2019

Florida Tech recognizes outstanding alumni at homecoming gala 2019

November 4, 2019 by Olivia McKelvey 2 Comments

Bino Campanini presents the Jerome P. Keuper Distinguished Alumni Award to Chip Perry.
FITV // Aayush Kapar

With over 60,000 alumni scattered throughout the globe, the Florida Tech Alumni Association has made it a priority to honor and recognize the legacy past students have left behind.

On Oct. 26, more than 500 people—including professors, faculty, alumni, and organizations that play a vital role in providing aid to Florida Tech—gathered at the 2019 Alumni Awards Gala to recognize outstanding alumni in various majors.

Award recipients included those with vast experience in their career fields as well as a continuous commitment to their alma mater.

Bino Campanini, vice president for Alumni Affairs, served as master of ceremonies and introduced the especially distinguished alumni of the evening.

“This event is a fantastic opportunity to catch up with colleagues, and a brilliant way to instill the spirit of the school and reinvigorate interest in each program,” said Robert Salonen, a 2019 Florida Tech graduate and the current director of Government Affairs and Strategic Partnerships at the university.

Others in the crowd agreed with Salonen that this was a special night that allowed individuals to return proudly to their alma mater and reminisce on past memories, but also learn about the future of the school and the growth it has seen in recent years.

After cocktails, photoops and dinner, Campanini continued as MC with lighthearted jokes as he welcomed each award recipient to the stage.

The first of five recipients was Jason Terreri, a 2001 Florida Tech undergraduate, awarded on behalf of the College of Aeronautics.

“The best advice I can give is to find someone who has the same desire and passion for your industry, and take them under your wing,” said the previous senior executive director of Syracuse Hancock International Airport. “Become a mentor, and give them an opportunity to be successful.”

While all award recipients mentioned how honored they were to be given recognition for their work and thanked the university for what it provided to them, each took on their own unique twist for their speeches.

One of the quirkier speeches came from the College of Engineering and Science awardee, Don Woodrow.

Woodrow is a distinguished 1986 Florida Tech undergraduate who is the president of Woodrow Construction LLC and also an advisory board member of civil engineering and construction advisory board at Florida Tech.

After cracking jokes about Bill Jurgens’ gray hair and poking fun at Campanini for his British accent, Woodrow concluded by asking the audience to stand up, enjoy the night and give their best impersonation of Elaine dancing from Seinfeld.

Others that received awards at the alumni gala were Monique Picou on behalf of the Nathan M. Bisk College of Business, Sherri Acanfora Ruohomaki on behalf of the College of Psychology and Liberal Arts and Gretchen L. Kelly on behalf of the College of Engineering and Science.

Picou, the senior vice president of flow and fashion for Walmart, compared Florida Tech to an ivy league university, and put emphasis on the fact that “it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish.”

Acanfora Ruohomaki, a former Florida Tech cheerleader and now the owner of K9 Kampus—a luxury dog daycare and boarding facility—concluded her speech with words of reflection: “Look at the growth and development that Dr. T. Dwayne McCay, and previously Dr. Catanese, have cultivated,” Acanfora Ruohomaki said. “It makes me want to come back here as a young collegiate and enjoy all the amenities that they have now that we didn’t have before.”

President T. Dwayne McCay stated that the alumni are “our strength” and “prove that the university did a good job.”

“Florida Tech teaches our students to work with people in teams, and in collaboration,” T. Dwayne McCay said. “Curriculum such as the senior design prepares our students to enter the workforce after graduation in a few weeks, whereas at other schools, it’s six months.”

The ceremony came to a close with the presentation of the Jerome P. Keuper Distinguished Alumni Award, the highest award bestowed upon by the Alumni Association.

Honored with such an award that remarks a reflection of a legacy of excellence was Chip Perry.

A former design engineer for Texas Instrument and founder of a top tier internet streaming service later bought out by Yahoo!

Perry was portrayed as a highly successful and memorable student from Florida Tech.

He took the guests down memory lane and recapped his journey from Florida Tech to where he is now.

Perry gave a special thanks to Ed Jonas, the designer of the Keuper statue in front of the President’s Office as well as the designer of all of the gala awards for the past five years.

“It was a true honor for Florida Tech to involve me in the design process,” Jonas said. “Although I am not a Florida Tech alumni, Brevard will always have a special place in my heart because it’s the hometown of the love of my life and it was one of the places where the last thing my father saw me accomplish was the sculpting of the Keuper statue.”

The night wrapped up with dancing and a continuation of celebrating Panther pride.

Street Dance Club wins talent show for the third year in a row

October 29, 2019 by Xiao Liang Leave a Comment

Street Dance Club dancing on stage as the last performance of the talent show.
FITV // Brett Twery

Florida Tech’s Street Dance Club was spotted not once, but twice on this year’s homecoming talent show podium stage.

