Life as a Student Athlete

My day begins when my alarm goes off at 5:35 AM, signaling that it's time to get up for morning practice. By 6, I'm diving into an ice cold pool, and soon after I'm lifting weights in the athlete gym. By the time I make it to the cafeteria for breakfast before class at 8:30, I'll have been awake for close to three hours longer than the other students I see around me. Only a few hours later, I'll be back in the pool again for my second practice of the day, and the cycle keeps repeating through the week.

The life of a student athlete is one of dedication. As a swimmer, I set aside over twenty hours per week for practice alone. On top of that, I need to find time to complete my schoolwork on time and have somewhat of a social life!

Thankfully, Fordham University provides its athletes with useful resources through the Athletic Advising office. Each athlete is assigned an advisor, to whom the athlete can go at any time for assistance with registration, recommendations for classes, and help with schoolwork in general to name a few.

Although being an athlete makes for a busy schedule, it also provides many opportunities for service within, and outside of, the Fordham community. The women's swim team recently participated in the American Cancer Society's "Make Strides to End Breast Cancer" walk in Central Park. We raised over $2,000 for an amazing cause!

Fordham Women's Swimming Makes Strides Against Breast Cancer!

I have to be honest -- being a student athlete for a Division 1 team at such an academically challenging university is no easy task. However, I cannot imagine not swimming and not being a part of such a supportive, friendly, and welcoming team and athletics program. It may sound crazy, but I sometimes find myself looking forward to that 5:35 AM alarm, itching to get my day of swimming and learning started!

Life is Good on Eddie's

Enjoying Fall at Fordham

It's a warm, sunny day on the Rose Hill Campus; golden leaves dance downwards to earth and rich rays of the setting sun illuminate the sky like watercolors. Laying on a blanket on Edward’s Parade (referred to by students as Eddie’s), surrounded by various textbooks and class notes, I can almost forget the impending stress of my midterms. During each season, Eddie’s large grass area features its boundless beauty. In the spring months, the lawn is peppered with hundreds of students, eating lunch, studying for class, or simply playing music and tossing around a frisbee. 

Eddie's blanketed in snow; Keating Hall in the background

When autumn comes, the fall photo shoots ensue; surrounded by trees that are turning their leaves, Eddie’s become a sight for all. Keating Hall, bathed in the afternoon sun and framed perfectly by trees with deep orange leaves, could not be more beautiful. Even in the winter, when the cold sets in, Eddie’s offers a playful snowfield. Coming from California, I had never woken up and walked out to see such a winter wonderland before me. The untouched, level snow blanketing Eddie’s provided a space for building snowmen and crafting the perfect snowball. As the seasons change, 
my love for Eddie’s stays unwavering.

The lush, green lawn of Eddie's during the spring

Eddie's in an essential part of Fordham's campus, providing a large healthy stretch of grass for all to enjoy. Although Fordham is situated close to the bustling city of Manhattan, we have our own growing, natural paradise just twenty minutes away from the concrete jungle. Seated on Eddie’s expansive green lawn, students have a prime location for watching the world go by and relaxing in one of the most beautiful spots on Fordham’s campus. 

The Gabelli School at Lincoln Center is the perfect place for students to get an excellent education both in the classroom and outside, when they step out into one of the countless F500 firms in Midtown Manhattan. There are numerous internship opportunities, on campus competitions, and events to which Fordham students have access. Here, every interaction is a chance to learn something new, meet someone who has valuable insight and experience, or to explore new career paths. As a junior in the finance major at Gabelli Lincoln Center, I can personally attest to the network it provides.

The biggest advantage of studying finance in New York City is the opportunities that await you right off our campus grounds. Hiring manager look for Fordham students because of their drive, commitment and sensible business background. In tandem with the Fordham Alumni network, the possibilities are endless. Personally, the Fordham network has taken me to J.P. Morgan, where I intern with the Equity Derivatives Billing Group here in New York City. I have been given the privilege of seeing the trading happen live, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, and I've even gotten to sit in meetings across from senior leadership and clients on a regular basis. The internship has truly opened my eyes to the scale and scope of a large bank that I really had to see to believe. I was offered the opportunity to return for the coming semester and continue exploring further! Fordham first gave me the coursework to prepare for the internship, and then it gave me the alumni connections and resources to push myself into having the opportunity to learn within such a prestigious firm and outlook.

 

Club Spotlight: Sláinte: Fordham Irish Dance

Sláinte (slahn-che)

From Old Irish

interjection

1. Cheers

Are you a prospective Ram looking for an easy way to join the Fordham community? Look no further than the many unique clubs that our school has to offer! From acapella groups, to business societies, to dance teams, Sláinte is just one of your options -- and, in my humble opinion, it's the best one!

Sláinte is Fordham's one and only Irish dance club. We finally became an officially recognized club this year, which means we have the opportunity to compete as a real Irish dance team! Some experience as an Irish dancer is required to audition; however, there is no need to be currently competing! When I visited Fordham on Accepted Student's Day two years ago, I instantly found Sláinte's table and was so happy to see that I could continue doing something I love at a place that I love! As a student athlete, I have a rigorous practice schedule -- I swim for almost 20 hours a week -- but I can assure you that it is very possible to be involved in anything that Fordham has to offer!

Sláinte Members 2016-2017!

Sláinte has made their presence known on campus through many performances. We have participated as an act in ASILI's "Taste the World" event; opened for The B-Side's, one of Fordham's many talented acapella groups; helped raise money for pediatric cancer research by performing at Fordham Dance Marathon; partnered with Gaelic Society to create the first annual Irish Night, a night devoted to celebrating Irish culture through live music by The Narrowbacks, food and baked goods provided by members of Sláinte and Gaelic Society, and, of course, Irish dancing! Now that we are an official club with a very official budget, Sláinte will travel to Villanova University in just a few weeks to compete in the Intercollegiate Irish Dance Festival!

