DYSON DIGITAL DIGEST
FALL 2022
Turning Real-Life Research into Impactful Advocacy
Sydney Moraitis ’22, MPA, and mentor Gina Scutelnicu-Todoran, PhD, in partnership with the Westchester Children’s Association, helped spearhead a digital access survey that’s drawing awareness to technological inequities among families in Westchester County.
Dyson at the United Nations
Throughout the fall semester, a number of Dyson students have participated in events at United Nations headquarters in Manhattan.
The Importance of Giving Back: Jan Mansley ’90
Jan Mansley ’90, Dyson Advisory Board member and vice president of NOVA Hope for Haiti, discusses her life-changing decision to devote her life to others, as well as how and why students should get involved in a greater cause.
Finding Their Voices
Students in the Writing for Diversity and Equity in Theater and Media program, one of Dyson’s newest and fastest growing majors, share how industry connections, interdisciplinary coursework, and a collaborative community are helping them develop their own unique voices as writers.
Dean’s Message
As we begin a new academic year, I’m reminded once again that learning as part of the Dyson College community is exciting. Dyson students are fully immersed in their studies, developing the real-life skills they’ll need to be changemakers not only in today’s world, but tomorrow’s too.
Dean’s Message
As we begin a new academic year, I’m reminded once again that learning as part of the Dyson College community is exciting. Dyson students are fully immersed in their studies, developing the real-life skills they’ll need to be changemakers not only in today’s world, but tomorrow’s too.
Dyson Notes
Dyson Notes
Alumni News
Galia Backal ’16, Directing, was announced as the resident director of the national tour of Six: The Musical.
Nicholas Bompart ’17, Theater Arts, debuted his original play, Idols, at the New York Theater Festival.
Hannah Bonnett ’21, Musical Theater, is starring as Elle Woods in the national tour of Legally Blonde: The Musical.
Gabi Campo ’18, Acting, is performing as Serena in Legally Blonde: The Musical at The Muny in St. Louis, Missouri.
Leana Concepion ’19, Musical Theater, was named to the cast of Merrily We Roll Along at the New York Theater Workshop.
Brandon Contreras ’12, Musical Theater, and Anu Mysore ’13, Acting, recently starred in La Jolla Playhouse’s world premiere production of Bhangin’ It: A Banging New Musical.
Harrison C. Davis ’13, ’14, Communications and Media and Communication Arts, was named vice president of marketing for Rebl Scents, Inc., a leading perfume manufacturer.
Scout Davis ’16, Directing, is serving as a directing fellow for Chautauqua Theater Company and as the assistant director to Lamar Perry for Animals Out of Paper.
Saki Kawamura ’22, ASDS, has been named the associate artistic director of Ren Gyo Soh, a butoh (Japanese dance) theater company.
Zoe Kim ’21, Economics and Environmental Studies, started a position as an environmental educator at Hudson River Park’s River Project after interning there through the Wilson Center as a student.
Lorna Kirwan ’22, MPA, was elected as a school board trustee in Mount Vernon, New York.
Michael T. Marino ’92, Technical Theater, started a new position as the associate director of research enterprise services at Northeastern University.
Allie Marrotta ’16, Directing, was named the arts in education manager at Brooklyn Arts Council.
Lulu Martinez ’15, MS Publishing, was featured in a profile about her path to Penguin Random House.
Paige Mobley ’16, Musical Theater, is starring in the new Netflix series Instant Dream Home.
Shaheen Pasha ’99, Speech Communications, was featured in Columbia Magazine for her program, the Prison Journalism Project.
Samuel James Pygatt ’20, ASDS, is in the cast of BETHUNE: Our Black Velvet Rose at Theaterlab in New York City.
Igby Rigney ’21, Film and Screen Studies and Psychology, is starring as Kevin in the new Netflix series The Midnight Club.
Shauneice Robinson ’19, MS Publishing, was hired as an associate marketing manager at Simon & Schuster.
Myles Rowe ’22, Film and Screen Studies, was featured in a profile on Andscape, recapping his impressive season in USF2000 racing.
Larry Saperstein ’20, Production and Design for Stage and Screen, is playing Big Red on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series on Disney+.
Analise Scarpaci ’22, Musical Theater, who played Lydia in Mrs. Doubtfire on Broadway, promoted her new album, Pathetic Little Dreamer, with a performance at 54 Below.
Victoria Siepp ’22, History and Political Science, wrote a guest blog about the connections between Pace University and 9/11 as a government and community affairs intern at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.
Rafael Silva ’17, Acting for Film, Television, Voice-overs, and Commercials, best known for his role on 9-1-1 Lone Star, received the Vanguard Award at this year’s Black Tie Dinner in Dallas, an event that honors LGBTQ+ advocates. Silva was also featured on the cover of Out Magazine.
Rachel Skopp-Cardillo ’20, Digital Cinema and Filmmaking, won an Emmy for Outstanding Interactive Experience–Event Coverage as the associate producer for NBC Sports at the Tokyo Olympics.
Yoni Weiss ’20, Directing, directed a performance by Billy Recce at 54 Below, which included songs from the book Weiss and Recce co-wrote, Fowl Play.
Faculty News
Professor of Art Barbara Friedman, MFA, spoke on a panel about art education at the Lichtundfire Gallery.
As part of the Public Voices Fellowship, Assistant Professor of Media, Communications, and Visual Arts Melanie La Rosa, MFA, co-authored an op-ed on the Supreme Court’s relationship to the climate movement for Progressive Magazine.
Associate Professor of Chemistry and Physical Sciences Elmer-Rico Mojica, PhD, co-authored with his undergraduate students two papers published in the Journal of Undergraduate Chemistry Research: “Interaction of Catalase with Nanoceramics” with Kaitlyn Chhe ’17, Daniel Kim ’17, and Kristina Bekiyants ’17, and “Optimization of Temperature Condition in Pressure Liquid Extraction of Propolis Samples” with Jennifer Hutnik ’22 and Lawrence Phillips ’22. He also wrote a review paper entitled “New Raman Spectroscopic Methods’ Application in Forensic Science” with Professor of Chemistry and Physical Sciences Zhaohua Dai, PhD, in Talanta Open and co-authored three book chapters in A Literature Review on the Benefits of Propolis with his students: Hutnik, Baylee Caudill ’22, Forensic Science, Ethan Grimes ’22, Biochemistry, Carly Sullivan ’22, Forensic Science, Jessie Higgins ’23, Chemistry, and L. Catherine Jackovic ’23, MS Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
Associate Professor and Director of MPA Gina Scutelnicu-Todoran, PhD, along with her colleagues, had the article “A Qualitative Study of Pandemic-induced Telework: Federal Workers Thrive, Working Parents Struggle” published in Public Administration Quarterly.
Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Physical Sciences Nigel Yarlett, PhD, received a grant in the amount of $40k from the Alternatives Research and Development Foundation (ARDF) for his project “Development of an In Vitro Culture System for Cryptosporidium Hominis Using a Hollow Fiber Bioreactor.”
Student News
Gabrielle Robb ’23, Environmental Studies, served as a Hudson River Foundation Polgar Fellow this summer and presented her research titled: “Investigating the Distribution and Drivers of Invasive Trapa natans in the Hudson River Estuary with a Multi-Scaled Approach.”