News by Topic: Student Experience

For the second consecutive year, RIT officials anticipate that the university will welcome a record number of first-year undergraduate students. More than 3,350 first-year students have submitted deposits for fall enrollment as of June 1, up from more than 3,130 this time last year.

A venue for Deaf playwrights; an interpretation of a Tony Award-winning musical; performance by talented student dancers; and New Yorkers struggling with relationships and identity during the AIDS crisis are all part of a new collaborative season by NTID’s Performing Arts Department and the College of Liberal Arts.

Essay by Kristen Shinohara and Garreth Tigwell, assistant professors of computing and information sciences, published by The Conversation and republished in The News & Advance, Communications of the ACM, and NextGov.

It’s officially in the NCAA record books: RIT men’s lacrosse won its first national championship in a stunning double overtime classic with a sudden victory goal Sunday. And students, faculty, staff, and alumni gathered Tuesday to celebrate the team in one of the first university community events in 14 months since the start of the global pandemic.

Chiara Young, a fifth-year biomedical engineering graduate from Sherman, N.Y., received the 2021 Distinguished Lee Scholar award from the Patrick P. Lee Foundation. Young, who graduated in May, was presented with the award based on her integrity, leadership, and service to others. RIT has been a partner school of the Lee Foundation since fall 2019.

After graduating this year, Matthias Hausman, a mechanical engineering and international and global studies double major from Abington Township, Pa., will travel to Saxony, Germany, to teach English this September. As a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant, he will be placed in a German classroom to provide assistance to a local English teacher.

Hira Abid crossed continents to come to RIT. The chemical engineering student from Pakistan will make another global connection when she begins graduate school in Turkey as one of RIT’s newest Fulbright awardees.

Sarah Sabal secured two prestigious international scholarships—a Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) and a Boren Awards Scholarship—that will allow her to spend a year intensively studying the Chinese language in an immersive setting. She is one of several students who contributed to a record-breaking year for RIT in terms of securing funding for international experiences.

Commencement ceremonies for more than 4,100 RIT students begin today and continue through Sunday, enabling graduating students to don their regalia, walk across a stage, and be acknowledged by administrators for their milestone achievements despite a global pandemic.

Nick Renzoni, a management information systems (MIS) major and communication minor from Holden, Mass., is following in his grandfather’s footsteps. Like his grandfather and many of his RIT classmates, Renzoni has decided to pursue a master’s degree directly after completing his undergraduate education.  

Laura Discavage originally wanted to go to an out-of-state college, but RIT’s engineering program intrigued her. She learned about RIT while growing up from her mom, Maria Burgio ’87 (computer science). And after a conversation with a family friend about his work as an industrial engineer, she applied to RIT, and found the community she was seeking.

Forty members of the inaugural class of Undergraduate Research Scholar Awardees will be honored at this year’s graduation ceremonies. The recognition highlights their accomplishments in a variety of complex and demanding research areas during their time at RIT.