ROB ATWATER ’93 NEW CAMPUS CONNECTIONS
Peace studies major Volunteered at Hamilton Fire Department with Ron’s son Ross Firefighter/paramedic, Derry, N.H. Wakely Mountain (with Ross, June 2003) “This friendship shows that Colgate relationships go so much deeper than with just classmates.” LINDSEY BRANDOLINI HOHAM ’05
HAMILTON FIRE DEPARTMENT
Political P science major ma Intro I to B Biology l and Plant Evolution; Hamilton Fire Department volunteer Daughter-in-law Advancement operations director at Colgate Bald Mountain (with Ross and their son, Nathan, July 2011) CLASSMATES
"Rob Atwater '93 and Dave Guinotte ’02 were ushers in Ross and Lindsey’s (Brandolini ’05) wedding in June 2007 07 in the Colgate chapel.” — Ron
DAVE GUINOTTE ’02
Geography major, geology minor Intro to Biology; Hamilton Fire Department volunteer with Ron’s son Ross Graduate study in GIS/Remote Sensing, sing, University of Kansas rica & Caribbean Regional sales manager, Latin America Caribbean, Trimble Navigation, Ltd. Blue Mountain (with Ross, October 2001) “We got off to a late start, hiked up the mountain and watched the sunset, then came down using flashlights the entire way.” — Ron RURIK JOHNSON ’98
Biology major; 3.5 years in his research lab; co-authored 3 papers MD, U of Pittsburgh General surgeon, Buffalo, N.Y. Owasco Lake (July 2009), Conesus Lake (August 2010), Hemlock Lake (August 2010), Seneca Lake (September 2012 — a “virtual” ride) “After two rainout attempts to cycle around Seneca Lake with Rurik, I decided to do it solo on a beautiful day. Rurik and I texted one another as I cycled around the lake, and his texts were great support even though he was not there in person.” — Ron
“R always “Ron l h had d plenty l of good stories to tell to make a five-hour ride fly by. He was also good for a Blue Moon at the lunch break.” — Rurik Johnson ’98
JEFF RYBA ’05 RON’S LAB
Biology major; advisee; 3.5 years in Ron’s research lab; co-authored 3 papers Finishing dental school, Columbia University; upcoming residency, U.S. Navy
JESSE BERMAN ’04
Owasco (August 2011) Cayuga Lake (The final ride, September 2013) “Jeff joined me to cycle the 87 miles around; he really wanted to do it with me so I could complete my goal. We lucked out with awesome weather and celebrated afterward in an Ithaca Mexican restaurant.” — Ron Pillsbury Mountain (with Jesse Berman ’04, August 2009) CLASSMATES
Pete Rand ’87 (bottom left, facing page) was reading the Colgate Scene when he came across an article about the research of Jessica Graybill, associate professor of geography and chair of Colgate’s Sustainability Council. “She had spent time in Sakhalin and Kamchatka, and I thought, wow, a Colgate professor doing work in an area that we’re working in,” said Rand, a conservation biologist. “The Russian Far East is a wild place. There’s not many people working there. I got quite excited, so I wrote her an e-mail. She said, why don’t you come? Our students are interested in what the Wild Salmon Center is doing.” Sponsored by Graybill and biology’s Randall Fuller (who was his adviser), Rand spent two days on campus in November 2013, giving a guest lecture in Graybill’s Arctic Transformations class, a public presentation on his conservation work with Pacific salmon, and meeting with professors and students in biology, environmental studies, and Russian and Eurasian studies. Colgate’s interested students are potential finds for Rand’s organization. “You usually find individuals with an interest in Russian language and an understanding of the culture, or a science background, not both. But at a place like Colgate, interdisciplinary skills are encouraged. One of the things that’s going to come from this is that we’re going to get some bright young interns or employees working with us in this conservation work.”
“It is professors like Ron who not only take an interest in their students during their years at Colgate, but also long after, that help to make it a truly special place.” – Jeff Ryba ’05
Environmental biology and English double major; lab researcher (with Jeff Ryba ’05); co-authored 2 papers MHS, PhD, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health Postdoc, Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies Snowy Mountain (August 2007), Vanderwhacker Mountain (August 2008), Pillsbury Mountain (with Jeff Ryba ’05, August 2009) “I got my first job through Ron. He introduced me to Carolyn Scrafford ’99 at the consulting firm Exponent in Washington, D.C. I joined the firm doing food and chemical risk assessment and worked with Carolyn for three years before graduate school.”
BURTON RANKIE ’05
Molecular biology major Met Ron at the Colgate gym, summer 2002, during his chemistry internship DDS, SUNY Buffalo (valedictorian) Orthodontist in Maine and New Hampshire
“I attended Jesse’s wedding in Alexandria, Va. I also stayed at his parents’ camp near Schroon Lake when Jesse and I hiked up Rooster Comb Mountain. He was an environmental studies ‘brown bag’ speaker at Colgate in 2012.” — Ron
Owasco Lake (June 2010) Honeoye Lake and Canadice Lake (with Dave and Margit Brazda Poirier ’88, August 2011) “I chose Colgate over several other schools because it felt like a community of friends, and Ron embodies that. I met Margit through Ron. She and her husband have become good friends. Margit also coached me swimming, which tremendously improved my speed in triathlons.” News and views for the Colgate community
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