A Day in the Life: Ram Edition

Fordham offers a unique combination of the traditional campus community and the big city; because of this, the typical Fordham student is absurdly busy between classes, extracurricular activities, volunteering, internships, and trips into the other boroughs.  One example: yesterday, I was able to work on a research project, go to class, and see a concert by one of my favorite artists, all in a single day!

Above is a sample gel electrophoresis analysis;
this is one way we study the genes of the monkeys!

I started my day by working in lab for a few hours.  I just started with a conservation genetics project involving black lion tamarins (an endangered species of monkey.) As a biology major hoping to attend medical school, conducting research provides me with invaluable hands-on learning experience—and is so much fun! There are tons of ways to get involved in research at Fordham and not just in traditional science disciplines. Fordham holds an annual research symposium in the spring semester, where students present their projects to peers and faculty. We also publish a student-run journal featuring undergraduate work called the Fordham Undergraduate Research Journal, or FURJ.  For more information, check out Fordham's website for Undergraduate Research!

The black lion tamarin is an endangered species native to Brazil!

From lab, I walked to the Dunkin Donuts across the street from campus for a quick caffeine boost before class.  On Thursdays I only have two classes in the afternoon; first, a music theory course, followed by statistics.  Even though I am a biology major, I am also planning on completing a minor in music—it is fairly easy to incorporate a minor or even a double major during your four years at Fordham, and a large number of students take advantage of this!

Since it was such a beautiful day, I drank my Dunkin on Eddie's,
our main quad on campus, before heading to class!

After class, I had just enough time to grab a salad at the Cosi on campus (yum!) and then caught an Uber cab to West 175^th and Broadway (Uber is a car company with an app you can download that lets you request a driver for your specific location, as well as get an immediate rate quote—super convenient!). My friend and I headed to the United Palace Theater in Washington Heights to see one of my favorite singers, Sam Smith. Just a 15 minute drive from campus, the concert was an awesome way to end the day!

The United Palace Theater was opened in 1930, and has a beautifully ornate, vintage interior!

Sam Smith, or the man with the golden voice, serenading the crowd!