Tigers staying home

family on couch watching tv
 

Tigers staying home

Finding things to do can be increasingly difficult when you’ve been safe at home for a few weeks. To help, we’ve compiled a list of things to do at home brought to you exclusively by the RIT Alumni Association. Our alumni guide will help you make self-isolation more fun, while supporting your fellow Tigers at the same time.

Share Your Tiger Wisdom

The Class of 2020 is finishing their time at RIT, but they are just beginning their journey into the lives of purpose for which their education and experiences have prepared them. As a Tiger for life, we need your help to welcome our graduates to the alumni body. Encourage them as professionals and people in their next chapters, celebrate their accomplishment, or share your own Tiger story as an example of the opportunities ahead.

If you have words of wisdom, advice, or encouragement for this new band of Tigers, please share your thoughts on our Tiger Wisdom page.

Share Your Tiger Wisdom

Support Our Students!

Many in our RIT family have asked how they can help our students and the university during this unprecedented situation, and we are incredibly grateful for those offers. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic will extend long past our current crisis, and will especially impact current and incoming students and their families. There is an unprecedented need for financial aid scholarships in the coming year. If you are able to support next year's Tiger students, please make a gift at the link below. Thank you!

Support Next Year's Tigers!

Upcoming Virtual Events

See all upcoming events here.

Career Services Webinars

The Office of Career Services and Co-operative Education brings RIT alumni a variety of career-driving webinars each semester. To see what's being offered in the coming weeks, visit their alumni webinar listing. 

Online Diversity Education

What's Your Diversity?  Wednesdays, 1-2 p.m. via Zoom Join Nicole Scott and Taj Smith as they host a storytelling and dialogue hour! RIT employees share how diversity impacts their lives with Q&A to follow. Register Here.

Tigers Doing Good

RIT Tigers across the globe are doing great things to help during this global crisis. Read the RIT Rallies story from March for just a few of these stories. Some efforts are big, some are small, but they show the stripes of an RIT Tiger when the chips are down. Enjoy these stories of your fellow alumni, and share stories you may hear by emailing ritalum@rit.edu. 

Image outside of hospital with supplies being donated

Jackie Siegel BS '89, facilitated a donation of items from Winderemere Prep School and Students Fight Covid19, an Orlando group of students working to keep Central Florida safe. They collected and donated personal protective items such as masks, lab safety goggles and disposable gloves. The items were sanitized and dispersed to local hospitals all across Central Florida. ⁣⁣

Read about Jackie's work

box and testing machine

 

Joshua Perfetto BS '02, is CEO & Co-Founder of Chai. The company has created an easy-to-use analytical platform for Coronavirus testing that provides results within an hour!

Read more about Chai

Exterior shot of Restaurant Good Luck

Chuck Cerosofsky BFA '03, owner of Restaurant Good luck, Cure, and Lucky’s in Rochester, is collaborating with Pinnacle Wine & Liquor to provide meals to furloughed restaurant workers. "Goodness to Go" is a family meal for 10, ready for pick up hot, or cold to be reheated later. The meals are being offered to families of staff members from the hard-hit restaurant industry, as well as to those of frontline workers and first responders.

Listen to the story

Image from Gale Gand's Facebook page with invitation to next live event

Renowned pastry chef, TV host, and RIT School for American Crafts alumna Gale Gand BFA '81, is hosting a twice-weekly Facebook Live show called Quarantine Cooking Class  and Survival Tips. Her recipes use ingredients that most of us have in our homes, and she welcomes suggestions from viewers for upcoming recipes they'd like to see her prepare.

Visit Gand's Facebook page to sign up.

Gerry Buckley using ASL to speak with another person

RIT alumnus and NTID dean, Gerry Buckley BS '78, is helping helping deaf and hard-of-hearing patients find better ways to communicate during the pandemic. Together with Rochester area hospital staff and NTID instructors, they are looking for ways to fine-tune communication tools. For example, NTID is partnering with Microsoft to improve the accuracy of its free automatic speech recognition technology, Microsoft Translator.

