Office of Alumni Relations

Ron Lopez returned to school to study environmental sciences because he wanted to pursue a personally fulfilling career. His work now includes a juggling act of scientific research, teaching and filmmaking, and he says the mix couldn't be more perfect.

Ravon Ruffin (B.S.'13/WS) started with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture's social media engagement team just as the institution was preparing to open its doors in 2016. She enjoyed a unique opportunity to shape public perception of a major new museum and helped to build its social media presence from the ground up.

David Ashton delivered designs for a baseball stadium so unique that franchise owners around the country were soon clamoring for one just like it.

Jenn Brigle said being named the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Woman of the Year in Virginia is meaningful because of her work with children.

Ahead of the upcoming release of his third book, “The Emancipation of Evan Walls,” Jeffrey Blount (B.S.’81/H&S) shares his path to journalism and becoming an award-winning author.

Tony (B.S.’79/H&S; B.S.’82/P) and Corrine (B.S.’80/H&S) Rowlette recall their meeting vividly, though they didn’t say a word to each other at the time. From there, their relationship grew beyond first impressions. The couple became deeply involved in helping to build the African-American Alumni Council, and Tony went on to become the third president.

Two recent graduates of the Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture in the Virginia Commonwealth University College of Humanities and Sciences have defied warnings about the death of journalism jobs to find early success. Amir Vera (B.S.’14/MC) and Niki Farahmand (B.S.’14/MC) both landed jobs at world news organization CNN in 2018, Vera as an associate writer and Farahmand as a news producer. Both say they never expected to work at such a big name so soon after graduation, but that didn’t stop them from aiming high.

Rodney Robinson (M.Ed.'11/E) teaches history of all types at the Virgie Binford Education Center, which serves students housed at the Richmond (Virginia) Juvenile Detention Center. Many of the students haven’t been to class regularly in years, and Robinson sees one of his main duties as helping them to deal with trauma and confusion enough to reset and get on track.

Award-winning teacher Rodney Robinson suggests books to read to understand the situation of the kids he teaches at the Richmond (Virginia) Juvenile Detention Center.

The founding partner of Tang and Biscuit, a large indoor shuffleboard social club, says his business isn’t actually about shuffleboard.