Class Notes
Name: Grace Anne
Class Year(s): 2021
Note: Grace Anne ’21 (NTID) recently completed her first term with AmeriCorps through Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa. While there, she helped create and grow a new division called the Veteran’s Corps - a program specially designed for newly separated or currently serving veterans who have a desire to pursue a career in conservation and/or outdoor recreation. During her term, she educated social media and website design teams on good accessibility practices, earned her Wildland Firefighter certification, rehabilitated native prairies, removed invasive plant species, and created and maintained park trails. November through December, she had the opportunity to deploy to Fort Meyers, Florida, for disaster response. Hurricane Ian was the deadliest hurricane to strike the state of Florida since 1935. Such a large-scale disaster required a large-scale mission response. She had the opportunity to serve as Logistics Deputy and, later, transitioned to Public Information Officer which involved interviewing with survivors, field crew members and local news outlets; disseminating fliers and brochures, as well as creating and maintaining social media pages. Additionally, she had the opportunity to utilize her skills as an ASL interpreter by interpreting for crews who were working with Deaf survivors. Serving with AmeriCorps’ Conservation Corps prepared me for her next career move in ways she never would have anticipated. She looks to additional experiences with them and internationally through PeaceCorps in the future. If any readers are interested in outdoor recreation, conservation, wildland firefighting, or disaster response, she cannot recommend Conservation Corps enough.
Submitted on: December 30, 2022
Name: Paul Tracy
Class Year(s): 1989
Note: While Paul Tracy ’00 (CIAS) has had a successful video production business running for 28 years, in 2022 he started Westwood Studios, LLC as a local cinematic film company. His first film is called A Date for Anya, and they shot a trailer in July 2022. The studio is expected to make the full film in 2023 after raising funds. The film’s website is www.adateforanya.com
Submitted on: December 29, 2022
Name: Ron Sherman
Class Year(s): 1964
Note: In June 2022, the Stuart A Rose Library at Emory University acquired the photo archives of Ron Sherman ’64 (GAP), which were collected from 1971 to 2001. The collection comprised 500,000 black & white negatives, contact sheets, 35mm transparencies, digital files and notes. The Rose Archives originally acquired 750 black & white prints in 2014 that documented Atlanta’s 1970s political, social, sports, and events that he documented that decade. In August and September, 2022, the Roswell Cultural Arts Center exhibited twenty five of Ron’s selected photographic prints. That exhibit was held at the Atlanta Photography Gallery from November 2022 to January 2023.
Submitted on: December 29, 2022
Name: Erika Heffernan
Class Year(s): 2011
Note: Erika Heffernan MFA ’11 (CIAS) was recently awarded $7,500 for The Florida Keys Council of the Arts’ Art Builds Community Grant to build cultural equity by creating an art exhibition that displays a variety of works of art that evokes the various emotions and experiences during the pandemic for people with disabilities.
Submitted on: December 29, 2022
Name: Mike Mooney
Class Year(s): 1983, 1985
Note: Mike Mooney MFA ’85 (FAA) enters his second year of teaching Graphic Design at Spring Arbor University in Spring Arbor, Michigan. Just as cold & snowy as Rochester!
Submitted on: December 28, 2022
Name: Andrew Welsh
Class Year(s): 1997
Note: Andrew Welsh ’77 (COS) recently accepted a new job as a Senior Data Scientist at Dell Technologies.
Submitted on: December 28, 2022
Name: Owen Kassimir
Class Year(s): 1982
Note: After a very successful career in photography, Owen Kissimir ’82 (GAP) has officially retired and has moved on to his true passion of coaching tennis and pickleball. Kissimir played on the RIT tennis team for two years when he was attending and was captain his senior year. Over the past 6 years or so he has been coaching college tennis and now high school tennis on Long Island. He also works at a club on Long Island coaching all ages. He also enjoys fishing and playing with his grandchildren.
Submitted on: December 27, 2022
Name: Daniel Taylor
Class Year(s): 1983
Note: This winter marks the 30th anniversary of Taylor Design, a Stamford, CT-based graphic, branding, and digital design studio founded by Dan Taylor ’83 (FAA) and Nora Vaivads-Taylor ’83 (FAA). Taylor Design has grown from its humble beginnings as a sole proprietorship in 1992 to today’s 10-person studio with local, regional and national clients. Taylor Design’s client roster ranges from corporations to educational institutions to non-profits and the studio’s work has earned awards from regional, national, and international competitions, including Communication Arts magazine, Print magazine, How magazine, and Graphis magazine. Dan wrote and recently published a book titled “Brand Rehab,” reflections on thirty years in the communications industry and a collection of the firm’s favorite creative projects from 1992 to 2022. Throughout the book Dan provides insights into the studio’s creative process and shares observations and ideas on the keys to success in the communications and branding industry. The book is available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Brand-Rehab-Reflections-communications-collection/dp/B0BPGL27SZ/ref=sr_1_3?crid=20U9KXQBDAATI&keywords=brand+rehab&qid=1672141638&s=books&sprefix=brand+rehab%2Cstripbooks%2C81&sr=1-3.
Submitted on: December 27, 2022
Name: George Kamper
Class Year(s): 1973,1977
Note: George Kamper ’77 (GAP) captured this photo of Andres Valencia, an 11-year-old sensation who is being compared to the legendary Pablo Picasso.
Submitted on: December 27, 2022
Name: Sharon Hoogstraten
Class Year(s): 1975
Note: Photographer Sharon Hoogstraten ’75 (GAP) spent a decade portraying contemporary Potawatomis in regalia and as an unexpected dividend, discovered her own roots. A Michigan native, she traveled to Chicago for graduate study at the University of Illinois and then stayed having no clue that she was literally walking in the footsteps of her Potawatomi ancestors. This legacy project spans all nine Potawatomi Nations and is our gift to the future seven generations. Focusing on both the traditional and contemporary aspects of regalia, it is also a declaration of continued existence. Her nearly life-sized portraits have been widely exhibited and collected. A book, "Dancing for Our Tribe: Potawatomi Tradition in the New Millennium" was released in August of 2022 by Oklahoma University Press. https://www.oupress.com/9781733674423/dancing-for-our-tribe/ https://www.potawatomi.org/blog/2022/10/17/photographer-releases-legacy-project-highlighting-tribal-members-history/ https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/potawatomi-photographer-captures-the-joys-of-dance-in-new-book?fbclid=IwAR0Gs9GvilhTDiuYsb94pNq8eVM6mSFJuKE3x4v55eDiKmfDGSRh3MgQid8
Submitted on: December 27, 2022