Read about their efforts

Image of man wearing white mask over nose and mouth

Jerry Ragonese BFA '10, co-founder of Pro Athletics, a uniform and athletic apparel manufacturer, shifted the company's production efforts to making supplies for hospitals in need, including face masks, sheets and scrubs. “It feels a lot like the World War II effort, all of these companies switching over to do what they can to help,” said Ragonese. “I don’t look at it as being noble. It’s what the country needs to do in a time of need.”

Read more about the effort

  • May 12, 2023

    three graduating college students wearing their regalia.

    RIT grads told to hold on to hope and work hard to make it happen

    A former top NASA administrator told graduates of RIT that their futures may seem as ambiguous as outer space. But by daring to do mighty things with hope instead of fear, untold possibilities will come into focus. Thomas Zurbuchen, astrophysicist and the longest continually serving associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate in NASA’s history, addressed the crowd during today's Academic Convocation ceremony in the Gordon Field House. More than 4,800 RIT graduates, including those attending RIT’s global campuses in China, Croatia, Dubai, and Kosovo, were recognized.

  • May 12, 2023

    two people presenting a third with an award during a graduation ceremony.

    McChord named Outstanding Alumnus

    RIT is honoring Austin McChord as Outstanding Alumnus for 2022-2023. The award, presented during Academic Convocation on May 12, is the highest honor the university can bestow upon alumni in recognition of professional accomplishments as well as service and generosity to the university.

  • May 3, 2023

    researcher holding up a toilet seat showing sensors on the underside.

    FDA: The heart-checking smart toilet seat is a go 

    Fierce Biotech features healthcare technology firm Casana, founded by alumnus Nick Conn. RIT Trustee Austin McChord is CEO of the company that makes a smart toilet seat that measures heart rate and oxygen saturation.

See More Stories  

Tiger Resources

There are many options for occupying you and your family’s free hours that have RIT connections. Below are some lists of entertainment choices with Tiger links. And if you'd like to add your book, movie, TV show, game or app, or you know another Tiger's work that's not featured here, let us know by emailing us at ritalum@rit.edu.

And remember, RITx on the EDx platform is up and running. There is a wide range of courses available for you to build your skills and knowledge.

tigers read

There has never been a better time to cuddle up with a good book. Whether you’d like to escape to a different world for a few hours or take some time for professional development, an RIT alumni has authored the book for you.

Art and Design

Logo Modernism by R. Remington
The Memory of Stone: Meditations on the Canyons of the West by Erv Schroeder
Elaine Lustig Cohen: Modernism Reimagined by Aaris Sherin
The Uncommon Denominator: A Tribute to Richard Hirsch by E. Blaise Depaolo and Richard Hirsch
Design and Science: The Life and Work of Will Burtin by R. Remington
The Bentons: How an American Father and Son Changed the Printing Industry by Patricia A. Cost

Business

Corporate Sigma: Optimizing the Health of Your Company with Systems Thinking by Anwar El-Homsi and Jeff L. Slutsky
The Startup Playbook: Secrets of the Fastest-Growing Startups from Their Founding Entrepreneurs by David Kidder

Fiction

Beyond Lilla by Tracy Fontaine
I Miss Your Purple Hair by Robert Chandler
On/Off - A Jekyll And Hyde Story - Mike Attebery
The Deaf Heart: A Novel - Willy Conley
Murder at the Book Group - Maggie King
Murder at the Moonshine Inn - Maggie King

Health and Wellness

Hear Now - Grady Douglas

Deaf Education & Culture

Teaching from the Heart and Soul:  The Robert F. Panara Story - Harry G. Lang
Moments of Truth:  Robert R. Davila, The Story of a Deaf Leader  - Harry G. Lang
From Obstacles to Political Victory; - Kevin J. Nolan, Sr.

