A Rochester Review roundup of select University of Rochester alumni who have made headlines for their accomplishments.
Ching-Shan Chang ’17E scores feature film
Composer, orchestrator, and arranger Ching-Shan Chang ’17E has written the score for the thriller Laws of Man. The film, in which two US marshals pursue a wanted murderer in the deserts of Nevada during the Cold War, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May. Laws of Man is Chang’s first feature score.
A composer for film, games, and other multimedia projects as well as concert music, Chang has been credited in the films Sonic the Hedgehog 2 released by Paramount Pictures and Rebel Moon: Part Two—The Scargiver, released on Netflix this past spring. She has won several awards for her compositions for short films.
“ ‘Music must tell a story’ is the principle I’ve always followed for all of my musical works,” Chang told the Alliance for Women Film Composers in 2023.
Chang is an accomplished concert composer who discovered her love of composing for contemporary media while she was a student at the Eastman School of Music. After graduation, she completed a master’s degree at New York University in screen scoring and earned a spot at Tom Holkenborg’s Score Academy in Los Angeles.
Nolan Sparks ’24 drafted by St. Louis Cardinals
Pitcher Nolan Sparks ’24 was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals Major League Baseball team in the 13th round of the 2024 draft.
Sparks, who came to Rochester from Aurora, Colorado, pitched 60 innings during his final season with the Yellowjackets, striking out 80 batters while walking just 19. He led the Liberty League in strikeouts and finished his career with the Yellowjackets as the program’s all-time strikeout leader.
Sparks graduated Phi Beta Kappa in May with a major in business.
Bienfait Mugenza ’21 wins global projects for peace alumni award
Bienfait Mugenza ’21 has won the Projects for Peace Alumni Award, a global initiative founded by philanthropist Kathryn Wasserman Davis and administered by the Middlebury College Center for Community Engagement. The initiative offers only one such award each year. Mugenza is Rochester’s first recipient.
The award is an outgrowth of Projects for Peace, which offers $10,000 grants to college students who have designed a grassroots project that promises to address the root causes of a conflict. The $50,000 alumni award supports the continued work of a past Projects for Peace grant recipient “who demonstrates innovation and persistence in working for peace,” according to the program’s website.
Mugenza, who is from Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, was awarded a Projects for Peace grant in 2018 with classmate Philemon Rono ’21 of Kenya. The two ran a workshop in Kigali, Rwanda, called “Peace through Entrepreneurship,” that brought together youths from Congo and Rwanda. The neighboring countries in central Africa have seen rising tensions for decades.
Since then, he has founded the Congo Peace Academy, whose mission is to develop young entrepreneurial leaders and peacemakers who will transform the Democratic Republic of Congo into a “more peaceful and prosperous country where everyone can live and thrive without the daily fear of violence and war by 2030.”
Says Mugenza, “This award holds a deep personal significance for me. It is not just a recognition of my past efforts but also a reaffirmation of my commitment to peace and conflict transformation in the Congo. The application and interview process was both rigorous and enlightening, allowing me to reflect deeply on the impact of our work at the Congo Peace Academy. When I received the news of my selection, it was a moment of immense joy and validation, knowing that the efforts of our team are being recognized on such a prestigious platform.”
Erin Morley ’02E knighted in France
Soprano Erin Morley ’02E was named a Knight in the Order of Arts and Letters by the French minister of culture in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the arts. The award was presented to her in Paris in February by the president of France’s National Music Center.
This roundup appears in the summer 2024 issue of Rochester Review, the magazine of the University of Rochester.
