Inspiring Stories

Dubbed "our boy wonder" by his colleagues on the 1930 Prattonia yearbook committee, former Pratt Trustee and instructor Charles L. Macchi (Cert. Arch '30) will have a lasting impact on the Institute's School of Architecture students through a generous bequest from his late wife, Fern B. Macchi, who created an endowed scholarship in her late husband's honor.

"As a teacher, I love being able to share my knowledge and experience to cultivate talented artists," says Visiting Associate Professor David Mattingly, who teaches digital matte painting in the Department of Digital Arts.

While she has many fond memories of her undergraduate years studying painting at Pratt, Patricia Tuohy (B.F.A. '79) cherishes her time in the Institute's landmarked Library most. "In a time before Google, the library gave people access to the world's information.

David Saylor (M.I.D. '69) has had a flair for arranging space for as long as he can remember. "As an only child, I was very good at entertaining myself," recalled Saylor. "I spent hours conceiving buildings and drawing house plans."

As a child growing up in Syracuse, Jack Esterson (B. Arch. '75) dreamed of moving to New York City. "I knew I wanted to be in a place filled with creative people," he says. From the moment the Institute's School of Architecture accepted him on the spot on the basis of his extensive portfolio, Pratt has been that place.