Alumni News

Hridiza Roy followed a summer internship at Disney Studios, with a fall position in the Gap Year Entrepreneurial Fellowship. The RIT program gave her a block of time and a stipend to advance her passion project—Painterly, an animation software tool.

Rochester Business Journal profiles Rochester entrepreneur Raquel Lowry '18 (management), whose handbag and accessories business has grown from a side project into an international brand.

Twenty-three students from RIT's graphic design and visual communication design programs were recognized in the 2026 Graphis New Talent Awards, a juried showcase of emerging creatives around the world. A number of the honored projects from RIT designers will also be featured in the awards' companion publication. 

RIT researchers value citizen science, where making data available to everyone not only accelerates research but also fosters education, trust in science, and worldwide collaboration.

Black Enterprise highlights the launch of Oria by alumnus Josiah Faison '23 (finance), a digital storytelling platform designed to help families and communities preserve oral histories and generational memories through AI-powered archiving tools.

Connect Bridgeport highlights Broc Oliverio '24 (manufacturing and mechanical systems integration) being named Cochlear’s 2025 Hear-o of the Year for his advocacy and volunteer work supporting deaf people with cochlear implants. 

Rochester Business Journal reports Jay McHarg has been named the 2026 recipient of the Herbert W. Vanden Brul Entrepreneurial Award from RIT’s Saunders College of Business, recognizing his leadership and innovation at AeroSafe Global.

Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf has appointed Amberlee Jones, of Rochester, New York, and Sam Sepah of Pleasanton, California, to their Foundation Board of Directors.

The first woman of color to go into space reminded the Class of 2026 at Academic Convocation to be fully present in the world—observing, wondering, and “looking up” rather than moving through life with the shades down in apathy or fear. 

Graduates from RIT's Class of 2026 share what's next for them. From jobs with national and global companies to prestigious graduate programs and life-changing careers, these students have amazing futures ahead.

The U.S. Department of the Army Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics has awarded RIT a premier cooperative agreement to establish and lead the Army STEM Education Consortium.

Elan Lee, creator of the Exploding Kittens gaming empire, has been named RIT’s Outstanding Alumnus for 2026.