Meet the Teams!
Team One | No Barriers: Curating The Forest
Team Two | Backyardagains: Curating the Forest
Team Three | Moss Mentality: Forest Bathing
Team Four | The FunGuyz: Networking and Outreach
Team Five | The Shark Tank: Human-Made Assets
Team Six | Alvin and the Chipmunks: Physical and Social Topography
Team Seven | Ziggy’s Minions: Physical and Social Topography
About the Participants!
Abby Broscius (she/her)
Year: Second Year
Major: New Media Design
From: The swampy suburbs of New Jersey
Favorite food: Macaroni and cheese
Favorite creature: Cuttlefish
Hobby: I love to go sailing
What inspires me to be creative: That feeling I get when I find music that perfectly matches my mood, when I am in nature and forget everything but observing the plants/animals/sky that is in front of me.
Allie Cervantes (she/her)
Year: Third Year
Major: Graphic Design
From: Medway, MA
Favorite food: Sushi, especially with cream cheese in it.
Favorite creature: Tarsiers, tiny little monkeys from the Philippines!
Hobby: Running! I just got into it this summer and have found it to be one of the proudest hobbies that I’ve kept up with.
What inspires me to be creative: Other designers and artists. Seeing all the cool stuff people can make on the applications I have right at my fingertips makes me want to go and create so many things and try so many new techniques.
Alyssa Davis (she/her)
Year: Second Year
Major: Graphic Design
From: Blackstone, Massachusetts
Favorite food: Pasta!!
Favorite creature: Foxes
Hobby: Biking, photography, and drawing!
What inspires me to be creative: Nature, and the idea that I myself may be able to inspire others through my creativity.
Steven Fertel (he/him)
Year: First Year
Major: Biomedical Engineer
From: Orchard Park, New York
Favorite food: Pad Thai!
Favorite creature: Owls
Hobby: Rock Climbing and Hiking. I love going outdoors.
What inspires me to be creative: I like to work with models and drawings, so using those I feel the creative process flow.
Natalie Furman (she/her)
Year: Second Year
Major: Graphic Design
From: Long Island
Favorite food: Pizza and cheeseburgers
Favorite creature: This is a hard one- animals are so unique and amazing! I think big cats like tigers and panthers are very cool.
Hobby: I enjoy playing board games and playing the drums.
What inspires me to be creative: Being able to make something I am proud of, and to impact others
Bari Hayden (she/her)
Year: Second Year
Major: Graphic Design
From: New Jersey
Favorite food: Sushi
Favorite creature: Elephant
Hobby: Cooking
What inspires me to be creative: My environment.
Marissa Hayes (she/her)
Year: Third Year
Major: Graphic Design
From: Henrietta, NY
Favorite food: Crab Rangoon
Favorite creature: Otters
Hobby: Crafting
What inspires me to be creative: Nostalgic and fun design.
Brooklyn Hutchison (she/her)
Year: Second Year
Major: Graphic Design
From: Palo Alto, California
Favorite food: Right now my favorite food would be a bowl from a restaurant here in Rochester called Naantastic, it’s really good!
Favorite creature: My favorite animal at the moment would be a cat, I want to get one as a pet so badly.
Hobby: I love to do my own digital art outside of my school work. I post some of it on my art account on instagram if you’d like to take a look! (It’s @artbybrooklynamerica) I haven’t posted in a bit, but I actually plan to post something this weekend. I also really enjoy reading, and love to write letters to my friends back home.
What inspires me to be creative: A wide variety of things inspire me to be creative. My favorite movies and tv shows are always a good source of inspiration, as well as my friends and family. I am also very heavily inspired by mental health and environmental sustainability, and would like to be able to use my art and design to bring attention to these topics in the future.
Gabi Johnston (she/her)
Year: Second Year
Major: Graphic Design
From: Easton, Connecticut
Favorite food: Ramen
Favorite creature: Penguins
Hobby: Playing harp.
What inspires me to be creative: I take inspiration from watching cartoons & movies, reading graphic novels, playing video games, and listening to music. When I have a favorite film/game/show/etc. I LOVE looking into the process work and concept art and getting to understand its construction.
Rebecca Julifs (she/her)
Year: Third Year
Major: Graphic Design
From: Torrance, CA
Favorite food: Homemade Asian Cucumber Salad
Favorite creature: Racoons!
Hobby: Walking/biking around campus and ROC.
What inspires me to be creative: Gaining new abilities and perspectives that can then be used to provide services to others.