Sláinte is a group of people who are proud of their Irish heritage, and we hope we can share our culture through dancing with the rest of the Fordham community for years to come! If you are interested in learning more about Sláinte, feel free to like our page on Facebook. Go Rams, and, in true Irish fashion, "sláinte!"

The Fordham Foundry: The Heart of Innovation and Entrepreneurship on Campus

The Fordham Foundry: home to some of the most insightful and creative spirits of the University. For Fordham students, the Foundry is an idea incubator, helping creative individuals develop their brainchildren into not only financially successful ventures, but also ones that contribute to the common good. One innovator in particular, Josh Choi FCLC ‘19, has been working with the Foundry to develop his social media application, Redplanet:

Large collaboration tables in the workspace

LJ: What are you developing?

JC: We're developing a way to re-architect social media. We wanted to solve a problem within the social media landscape, so we started by asking "Why the heck are there so many social media platforms? Why couldn't there be just one thing that does it all?"  We took the basic elements of Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook and consolidated it into one, stand alone platform. It's the first social media app that filters your newsfeeds by dividing them in two: one for your friends and one for the things you're following.

LJ: How has The Foundry facilitated you in your work?

Use the chalkboard walls to brainstorm your thoughts

JC: First off, I'd like to note that there's no substitute for hard work. There is however a supplement to hard work and that is "smart work." The Fordham Foundry provides "smart work" chiefly by bringing together great minds within the same walls. Also, through the of the founders at the Foundry, we were able to meet an engineer who will leverage the NYTimes API to aggregate top stories onto Redplanet. Lastly, because of the Foundry, we are expecting interns this year!

LJ: What is your favorite part of the Foundry?
JC: My favorite part of the Fordham Foundry is the feeling I get when I walk in there. It's just this weird, exciting feeling of having your own place and working side by side with other startups. But most of all, it's nice to have a space dedicated to your startup and the Fordham community, so as our startup grows, and we're going to have new problems to solve internally, we're going to have to bring more people to work with us, and the foundry is the best place to do that.

Words of wisdom on your exit from The Foundry

Josh, like many of the others in The Foundry, are part of a unique community of innovators at Fordham. Particularly in the Gabelli School of Business, there has been a greater interest in majors such as Entrepreneurship. At current, there is one branch of The Foundry on the Rose Hill Campus; however, through a generous grant from NASDAQ, The Foundry will be expanding to Fordham Lincoln Center, set to open in the summer of 2017. 

If you want to be a part of "the new social media" and learn more about Josh's application, Redplanet, you can download it in the AppStore by clicking here .

Behind the Scenes of New Student Orientation: Preparing to Welcome Our New Baby Rams

Blog by Kaitlyn Powers

Me and my Orientation partner Jake ready to give out some hugs!

As I walk through campus for the first time on a scorching late August afternoon, I take in the view and sounds that I haven’t seen for three whole months: a green, lush Eddie’s, waiting to be sprawled on by its students, a magnificent Keating standing tall and proud just like in all the brochures, and the sound of pre-season football training coming from Coffey field. I smile and, for the millionth time that day, I’m reminded of how excited I am to be back to Fordham for the year. In the back of my mind is the reason for my early arrival: to get ready to welcome the incoming students to their new home.

Since my sophomore year, I have been a leader for New Student Orientation, Fordham’s official welcoming process for acclimating freshmen to campus and all things college. During the week before Orientation officially begins, I, along with almost 200 of my fellow students, prepare to welcome the incoming freshmen class, going through various training and community activities that bond us as a team and prepare us to be the best possible resources for new students. By listening to and engaging in presentations about topics like the Fordham Core curriculum, public safety, extracurricular and academic involvement opportunities, multicultural issues, mental health awareness, and career services offerings, we as Orientation leaders are able to refresh our knowledge about Fordham to ensure that we are capable and informative guides, mentors, and friends for our new fellow Rams.

My wonderful Orientation training team at our annual Olympics! Go Gray Team

The part of Orientation training that excites me most, however, is the new family I create with each new year I take part in the program; the team of 200 is separated into training teams of about ten people each and, over the course of the week, this team becomes a new family. We not only prepare to welcome the freshmen as a team, but also build each other up to be the best leaders we can be. We compete in trivia nights, dress up for formal, have dance competitions with other training teams, and participate in an Olympic tournament at the end of the week to show our pride for Fordham and our mounting excitement for the freshmen to arrive. It is one of the best events I have taken part in while attending Fordham, and something that has introduced me to some of the most compassionate, intelligent, and selfless people at this school that I never would have met otherwise.

Me and my Orientation training team on Move-In Day, ready to move in the new Rams!!! 

Flash forward to Move-In Day: it’s 5:15 in the morning. My roommate and I have snoozed our alarms 3 times so far. We roll out of bed, groggy and confused as to why it’s still dark out. One minute later, we remember why we are awake at this ungodly hour: to move in our new freshmen. We throw on our Orientation shirts, walk out of our apartment, and walk towards the rest of our 200-person family, half awake and ready to carry box after box up flights of stairs for the class of 2020. One large cup of coffee and a donut later, I am ready. At 7am, my Orientation training team walks to the building we are moving in that day and waits for the first car to pull up, dancing to the music blasting from the speakers around campus. At 7:12am, our newest Ram and her family arrive. We give her our loudest welcome, open her car, and I pick up my first box of the day. I smile, and remember how happy I am to be home.