AlumniNews by Topic: Events

Arooj Ajaz ’15 (laboratory science technology), ’17 (university studies) is a leader who is enthusiastic about advocating for the inclusion of deaf youth and helping people become leaders in the Deaf community on a local and global scale.

The NTID Alumni Association Board of Directors had a wonderful spring meeting in April. The meeting was retreat-style at RIT’s Tait Preserve in Penfield, along with NTID Foundation Board. Both boards came together for great discussion and collaboration.

Kayley Judd, an RIT/NTID student majoring in mechanical engineering technology, led the Deaf in STEM Conference last month, inviting deaf and hard-of-hearing alumni and professionals to the RIT campus to present on various STEM topics. This student-led conference was a tremendous success, drawing more than 100 attendees, including students, faculty, staff, volunteers, and walk-ins. 

NTID’s Co-op and Career Center and Student Life Team hosted RIT/NTID alum Toby Fitch (new media design ’13), a product designer at Microsoft, who visited RIT on Monday, February 12, to give a presentation, “Deaf in Tech: Design and Software and AI, Oh My!” Fitch discussed how his career in media design led to Microsoft, how design has a strong impact on the world today, and why it is important to stay on top of new developments in tech, such as AI. He also shared handy tips on how to succeed in the tech industry.

The Distinguished Alumni Awards are presented annually by each of RIT’s nine colleges, the School of Individualized Study, and the RIT Graduate School to alumni who have performed at the highest levels of their profession or who have contributed to the advancement and leadership of civic, philanthropic, or service organizations.

NTID has named alumna Rose Lee Timm, ’00 liberal arts (social work), its 2023-2024 Distinguished Alumni Award winner. The Distinguished Alumni Awards are presented annually by each of RIT’s nine colleges, the School of Individualized Study, and the RIT Graduate School to alumni who have performed at the highest levels of their profession or who have contributed to the advancement and leadership of civic, philanthropic, or service organizations. The 2023-2024 recipients will be honored during presentations throughout the academic year.

Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf is partnering with the Rochester Red Wings baseball team for the fourth annual Deaf Culture Night at 6:05 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15, at Innovative Field.

The NTID Alumni Association Board of Directors had a wonderful spring meeting on campus jointly with the NTID Foundation Board. It was a weekend of networking with fellow alumni and NTID representatives, receiving updates on NTID initiatives and activities, focusing on committee work, and we finished off with the Imagine RIT Festival! 

Thousands of visitors converged on the RIT campus April 29 to experience the future through multimedia presentations, exhibits, hand-on demonstrations, research projects, performing arts, and more at the annual Imagine RIT: Innovation and Creativity Festival. RIT/NTID alumni enjoyed the experience of attending the festival and discovering amazing things. 

From an early age, Jason Listman knew that he was called to serve and help people navigate through their challenges. But it was a connection with an RIT/NTID professor that steered him into the classroom, where he would soon stand out as an instructor, mentor, and facilitator.

Students from NTID’s Department of American Sign Language and Interpreting Education provided sign language interpreting throughout a Deaf Day of Play event at The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester. Several RIT/NTID ASLIE alumni attended the event on Sunday, March 5, to celebrate Deaf Awareness Month. Danny Maffia, ASLIE alumnus and interpreting program director, said the event provided interpreting students the opportunity to get real-world interpreting practice, and it provided the Deaf community a more accessible experience at the museum. 

Daniel Durant, an RIT/NTID alumnus and award-winning actor, made an appearance at RIT as part of the NTID Lyon Lectureship Series for a special screening of the movie “CODA” and Q&A Session with the audience in Ingle Auditorium on Thursday, February 16. The following day, Durant spent time with faculty, staff and students on the RIT campus, sharing his acting experience and journey in Hollywood and delivering messages of inspiration and hope to RIT/NTID students.