Mark Sivik is a teleclass teacher for the Palm Beach County School District and lives in Loxahatchee, Fla. He is a member of the Florida Entomological Society and the Mosquito Control Association of America. Son Cory, 19, attends Florida Atlantic University and daughter Hillary, 21, is a student at Boston University School of Dentistry.
Paris Michaels ’83 M.B.A., ’86 M.S., is a Ph.D. candidate in the science education program as well as an adjunct faculty member for the College of Aeronautics on the Melbourne campus. As a captain for U.S. Air, his June 6, 2007, commercial air flight from Manchester (UK) to Philadelphia, Penn., has been established as a world record, at 526.93 mph, according to the History of Aviation and Space World Records.
Bennie Williams M.S., retired Maj. Gen. U.S. Army, served for 35 years. He is enrolled in an executive management program at the Broad Superintendents Academy that trains top executives from military, business, nonprofit, government and education to lead urban school districts.
Jim Rhine is the author of Mindblowers!, a nonfiction collection of essays, mind-altering ideas and stories designed to astound, delight and amaze.
Check out mindblowersthebook@yahoo.com. He is a three-time Emmy-winning writer on the TV game show, “Jeopardy!” Based in Los Angeles, Calif., Jim can be reached at Jeojimby@aol.com.
Mark Cole is president of the American Coaster Enthusiasts, an international organization with more than 8,000 members. He has ridden over 400 roller coasters worldwide. Mark is employed at Dundee Ridge Middle School, working with data analysis of standardized testing at the Dundee, Fla. site. Mark, in the green shirt, is riding the Starliner at Cypress Gardens Adventure Park in Winter Haven, Fla.
Catharina (Dubbelday) Haynes is a judge in Texas and was nominated by President Bush to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Appeals from the federal district courts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas are heard through this circuit.
David Edwards Jr. serves as airport director at Asheville Regional Airport in North Carolina. Prior to relocating to Asheville, he was the executive director of the Titusville-Cocoa Airport Authority in Florida. He and wife Lisa are parents of Jessica and Sarah.
Scott Folstein, wife Dr. Renata Folstein, and son Joseph welcomed Anna Marie, in November 2006. The Folstein Four reside in Jacksonville, Fla.
Alexander “Sasha” Digges Jr. is founder and president of two businesses, Peak Physical Therapy & Sports Rehabilitation and Core Fitness Performance Training Center in Williamsburg, Va. He and wife Kelli welcomed their second son, Bryce Jordan, in November 2006. Sibling Mitchell Alexander is four years old.
Alberto Lacaze is co-founder of Robotic Research, LLC, a five-year-old engineering firm in Gaithersburg, Md. With co-founder Karl Murphy, he has established the company in the defense contracting industry. For additional information, visit www.roboticresearch.com.
Godwin Ndukwe, M.B.A., is employed by the Internal Revenue Service in New Orleans, La., as a revenue agent.
Tony Quintana and wife Maria are parents to Victoria, who was born November 2006 in Lansdowne, Va.
Steven Shapiro, M.S., is a colonel in the U.S. Army, serving as commander of Letterkenny Army Depot in Chambersburg, Penn. He and wife Mary have two children, Allison, 13 and Grace, 8.
Eric Schank ’98 M.S. and Kristen Schank ’98 are first-time parents to Connor David born May 2007. The family lives in Austin, Texas, where Eric is a software architect and Kristen is a real estate consultant.
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Elvin McLaughlin Jr. and wife Alicia welcomed their second child, Nicole Derine, in May 2007. Quincy, 4, enjoys being a big brother. Elvin is a senior manager at BearingPoint, and Alicia is a Ph.D. candidate in social work. The family resides in Tallahassee, Fla.
Barry Horne, wife Alison and daughter Kaela welcomed Ashleigh Lynn in July 2007.
Keith Sternberg and wife Linda are parents to Mia Elizabeth born in February 2007. Keith is a pilot for American Eagle Airlines and Linda is a paralegal. They live in Palm Beach, Fla.
Arte Roman, wife Krisa, and three-year-old sons Athan and Christian welcomed Lucian to the family in March 2007. The family lives in Orlando, Fla., where Arte is an environmental scientist for MSCW Inc.
Alex Anduze and Astrid Anduze-Melendez are proud parents to Alejandro born December 2006. Alex is an acceptance test pilot for Sikorsky Aircraft and a black hawk pilot for the U.S. Army Reserves. Astrid is taking a break from teaching elementary school to stay at home.