 

Childrens/Young Readers

Koli's Birthday Adventure:  Koli the Great White Shark  - Tamra Werner
Twice Shy - Patrick Freivald
RITchie Finds His Stripes - Rick Mislan
My Happy Place - Amy Crockford

Psychology

Victoria's Voice: Our daughter's dying wish to share her diary and save lives from drugs - Jackie Siegel

Religion/Inspirational

Catherine McAuley and the Tradition of Mercy - Mary C. Sullivan
Day of the Dead: Día de Muertos - Denis Defibaugh

Science/Science Fiction

Spacesuits: Within the Collections of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum - Amanda Young
Clean Energy: Hydrogen/fuel Cells Laboratory Manual (With Dvd-rom) - Thomas D. Allston
Linear Models - Marvin H. J. Gruber
One Night in Roswell - J. Thomas O'Gorman

Movies/TV Production

Frame-By-Frame Stop Motion: The Guide to Non-Traditional Animation Techniques - Tom Gasek
Prepare to Board! Creating Story and Characters for Animated Features and Shorts: 2nd Edition - Nancy Beiman

Cooking

Chocolate and Vanilla - Gale Gand

 
Family & Pets

Finding Zoe: A Deaf Woman's Story of Identity, Love, and Adoption - Brandi Rarus
The Dog Walker's Startup Guide: Create Your Own Lucrative Dog Walking Business in 12 Easy Steps - J.D. Antell
There's A Dog In The House - Nancy Chwiecko

Sports

The Presidents and the Pastime: The History of Baseball and the White House - Curt Smith

Technology/Photography

Packet Guide to Core Network Protocols - Bruce Hartpence
Pentesting Azure Applications: The Definitive Guide to Testing and Securing Deployments - Matt Burrough
The New Medium of Print: Material Communication in the Internet Age - Frank Cost
Digital Photography Best Practices and Workflow Handbook: A Guide to Staying Ahead of the Workflow Curve - Richard Anderson
Flash Cinematic Techniques: Enhancing Animated Shorts and Interactive Storytelling - Chris Jackson
The Concise Focal Encyclopedia of Photography: From the First Photo on Paper to the Digital Revolution - Grant Romer

World History

White Knuckle Flying and Other Misadventures - Louis Malucci
Fighting in the Shadows: Untold Stories of Deaf People in the Civil War - Harry G. Lang

Movies and Television

There’s never been more movies and TV options to choose from, but what you may not know is that RIT alumni have been involved with many of the most recent award-winning and popular ones. Now’s the time to catch up on these alumni-approved movies or series if you’ve missed out on them or just want to watch a second (or third or fourth…) time.

