Class Notes

Name: John Surgent

Class Year(s): 1963

Note: John Surgent ’63 (KGCOE) retired from IBM in 1992 after 33 years working in many field as a Senior Advisory Electrical Engineer. He spends part of the year in Florida where he takes wildlife and travel photography, and recently some astro photography. He has been married to his wife, Jeannine, for 55 years and they enjoy travelling. They have two children who reside in the Boston area.

Submitted on: August 11, 2021

Name: Rosemarie Eskes

Class Year(s): 1986

Note: Rosemarie Eskes MS ’86 (SCB) retired from the University of Rochester’s International Student Office in 2020 where she was helping International students with their taxes. She still sees private tax clients at home and specializes in aliens! You did read that right: an alien of course, is someone who is not a citizen. She is the only Alien Tax Consultant in the Rochester area.

Submitted on: August 7, 2021

Name: Joanna Kha

Class Year(s): 2006

Note: Joanna Kha ’06 (SCB) and Alex Van welcomed their first child, Jonathan Van, in December 2020. They live in Orlando, F.L.

Submitted on: August 3, 2021

Name: Breanna (Smith) Rice

Class Year(s): 2013

Note: Breanna (Smith) Rice ’13 (SCB) teamed up with other 6 other Pittsburgh-based graphic designers to create a passion project during quarantine. The project, a deck of playing cards, features 54 custom illustrations of vulnerable, near threatened, endangered, and critically endangered species, and it just went live on Kickstarter (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/brackscollective/protected-pack). The goal of this project is to encourage players to support conservation efforts and consider their impact on these creatures. Breanna and her team are very proud of all of the work and heart poured into this and are super appreciative of any shares or support!

Submitted on: August 2, 2021

Name: Lindsey Rima Felix

Class Year(s): 2004

Note: Lindsey Rima Felix ’04 (CIAS) is co-founder and COO of Felix Media Solutions and is celebrating her company’s third consecutive year on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing privately held companies. Lindsey’s ingenious approach to finance and leadership has allowed the Austin, Texas-based AV integration company to grow and thrive throughout the pandemic.

Submitted on: July 30, 2021

Name: Andrew Babcock

Class Year(s): 2010

Note: Andrew Babcock ’10 (CIAS) has invented a product to hang eyewear on a wall or mirror. The Cactus Eyewear Hook is a cactus-shaped hook that is manufactured and sold through his newly formed business, Lavajet Lab, and is available for sale online.

Submitted on: July 30, 2021

Name: Joseph Enright

Class Year(s): 2016

Note: Joseph Enright ’16 (CAST) graduated with a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from Ohio University in the Spring of 2021.

Submitted on: July 29, 2021

Name: Nikhil Patel

Class Year(s): 2010

Note: Nikhil Patel MS ’16 (CAST) returned to his hometown of Vadodara in 2016 to help his mother in her fight against cancer. After losing his mother in 2018, Nikhil struggled to find work, especially once the pandemic hit. He decided to leverage his packaging skills from RIT, and started his own business and a side career as a consultant. Today, he is in the process of building his business of gift boxes, which is still very new, but going well.

Submitted on: July 29, 2021

Name: Scott Bureau

Class Year(s): 2011, 2016

Note: Scott Bureau ’11 (CLA) MBA ’16 (SCB) and Lindsay Power ’11 (KGCOE) ME ’11 (KGCOE) welcomed Marcella Bureau into the world in January 2021. Marcella is a lover of all animals and berries.

Submitted on: July 28, 2021

Name: Christine Holtz

Class Year(s): 2002

Note: Christine Holtz MFA ’02 (CIAS) has been promoted to the rank of University Professor of Media Arts at Robert Morris University in suburban Pittsburgh, P.A.

Submitted on: July 28, 2021