Jeremy Harris and wife Kelly are proud parents to Jeremy Wayne Jr., born February 2007. A lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, Jeremy is serving in Afghanistan. The family lives in Milton, Fla.
Chris Marot and wife Misty welcomed their first child, Cole Michael, born April 2007.
Tiffini Sheldon-Morris, Psy.D., and husband Chris announce the birth of John Aidyn in June 2007.
Anna (Tylka) Landman and husband Nick welcomed Abby Michelle in February 2007. The family lives in Orlando, Fla.
Theresa Castle and husband Ron Ramirez welcomed Chase Jayden in August 2007. Big sister Skylar was born March 2006. Theresa works as a pilot with Chautauqua Airlines and Ron is a contractor with AT&T. The family resides in Melbourne, Fla.
Gilbert Geer is an air traffic control specialist at Montgomery Field Airport, San Diego, Calif. In 2006, he earned an A.S. in air traffic control from the Community College of Beaver County, Monaca, Penn.
Nicole Zajicek and Bradley Wise ’05 were married in August 2007 in Blaine, Wash. Many Florida Tech alumni attended the wedding, particularly members of Alpha Phi and Tau Kappa Epsilon. Both work for The Boeing Company in Everett, Wash. Nicole is an analysis engineer for environmental control systems, and Bradley is a project management specialist for 787 program planning and controls.
Jackson Griffith, nine months old, is the son of Rich Griffith and Lisa Steelman, both faculty in psychology at the Melbourne campus.
Peter Albano Jr. ’72 passed away in September 2007. He was a purchasing manager for the Crabs Claw Inn in Lavallette, N.J. He is survived by his parents Peter Albano Sr. and Dorothea Albano of Long Valley, N.J., and three siblings.
Gayle Hager ’73 passed away in November 2005. He was a retired NASA employee and a Satellite Beach, Fla., resident.
Roger Spencer ’78 M.B.A. passed away in October 2007 in Largo, Fla. He was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and an engineer at Honeywell for 25 years. Survivors include his six children, nine grandchildren and a sister.
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From East to West, Artist to CEO
Chris Chen ’83 M.S., CEO of Los Angeles-based Segue Electronics Inc., traversed miles, cultures and career paths to arrive at his current position and success.
A fateful 1978 meeting with a Palm Bay, Fla., couple, the DeGroodts, in his native Shanghai brought the fine arts graduate and painter to the Space Coast. He was sponsored by Palm Bay Mayor Franklin DeGroodt, his new friend. Rotary Club President DeGroodt also helped him earn a club scholarship.
Chen made ends meet by teaching fine arts and brush painting at the Brevard Museum of Art and Science and by selling his works. He also worked as a Florida Tech teaching assistant. Dee Dee Pannell, former head of what was then the Florida Tech computing center, was one of his mentors.
“She was very encouraging and helpful to me. I think she represented the fine quality of Florida Tech’s faculty and administrative staff,” said Chen.
After earning a master’s degree in computer science, he moved to Los Angeles. Chen gave speeches for the Rotary Clubs there and studied at night for an M.B.A. degree.
Following some corporate stints with Xerox, Eastman Kodak and at two Los Angeles-based venture capital firms, he founded Segue in 1997. The company did $11.2 million in sales in 2005 and had a 620 percent growth rate over three years.
A Rotarian himself now, he established a memorial scholarship for Palm Bay High School students in DeGroodt’s name. He keeps in touch with Franklin’s wife, Helene, an avid Florida Tech supporter, and took her back to China in 2005.
Chen devotes time to family, which includes wife, Lily, a professional violinist, and two sons ages 19 and 15. They formed a family string quartet and play at home and, occasionally, for the local church and elementary school. He recently completed a Harvard Business School in-person program for CEOs, which grants him alumni status.
He says it was “luck and unique opportunities” that got him to where he is today. A glance at his achievements, however, underscores what Helene says: “He was always very bright and so motivated. He would have gotten to this country one way or another. He’s just an amazing person.” |
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While on a recruiting trip to India, Stephanie Enstice, associate director of international admission, was surprised to find Sunita Williams ’95 M.S. was staying in the same hotel while visiting her family in Ahmedabad, India. Williams, an astronaut, was on the cover of the winter 2007 issue of Florida Tech TODAY. Enstice shared some Florida Tech memorabilia with her and said Williams was greeted by huge crowds while visiting her hometown. |
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