NTID CELEBRATES 35 YEARS WITH "BACK TO THE FUTURE...A TIME TO REMEMBER!" ALUMNI REUNION

From: NTID - Sept 30, 2003

Contact: Kathy Johncox

kajnod@rit.edu

585-475-5410

NTID CELEBRATES 35 YEARS WITH "BACK TO THE FUTURE...A TIME TO REMEMBER!" ALUMNI REUNION

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Sept. 26 - Is it possible both to go backward and forward at the same time? More than 700 NTID alumni and their families, from Alaska to New York, and California to Carolina, did just that this summer at Rochester Institute of Technology's National Technical Institute for the Deaf (RIT/NTID). NTID's 35th Anniversary Alumni Reunion, "Back to the Future...a Time to Remember!" was a chance for alumni to see old friends, make new ones, and see what's new and different at NTID as well as to reminisce about the "good old days."

Two well-attended receptions-one honoring NTID faculty and staff, and another honoring NTID Distinguished Alumni Award recipients, reunited more than 75 current and former faculty and staff and their former students.

Reunion visitors attended a carnival-type fair, which provided an opportunity for children and young-at-heart alumni to enjoy games, popcorn, cotton candy, and evening entertainment by Prism and Co., a student musical sign language performance group.

Because NTID is a relatively young college, one reunion bonus was the chance for more recent alumni to meet some people from the "pioneer" freshman classes of 1968 and 1969.

"It's great to see some SVP/entry class of 1969 faces after such a long time!" said Richard Balsam of Warminster, PA. "And all the exhibits provided great information for all of us about NTID's past and present."

Ken and Dawn Sorrentino, both photography majors who graduated in 1989, came from Connecticut to meet old friends.

"It's great to see former teachers, as well as to see all the new technology NTID has for the future!" Dawn said.

This year reunion proceeds will benefit the NTID Alumni Association Endowed Scholarship, which offers financial aid to current NTID students. Sprint was a major Platinum Level sponsor of the reunion.

"All in all, with more than 700 people attending, this reunion was a resounding success," said David Strom, director of NTID Alumni Relations and reunion chairperson. "You could really feel the energy, and the enthusiasm, and the exceptional coordination on the part of reunion planners and volunteers was obvious to everyone. The alumni really enjoyed the opportunity to socialize among themselves and take a ride 'Back to the Future!'"

For more information about NTID, please visit www.ntidweb.rit.edu/alumni/.

NTID is the first and largest technological college in the world for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. NTID, one of eight colleges of RIT, offers educational programs and access and support services to its 1,100 students from around the world who study, live, and socialize with 14,000 hearing students on RIT's Rochester, N.Y., campus.

Web Address: www.rit.edu/NTID

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