Rockstar Alumni
Florida Tech has over 50,000 alumni spanning all walks of life, including CEOs, military generals, astronauts, scientists, engineers, pilots and entrepreneurs. Many of them are what we like to refer to as Rockstars, and you don’t need any musical skills to be included.
Having a hook-up at MTV definitely makes you a Rockstar of sorts. Check out Jenny McCoy. She graduated from Florida Tech in 2006 with a degree in communication and landed her dream job as social media manager at MTV News. You can catch all her tweets here. Fun Factoids: Jenny played volleyball for Florida Tech and has some sweet dance moves. Don’t believe us, check them out here.
Another alumnus and part of the TV world is Jim Quinn. Jim graduated in 1988 with a degree in mechanical engineering and is currently the lead engineer at Orange County Choppers (OCC) in Newburgh, N.Y. The company builds custom motorcycles and is featured on the Discovery Channel/TLC show “American Chopper.” We are sure Jim spent a considerable amount of time working in Florida Tech’s machine shop, giving him the edge he needed to work on some unique and challenging motorcycle build projects. Fun Factoid: Prior to his work on OCC, Jim secured 14 patents for knife designs.
Kassandra Crimi is an alumn who gets to spend some time in front of the camera. She graduated in 2008 with a degree in meteorology and is currently part of the severe weather team on ABC News in Orlando. You can catch her on WFTV Channel 9 locally. Her experience at Florida Tech was the perfect storm, combining world-class research and training in a dynamic climate. Kassandra will be getting her hands wet covering the storms we watch when hurricanes threaten. Fun Factoid: Kassie once jumped into a snowy lake for the Lake of the Ozark’s Polar Bear Plunge to support the Special Olympics.
Another alumnus that takes a different spin on weather is Alvaro Fuster. Alvaro graduated in 1992 with a degree in aerospace engineering and now owns Spanish Power, a Madrid-based renewable energy power supplier. Spanish Power harnesses the wind to generate power throughout Spain, Sweden and Finland. Spanish Power also provides solar PV power in Spain and Bulgaria. Fun Factoid: Alvaro was one of Florida Tech’s soccer powerhouses; he and his 1991 team were inducted into the Florida Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.
Sunita Williams graduated in 1995 with a master of science degree in engineering management and is currently a NASA astronaut. Sunita holds the record for longest time in space of a woman astronaut and her missions include STS-116 and STS-117. We are sure lots of astronaut ice cream was consumed during the 195 days Sunita spent on board the International Space Station. Fun Factoid: Her dog Gorby was featured on the Dog Whisperer.
This is just a sampling of some of the Rockstar Alumni who have graced the palm tree-laced paths of Florida Tech. What kind of rockstar will you be?
