A 2 + 2 program Ted Fafinski has long been a proponent of community colleges. He attended two of them: Ted earned his first associate degree from Columbia College in Missouri, then completed the Community College of the Air Force. Life can be challenging, Ted said, but, “at a community college, there is an end in sight, and that’s your motivation to finish.” He passed his penchant for the practical onto his children, Dan and Rebecca, who attended FLCC for its proximity and affordability. Both married other graduates, bringing the family total to four alumni plus an adjunct instructor. Ted taught at FLCC from 2015 to 2020. “I knew I wanted to be an educator, and I knew how expensive college could be,” explained Rebecca Feistel ’97. She transferred to SUNY Geneseo, where she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She currently teaches a multi-age class of kindergarteners and first-graders at Victor Central School. Shortly after high school graduation, Rebecca met Eric Feistel ’97, then ran into him at FLCC and they struck up a friendship. “My uncle was sick and passing away at that time, and he was somebody I could talk to, and from there we just continued to grow our relationship,” she said. Eric helped her with her hardest class, Western Civilization, while she helped him write up environmental science labs. His favorite professors were Bruce Gilman, Marty Dodge, and Linda Hobart. “They were able to engage their students,” Eric said. “They would take students’ interests and appy those topics in class discussions and workplace scenarios.” Today, Eric is an operator for the Canandaigua city water treatment plant. Laura (Burger) Fafinski ’07, ’12 earned her first degree in business administration. While working in the pharmacy at Wegmans, she decided to enter the medical field, specifically nursing with its higher pay. She returned to FLCC to study nursing while working full-time. “It was overall a really positive experience,” she said. “LaCarla Holmes really helped me build my confidence. Susan McCarthy taught me a lot about taking personal responsibility and making sure you’re working with integrity. I’ve taken those lessons to heart, not just for nursing but in my personal life as well.” Laura works at Rochester Regional Health and lives in Farmington with her husband, Dan, a 1995 graduate, who built his career at Wegmans. Kathryn Andrew Smith Attended 2004 to 2006 Transferred to Monroe Community College Working as a radiological technologist Hannah Andrew Smith ’08 A.S. Liberal Arts and Sciences B.S. Rochester Institute of Technology, Nutrition and Dietetics; MBA RIT Associate chief operating officer, Clifton Springs Hospital & Clinic Abigail Andrew Copenhaver ’08 A.S. Liberal Arts and Sciences B.S. Cornell University, Animal Science; B.S. SUNY Buffalo State College, Human Nutrition and Dietetics; M.S. Washington State University, Agricultural Food Science and Management FLCC adjunct instructor, owner/manager of Farmstead Nutrition and Consulting, partner in Ivy Lakes Dairy Sarah Andrew Walton ’10 A.S. Liberal Arts and Sciences A.A.S. SUNY Cobleskill, Dairy Science Owner/manager of Walton Way Angus Farm and Walton Manure Management Rebeccah Andrew ’10 A.A. Early Childhood Education B.S. SUNY Geneseo, Biology; B.S.N. University of Rochester Registered nurse at Mayo Clinic in Arizona Emma Andrew Swarthout ’11 A.A. Liberal Arts and Sciences B.A. SUNY Geneseo, Communications Director of dairy industry image for American Dairy Association North East George Andrew Jr. ’23 A.S. Business Administration Herd health assistant at El-Vi Farms William Andrew Enrolled in A.S. Business Administration Working at El-Vi Farms Eric and Rebecca Feistel with Rebecca’s father, Ted Fafinski.
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