  • Frozen (Disney 2013)
    • Brittney Lee '06
    • Jim Hasman '01
    • Greg Smith '06
    • David Suroviec '06
  • Wreck-it Ralph (Disney 2012)
    • Brittney Lee '06
    • Greg Smith '06
    • David Suroviec '06
  • The Simpsons Movie (Film Roman 2007)
    • Jim Hasman '01
  • The Princess and the Frog (Disney 2009)
    • Jim Hasman '01
  • Winnie the Pooh (Disney 2011)
    • Jim Hasman '01
  • Rio (Blue Sky 2011) and Rio 2 ( Blue Sky 2014)
    • Christos Tzeremes '09
  • Baby Driver (TriStar 2017)
    • Charles "CJ" Jones '73
  • Versa Effect (ASL Films 2011)
    • Rosa Lee Timm '00
  • Ice Age: Continental Divide (Blue Sky 2012)
    • Isaac Holze '10
  • The Peanuts Movie (Blue Sky 2015)
    • Christos Tzeremes '09
    • Isaac Holze '10
    • Ferris Webby '07
  • Horton Hears a Who (Blue Sky 2008)
    • Ferris Webby '07
  • Puss in Boots (Dreamworks 2011)
    • Ferris Webby '07
  • Turbo (Dreamworks 2013)
    • Ferris Webby '07
  • How to Train Your Dragon (Dreamworks 2010)
    • R.J. Pena '09
  • How to Train Your Dragon 2 (Dreamworks 2014)
    • Ferris Webby '07
  • Running Wilde (Fox Network, 2010-2011)
    • Peter Burrell MFA '83
  • Smokey and the Bandit II (Rastar 1980)
    • Peter Burrell MFA '83
  • Coraline (LAIKA 2009)
    • Adam Fisher '10
    • Greg Smith '06
  • ParaNorman (LAIKA 2012)
    • Adam Fisher '10
  • The Boxtrolls (LAIKA 2014)
    • Adam Fisher '10
  • Tumble Leaf (Amazon Prime 2014-2019)
    • Adam Fisher '10
  • Tangled (Disney 2010)
    • Greg Smith '06
  • Paperman (Pixar/Disney 2012)
    • David Suroviec '06
  • Zootopia (Disney 2016)
    • David Suroviec '06
  • Stranger Things (Netflix 2016-present)
    • Kate McFadden '12
  • Blade Runner 2049 (Warner Bros. 2017)
    • Kate McFadden '12
  • Boston Public (Fox Network 2000-2004)
    • Peter Burrell MFA '83
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (Disney 2017)
    • Kate McFadden '12
  • King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (Warner Bros. 2017)
    • Kate McFadden '12
  • Ghost in The Shell (DreamWorks 2017)
    • Kate McFadden '12
  • Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Disney 2016)
    • Kate McFadden '12
  • Star Trek Beyond (Paramount Pictures 2016)
    • Kate McFadden '12
  • The Finest Hours (Disney 2016)
    • Kate McFadden '12
  • Goosebumps (Sony Pictures 2015)
    • Kate McFadden '12
  • The Natural (Delphi II Prod 1984)
    • Peter Burrell MFA '83
  • Ally McBeal (Fox Network 1997-2002)
    • Peter Burrell MFA '83

Tigers games

If you're lucky enough to be in quarantine with company, embrace some old school entertainment and crack out these alumni-crafted board games for some light competition. Or, download some of these alumni-produced video games on your favorite gaming console.

View available apps for download View games to play

Restaurants that Tigers own

Where ever you may be, there is a Tiger owned and operated restaurant ready to take your order. Choose from a variety of tasty take-out options and support an alumni small business.

Long Beach, California
Pasadena, California

Denver, Colorado

Durango, Colorado

Gronton, Connecticut

Stonington, Connecticut

St. Petersburg, Florida

Chicago, Illinois

Boston, Massachusetts

East Brookline, Massachusetts

Hudson, Massachusetts

Springfield, Massachusetts

Nashua, New Hampshire

Raleigh, North Carolina

Ambler, Pensylvania

King of Prussia, Pennsylvania

Lansdale, Pennsylvania

Addison, Texas

Tigers Create

Looking for something to keep the Tiger Cubs busy? Complete the form below to download the Color Our Campus coloring pages and take a creative tour of the RIT campus. You can also email ritalum@rit.edu to request the e-file.

small image of one coloring page with RITchee in front of Sentinal sculpture​

Students from the Masters of Science in Teaching program are providing a weekly art project video for RIT alumni to do with their children. All projects take about 20 minutes, and use materials that you likely have in your home now. The YouTube playlist has been embedded below with all of the projects.

Tigers Zoom

Adding a zoom background

  1. While you're using Zoom., click the arrow to the right of "Stop Video" in the lower left corner of the screen. Then choose "Choose Virtual Background".
  2. To upload a custom background, click the plus sign listed to the right of "Choose Virtual Background" and navigate to where your desired photo (or video) is on your computer.
  3. Further instructions about Zoom virtual backgrounds can be found here.

You can find all of our zoom backgrounds here.