderson BS ’16 graduated from the National Test Pilot School’s rigorous year-long Flight Test Engineer Professional course on December 13, 2024, as the only female student in her class. In addition to an EASA Cat I Lead FTE certification, she also earned an MS in Flight Test Engineering. In the new year, Kate will begin working as an FTE in developmental flight test at Northrop Grumman.

Submitted on: December 18, 2024

Name: Norma Moran

Class Year(s): 2000

Note: Norma Morán BS ’00 is one of 54 participants selected for the Enlace Mid-level Leadership Program of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), a prestigious national organization representing more than 500 colleges and universities in the United States, Latin America, and Spain. Norma is the first known Deaf participant in the six-month program with a focus on leadership development for mid-level college and university professionals of Hispanic/Latine backgrounds. Currently serving as the associate director of the Center for Latine Deaf Studies at Gallaudet University, Norma fondly reflects on her Liberal Arts concentration in latin american studies in the College of Liberal Arts.

Submitted on: December 10, 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: Felicia Jefferson

Class Year(s): 2001

Note: Dr. Felicia Jefferson BS ’01 was inducted as an elected fellow of AAAS on September 21, 2024. She was selected as a 2023 fellow of AAAS. See Science Magazine announcement: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adp9613. See AAAS Announcement: https://www.aaas.org/fellows/2023-fellows.

Submitted on: December 9, 2024