Rohith Paul Lakkena (he/him)
Year: First Year
Major: Human Computer Interaction
From: Bangalore, India
Favorite food: Cauliflower Manchurian
Favorite creature: Panda
Hobby: Bird watching
What inspires me to be creative: Seeing my solution being helpful for people that were affected by the problem.
Carolyn Lee (she/they)
Year: First Year
Major: New Media Design
From: Phoenix, Arizona
Favorite food: Sushi (favorite is the spider roll)
Favorite creature: Bunnies
Hobby: Painting
What inspires me to be creative: My friends inspire me to be creative, because they are inventive and expressive people themselves and I admire that.
Isabella Madeira (she/her)
Year: Fourth Year
Major: Graphic Design
From: Rome, NY
Favorite food: Peanut butter
Favorite creature: Cats!
Hobby: Playing board games with friends.
What inspires me to be creative: I think what inspires me to be creative are the creative things I see others doing.
Leora Mouli (she/her)
Year: First Year
Major: Biomedical Engineering
From: New Jersey
Favorite food: Pesto Pasto, ideally with elbow pasta.
Favorite creature: Dogs!
Hobby: Reading.
What inspires me to be creative: Listening to music. Different music inspires me to write different scenes with different emotions.
Tayo Oke (he/him)
Year: First Year
Major: Industrial Design
From: Southern California (Los Angeles Area)
Favorite food: Burrito
Favorite creature: Octopus
Hobby: Gardening/Planting, Video Editing.
What inspires me to be creative: Out of the box Ideas, things that I can make refences to, the ability to fail while trying something new.
Jules Reinhart (they/him)
Year: Second Year
Major: School of Individualized Study
From: Ann Arbor, MI
Favorite food: Challah
Favorite creature: Dog
Hobby: Driving or tinkering with cars.
What inspires me to be creative: Appreciation of beautiful things.
Elisa Renerts (she/her)
Year: Second Year
Major: Industrial Design
From: Cleveland
Favorite food: Mango
Favorite creature: Red pandas
Hobby: Playing guitar.
What inspires me to be creative: Expressing myself and connecting to the world around me – I never stop finding inspiration, even in the most unlikely circumstances, which motivates me to use my unique perspective to create change.
Jay Riley (he/him)
Year: Third Year
Major: Graphic Design
From: Downingtown, Pennsylvania, but I currently live at UC on campus for the semester.
Favorite food: Chicken Caesar Wrap / Mac & Cheese.
Favorite creature: Bunnies
Hobby: Listening to music, designing posters / graphics, video games.
What inspires me to be creative: Fictional characters I love.
Ketsia Rodriguez (she/her)
Year: Second Year Graduate
Major: Integrative Design
From: Greece, NY
Favorite food: Breakfast
Favorite creature: My cats
Hobby: Crafting
What inspires me to be creative: Nature
Jennifer Schroll (she/her)
Year: 1st year Grad, 5th year at RIT
Major: MBA (4+1)
From: Minnesota
Favorite food: Mexican Food
Favorite creature: Giraffes
Hobby: I really enjoy getting to try new things!
What inspires me to be creative: Seeing a need, or a problem that just needs a creative solution!
Misha Szende (they/them)
Year: Third Year
Major: Graphic Design
From: Rochesrer, New York. I grew up on the edge of Brighton, right by Cobbs hill.
Favorite food: Korean BBQ
Favorite creature: Cats!
Hobby:Bird watching- great way to get outside and appreciate nature in a nice, calm way.
What inspires me to be creative: I love the act connecting with others through self expression, whether it is a personal experience or otherwise.
Tia Wilson (she/her)
Year: Second Year
Major: Illustration
From: Anywhere with family or close friends!
Favorite food: Pork Sinigang or Chicken alfredo.
Favorite creature: Dairy cows
Hobby: I enjoy cooking and painting.
What inspires me to be creative: I am inspired by culture, specifically cultures that relate to my family.
Sneha Yalgi (she/her)
Year: Second Year
Major: Graphic Design
From: Wherever my closest family and friends are.
Favorite food: Anything savory 🙂
Favorite creature: Bunny
Hobby: Hiking
What inspires me to be creative: Exploring what is possible in the world.
Adelle Young (she/her)
Year: Second Year
Major: Graphic Design
From: Rochester, NY
Favorite food: Pasta
Favorite creature: Elephants
Hobby: Playing ice hockey
What inspires me to be creative: Collaborating with others.
Hannah Zalewski (she/her)
Year: Second Year
Major: Graphic Design
From: Scranton, Pennsylvania
Favorite food: Strawberries
Favorite creature: Kermit the Frog
Hobby: Listening to specifically uncool music.
What inspires me to be creative: Natural anomalies.