“I moved to Rochester, NY, in 1994 from a small suburb of Binghamton, NY, (Endicott) to pursue a degree in History and Education from St. John Fisher College. I fell in love with Rochester the moment we pulled off of 490 and drove onto the Fisher campus, nestled in the beautiful and quaint village of Pittsford. Some of my fondest memories from college include walking to the canal to feed the ducks, getting an ice cream cone and visiting the shops with friends in Schoen Place and the Village of Pittsford. The Park Avenue and the Upper Monroe areas were also a huge draw to us as young 20-something college students and many of us from Fisher were ‘regulars’ at a bar on Goodman, known then as ‘Paradise Alley.’

“After graduating from Fisher in 1998, I moved to Pennsylvania to pursue my Master’s degree. It was here that I met my now spouse, Matt, and convinced him to move back to Rochester with me when I accepted a position at Rochester Institute of Technology. We have lived here since 2000 and while I always hoped that we would stay, I never expected that it would be for this long. Coming from a military family, Matt never lived in one place for long — and we have both lived here longer than we have anywhere else. We have truly ‘grown up here,’ maturing into adulthood, becoming working professionals and now parents who are raising our two young children here.

“One of the things that I tell people who ask me about life in Rochester is that there is truly something here for everyone — in all four seasons. My interests in Rochester have evolved since I was a college student and now have much more of a ‘family focus,’ and a not-often-enough ‘date night’ focus. As a family, we of course frequent local draws such as the Strong National Museum of Play, the Rochester Museum and Science Center and Red Wings games in the summer, but our favorite place in Rochester to visit is Corbett’s Glen Nature Park located in Brighton, near Route 441.

“Corbett’s Glen is one of Rochester’s hidden gems and is beautiful year round, but especially so on a warm, bright sunny day. All of us love to step off a path and into the ankle-knee deep waters to splash around and climb the multitude of small waterfalls. We usually take a picnic basket with us and spend the whole afternoon there hiking and exploring and already making plans for our next visit there!”

—Jennifer Hinton, West Henrietta 
Assistant Director, RIT Center for Media, Arts, Games, Interaction and Creativity