As Genesee Valley chapter director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, Rich advocates for women’s, LBGT and immigrant rights among many other social issues.

An English Writing Arts and women’s studies major, she served as co-director of the Women’s Center, treasurer of Vega and cast director of the peer-education theatre troupe Melodramatics.

“I have been attracted toward jobs that allow me to get paid for activism and standing up for justice,” Rich said. “The Women’s Center inspired me to truly do work that I love, that feeds my activist soul.”

1. Best Oswego moment: Sitting in the nook outside of Penfield Library with friends, “studying” (cough, cough) and enjoying the few fleeting weeks of sunny weather at the end of my last semester.

2. Worst Oswego weather: The infamous ice storm of 2003 — Classes were actually canceled and we all know classes are NEVER canceled at Oswego.

3. Superpower: Superduperfast talking. I could be one of those people that say all the deadly side effects on radio ads for prescription drugs.

4. Soft spot: Adoptable pets, especially little critters like rabbits and rats. I wish I could adopt them all!

5. Good book: My favorite book changes all the time. Most recently, I was completely sucked into Wench, a historical fiction novel by Dolen Perkins-Valdez.

6. Bad rap: Getting uncontrollably loud when I get excited about something — helpful when organizing a rally, not helpful over dinner in a quiet restaurant.

7. Great food: I make some pretty tasty Buffalo Tofu, my potluck specialty since my Oz days.

8. Favorite Oswego extra-curricular: The Women’s Center was my home away from home from 2002 to 2005. I was so sad when I had to turn in my office key.

9. Coolest Oswego curricular: Helping produce the first SUNY Oswego production of “The Vagina Monologues” in 2003.

10. Best advice: You have to do what you love. Figure out what you are passionate about and don’t let anything hold you back.

For people like game producer Jeffery Gardiner ’95 it’s a lucrative business — and a chance to tell great stories to all ages. A senior producer for Bethesda Softworks in Maryland, Gardiner’s résumé includes titles such as Fallout III, a critically acclaimed hit that sold more than 5 million copies.

“Games are still stigmatized. People still think they’re for kids,” Gardiner said during a campus visit sponsored by the Living Writers lecture series and the Oswego Alumni Association’s Alumni-In-Residence program. “There’s a barrier of entry to games, but I think that is lower now because of phenomena like Wii™ that attract a wider audience.”

A longtime gamer — going back to his elementary school days playing Dungeons and Dragons with friends — Gardiner applied his English writing arts degree to the vast creative avenues offered by his favorite electronic medium.

In video games, the player controls the story. It’s the writer’s job to dream up challenging scenarios that will keep the gamer engrossed, Gardiner said.

“How can you help them lose themselves in the game?” he said. The writer works with a theme, characters and settings, “very much the same as the fundamentals I learned here.”

The gaming industry has evolved considerably in his lifetime. Today’s fantasies are very complex and filled with compelling stories, many of which are targeted at adults.

“Nothing beats a good script,” Gardiner said. “Like a good pulp fiction novel or movie, you’re able to escape.”

— Shane M. Liebler