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The Only 4 Generations of Graduates
in Cooper Union History
by Victoria Lief Bertotti A'82
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Charles E. Heimerzheim ChE 1892, Luisita Keely Lief A'47,
Clifford D. Keely EE'23 and Bertram William Lief A'48
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Victoria Lief Bertotti A'82 with
then Cooper Union President William Lacey
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I come from a family of very talented people. When I graduated from Cooper Union in 1982, I hadn't fully understood even then what it meant when the President stopped the processional of the entire graduating class to present and introduce me to the audience as Cooper Union's only 4th generation graduate. I was very young at 22, and the weight of my family's legacy made me embarrassed so much so that I wanted to crawl under a rock. I smiled, accepted my BFA degree and left the stage. It really didn't enter my mind how my mother and father, my grandfather and my great grandfather all had preceded me and what an incredible moment it was for me to literally walk in their footsteps. |
When I got my acceptance letter, I knew I was gifted and unbelievably blessed in some indescribable way that carried with it a very large responsibility and sense of my family's legacy. Now that I am an alumna, I think about what our common threads are from generation to generation. Just as Peter Cooper was an inventor and innovator, so were all my relatives and so am I. As I reflect on my heritage, I find we are all designers, innately creative, experts in solving unusual problems and making our own opportunities as entrepreneurs in our respective fields. These inspirational qualities lasted four generations over 90 years and germinated just 35 years after Abraham Lincoln spoke at The Cooper Union.
Each of my relatives had and have a unique and amazing spark of creativity and originality that some how was given to me. This wonderful family legacy starts with my great grandfather Charles E. Heimerzheim ChE 1892, a pharmacist who studied at Cooper Union before there were the three divisions in the school. He was the founder and a 50-year board member of the Brooklyn College of Pharmacy (which became part of Long Island University) after opening two pharmacies, and was known for being a dedicated humanitarian in his field.
My grandfather Clifford D. Keely EE'23, was an electrical engineer and innovator. As an inventor he held numerous major industrial patents. He was an architect of unique modular housing designs and as a manufacturer, the founder of General Corrugated Machinery Company. As an entrepreneur he sold his inventions to AT&T and throughout industry. My parents were both art students. Luisita Keely Lief A'47, was a painter and designer of vinyl laminates for lighting and wall coverings for home and commercial products, for which she was a recipient of an American Institute of Decorators design award. As a cartographer and co-publisher, she invented innovative map designs that created a new line of walking tours for travel in Europe, all with her own illustrations, helping to build VLE Limited, the publishing business she co-founded with her husband and my father.
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Bertram William Lief A'48 and
Luisita Keely Lief A'47
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Bert Lief A'48 was a painter as well as naval aviation officer, pilot, playwright and art director. As an author, travel publisher and consummate entrepreneur, he invented unique travel products for independent travel in Europe. He produced the first cassettes for touring by car, pre-dating modern GPS systems as his well-recognized motoring guide "EURoad", and a series of walking tour guides that are still in use after 35 years, recognized by such organizations as AAA and travel agents worldwide.
I, Victoria Lief Bertotti A'82 am a weaver, painter, graphic designer and now hold three degrees (B.F.A in Art, M.A. Ed. and Ed.M in Education), and currently attend Teachers College, Columbia University. As a multimedia publisher, instructional designer and entrepreneur born in the dot.com era, I am now a software application developer, inventing new instructional models that use information technology to innovate and transform print-based content into digital media instructional products.
It's truly an amazing gift to be part of such an unusual family of creative innovators who have done so much that they each inspired the next generation. I am no longer embarrassed, just immensely proud. I believe with all my heart that Peter Cooper would have been proud to know this story was part of the wonderful heritage he created that is The Cooper Union. |
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