Class Notes

Name: Jeff Berry

Class Year(s): 1992

Note: Jeff Berry BFA ’92 recently concluded a solo photography exhibit in Saranac Lake, NY, titled, The Distorted View - a body of work exploring photographic impressionism and the art of breaking the rules. In 2020, Jeff left his corporate career in Rochester, NY, and relocated to the Adirondack Mountains in pursuit of a more purposeful and creative life. He is now a caretaker and serves as the team coordinator for Search and Rescue of the Northern Adirondacks (SARNAK). When he’s not photographing or leading a search mission, Jeff can be found fly fishing, canoeing, kayaking, or simply relaxing by the campfire with his Australian Shepherd, Auggie.

Submitted on: May 19, 2025

Name: Keith Maly

Class Year(s): 1994

Note: Keith Maly BS ’94 completed a second M.S. in data analytics engineering at George Mason University.

Submitted on: May 19, 2025

Name: Jeremy Sniatecki

Class Year(s): 1995

Note: Jeremy Sniatecki BFA ’95 was honored to be chosen for a second time (first was 2023) to design/illustrate the 2025 Rochester Lilac Festival poster, and also help develop some of the related event merch. This year’s design featured a mother nature character and a touch of art nouveau flavor.

Submitted on: May 19, 2025

Name: Audrey Lallier Braun

Class Year(s): 2025

Note: Sydney Braun, daughter of Audrey (Lallier) Braun BS ’05.

Submitted on: May 15, 2025

Name: Kara Austin

Class Year(s): 2005

Note: Kara Austin BFA ’05 has been promoted to multimedia designer within the Division of University Advancement at RIT. In this role, Kara will continue to elevate the visual storytelling that supports RIT’s mission, bringing creative ideas to life through compelling digital and print media.

Submitted on: May 15, 2025

Name: Marcus D’Aguiar

Class Year(s): 2020

Note: This is more of a group update, so I will start with the co-founders information: 1. Adesola Adedewe BS, MS ’22 - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dewe2017 2. Garret Brennan BS ’21 - https://www.linkedin.com/in/garret-brennan-04a135180/ 3. Marcus D’Aguiar BS ’20 - See above linkedin / instagram handles. The 3 of us have co-founded Epoch (https://epoch.trade), an algorithmic trading platform that empowers users to build, test, deploy, and share trading algorithms—all without writing code. The platform democratizes powerful tools typically reserved for hedge funds, and includes standout features like EpochAI, live autonomous trading, machine learning labs, and collaborative strategy-building. The team has seen strong momentum, with 325 beta users and a paid launch targeted for the end of May. We credit much of our early growth and technical foundation to the skills and connections we built during our time at RIT.

Submitted on: May 15, 2025

Name: Shawn Burkholder

Class Year(s): 1990

Note: After 29 years at TE Connectivity in various roles of increasing responsibility, Shawn Burkholder BT ’90, moved to CTE Inc. as plant manager. The last five years have been a whirl as business has skyrocketed! From bringing on new equipment, to developing new hires and implementing lean strategies…. It’s been a blast!

Submitted on: May 13, 2025

Name: Tom Turchioe

Class Year(s): 1984

Note: Tom Turchioe BS ’85 was promoted to chief architect, SAP Partnership Channel at TRC Companies. Tom lives in Reno, NV with around 60 other Tiger alumni. Go Tigers.

Submitted on: May 6, 2025

Name: Sue (Czuba) Ake

Class Year(s): 1986

Note: Sue (Czuba) Ake BS ’86 hosted other 1986 KGCOE alumni for a fun reunion weekend at a college in PA. Alumni included: Mike Tosti BS ’86 from CA, Tim Thiemel BS ’86 from Rochester, NY, Jerry Skrzynski BS ’86 from West Seneca, NY, Barry Wolff BS ’86 from Jericho, NY, and Kirk Witherow BS ’86 from Perkasie, PA. The friends reunite every 5 years to reminisce and make new memories. As boomers, they now talk about medications and when they can retire.

Submitted on: May 6, 2025

Name: Tom Litchhult

Class Year(s): 1970, 1974

Note: Tom Litchhult BS ’74 received a master’s degree in Clinical Chemistry in 1984. Tom was an intern at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, NY. He became a lab supervisor at St. Mary’s & Highland Hospitals. Tom later joined Kodak in 1980 and was transferred by Kodak to Houston, TX, where he worked for ~20 years. Tom worked stints at JNJ Labcorp in management positions for Lab Marketing/Sales and retired after 40 years. Tom went into Law Enforcement, attended HCC Police Academy and became vice president of the Harris County, Pct 4, Constables Office Citizens Police Academy (CPA). Tom is currently doing armed security in a Woodlands, TX, specialty hospital, once a week on Saturdays. Full circle, hospital in 1974, then back in a hospital for the last 3 years. Rewarding career that started at RIT in 1970. Thank you RIT.

Submitted on: May 5, 2025