Taking home gold in overall performance was the Street Dance Club’s individual performance, but they also came in second place for lip-sync through their partnership with Lambda Chi.

Beating SDC and Lambda Chi in the lip sync competition was Campus Activity Board and Phi Sigma with their satirical piece to songs from Moana, Aladdin and Lizzy McGuire.

They highlighted changes that have occurred since the founding of the university, such as the rebranding.

They also poked fun at landmarks such as the atomic toilet and the Crawford Tower.

On Oct. 24, 11 groups of students and organizations put on a show for their peers, showcasing their talents, performing lip-sync or both.

“I don’t usually come to events like this, but I very much enjoyed it,” said Samir Kazi, a senior. “Everybody is just having fun, and it really brings the homecoming spirit out of us.”

A wide variety of talents were seen throughout the show, such as the exotic performance by the Belly Dance Club, acapella take on The Pina Colada Song from the Players in Harmony and jazzy swing dance brought by the Swing Dance Club.

Alpha Omega Tau and the cheerleading team perform on stage. FITV // Brett Twery

“It’s really interesting to see people you know performing on stage,” said George Rodney, a senior. “You really don’t know what tricks they have hidden up their sleeves when in school, and I’m glad that they can have opportunities like this to express themselves and have fun at the same time.”

Other group performances also stood out as many greek life organizations paired with other clubs or athletic teams to best address the theme of “Bringin’ It Home.”

Some pieces featured “International Love” by Pitbull performed by the women’s swim team and Chi Phi, as well as “Promiscuous Girl” performed by Pi Kappa Alpha and women’s volleyball.

Furthermore, Alpha Tau Omega and the cheerleading team had a mixed musical, ballet and cheerleading along with their lip-syncing performance to hype up the crowd.

Anthony Roberts, a sophomore, said, “I wish that the show was a little longer and more people would participate. It’s really entertaining to watch and I almost can’t get enough of it.”

While the talent show was the sixth event of homecoming week, it allowed students to come out and support each other as well as provide comic relief for some and showcase the talent of others.

The Lion King 2019 Review: The Pride of the Pack

September 6, 2019 by Stephen Pickrom Leave a Comment

The latest addition to Disney’s collection of remakes is sure to leave viewers with no worries.

“The Lion King” roared into theaters on July 19, 2019, 25 years after the animated classic’s release in 1994. \

Furthermore, the film earned over $1.4 billion in the box office, but scored low with critics, with its highest score of 7.1/10 coming from IMBd.

The story features Simba, a young lion who learns that he will eventually grow to rule the fictional African kingdom known as the Pride Lands.

His uncle, Scar, is jealous of the prince and his brother, Mufasa.

He attempts to have the future king and the prince’s betrothed exterminated by hyenas.

Scar assumes the throne after assassinating Mufasa and exiling Simba, permitting hyenas to mingle in the Pride Lands with the lions and all the other animals.

Growing up in a large desert oasis with adoptive “uncles” Timon and Pumbaa, Simba must remember his true place in the world and take a stand against those who don’t belong.

In my eyes, the cast did an exceptional job recreating some of the emotion that was lost in the transformation to realism from 2D cartoon animation.

This loss of theatrics marks the main complaint of multiple critics. James Earl Jones performed an even better Mufasa than he did in 1994.

JD McCrary and Shahadi Wright Joseph played their roles of Young Simba and Nala quite well, and the same goes for Donald Glover and Beyoncé claiming Adult Simba and Nala, respectively.

The rest of the actors also did very well, with only one real exception being Chiwetel Ejiofor.

I do miss Jeremy Irons’ Scar. Ejiofor just didn’t evoke the same slippery, manipulative tones that Irons did in 1994.

I loved that some scenes were enhanced and new ones were included, such as Nala sneaking away from Pride Rock, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” and especially the ending of the film when the hyenas change alliances.

The hyena trio played the comic relief role much better than they did in 1994, using a running gag over plain and simple slapstick, especially since slapstick isn’t exactly accomplishable using photo-realistic animals, as well as being a much more threatening presence due to the realism.

One thing that bothered me severely was the absolute butchering of “Be Prepared.”

As my second favorite number from the original, it felt like an insult that Disney treated the song the way that they did.

However, I will note that the 2019 version does have a much more menacing tone to it than the original.

Once I got over the shock of how different it was, the low, repetitive beats, the crescendo of the hyena’s chants, and Scar’s deeper, booming voice gave me goosebumps.

Overall, the film was pleasantly surprising in that it’s not as much of a disappointment as it could have been, like other live-action remakes by Disney.

For example, “Dumbo” from earlier this year deviated greatly from the plot of the original, adding many prominent human characters that did not exist in the film’s 1945 release.

Unlike that film, 2019’s “Lion King” reimagined a beloved story without relying on a new plot while giving the Disney classic a makeover.

At the end of the day, the movie told the story that it was supposed to and did the job fantastically.

I can only hope that future Disney live-action remakes can keep the same standard.