Women in STEM Club

Fordham has over 90 different clubs and organizations at Rose Hill that students can participate in, including cultural clubs, performing arts clubs, and academic clubs just to name a few (check out the complete list here) 

One of the great things about Fordham is that if there isn’t a club that caters to a particular interest, students are encouraged to start a new club.  I am currently in the process of starting a new club on campus with a few of my friends.  My friends and I are all majoring in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields, and we decided that we wanted to create a club that fosters community among females in these areas where we are usually in the minority. 

In order to become a club recognized by Fordham, we needed to complete an application packet.  The application involved finding a faculty member to act as our advisor, writing a club constitution, and gathering student signatures to show that there is a desire for this club on campus.  My academic adviser Christine Papadakis, who teaches in the computer science department, has been encouraging us to start this club, so she was the perfect person to ask to be our club adviser.  We submitted all of the necessary paper work to United Student Government, who is in charge of reviewing new club applications, at the end of last semester.  We received feedback on our constitution and submitted a revised edition, so now we are just waiting to hear back.

Although we are still in the process of becoming a Fordham club, my friends and I are looking forward to our first official event.  As the founding members, we are serving as the inaugural Executive Board (E-board), which means that one of our responsibilities is planning the events our club will host.  We have already had brainstorming sessions with our adviser to decide how we can make this club a resource for all students. 

A Twitter post about the IBM event we attended to
get ideas for our Women in STEM club.

To help get ideas for our club, my fellow E-board members and I attended an event in Manhattan hosted by IBM. We attended the event called “Girls Night Out” because the theme of the night, empowering women in technology, aligned with our goal for our own club.  When we got to IBM, we were able to network with influential members of the IBM community, including IBM General Manager Sandy Carter, who were excited to hear about our club.  She even tweeted pictures of us at the event! We then listened to a panel of women talking about their experiences working in the technology field and watched a demo of IBM’s new Bluemix platform.  Be able to attend sophisticated events such as this one is just another perk of going to school in New York City.  My friends and I are looking forward to implementing our ideas and building a stronger community of women in STEM on Fordham’s campus with our club.

  

IBM General Manager Sandy Carter was excited to hear
about our new club and gave us a shout-out on Twitter!

"If you're not doing what you love, you're wasting your time." -Billy Joel

The last words my mother said to me on Move-In Day were, “I went to college so burnt out from high school. I didn’t join a single club or go to a single basketball game. You’ll handle your classes, just join something. And be a fan. You won’t regret it.” I didn’t listen to my mother much in high school, but that hit home. I heeded her advice and stopped at just about every table at the club fair (sorry Finance Society, I skipped you). One organization there was Residence Halls Association (RHA).

I had been a part of student government in high school, so I was intrigued. RHA ran programs in the residence halls, put on events campus wide, and worked with Residential Life and the Dean of Students to address student concerns. This seemed like the perfect organization for me. I ran for programmer of my hall, made some corny posters, talked to residents, and won. RHA was fine. I attended my weekly meetings, carried my weight at programs, met a few people, but that was it. Towards the end of the year, I was slightly disappointed in RHA. It wasn’t what I thought it would be. I saw members out to dinner together or hanging out on Eddie’s. Other halls were working on large programs. I wasn’t part of any of that, which was fine; I would try something new next year.

       It’s still unclear what came over me at the end of my freshman year, but two days before Executive Board nominations, I realized what I got out of RHA exactly what I put in. I never went the extra mile. I never took time outside of meetings to better our initiatives and get to know new people. It wasn’t the organization that I was disappointed in; it was myself. I decided to run for the Chief Financial Officer position on the executive board, made some corny jokes in my speech, talked to residents, and won.  
       That was sophomore year. Three years later as a senior, I serve as the Executive President of Residence Halls Association. Because of RHA I have had some of my greatest experiences, made some of my greatest mistakes, and met some of my greatest friends. I have been able to travel to Phoenix, San Diego, and Omaha. I had the opportunity to present at the National Jesuit Student Leadership Conference. I have learned organization, the need for creativity in work and in serving my peers; I have also learned humility. I am currently on a board with six of the most talented and ambitious men at Fordham. It’s hard to think where I would be without RHA, if I hadn’t listened to my mom or if hadn’t run for executive board. The lesson in all this? Don’t knock something without a little self-reflection; you would be surprised what defines you.

Fordham Student Government Decoded

At Fordham as an incoming student getting involved in student government might seem difficult, but in reality opportunities for involvement abound. United Student Government has many layers and first year students are encouraged to get involved in as soon as they arrive on campus. Involvement in student leadership comes in two forms: elected positions and committee membership. The best way to get involved is to find the student government table at the club fair.

Elected positions on student government at Fordham are decided in late March to early April of every year—with the exception being the incoming freshmen class council. Every undergraduate class year has one class council, made up of three representatives from Frodham College and two from the Gabelli School of Business. Class councils work on class project specific to their class year (for example juniors working on internship credit). There is also an executive board of nine vice presidents, each of which is taxed with a different focus. The nine are Operations, Finance, Student Life, Fordham College, Gabelli, Health and Security, Communications, IT, and Athletics. Together the four class councils and the nine vice presidents make the student government senate. The executive vice president and the executive president constitute the executive branch. There is also a student government court, responsible for making sure all activities of student government are in accordance with the Student Handbook and the USG Constitution. The court is appointed by the executive president and terms of service last two years.

Committee membership is another way to get involved. USG has three main committees: Operations, Budget and Student Life. All three work together, and work closely with the Student Life Council which is headed by the Dean of Students. The Operations Committee is responsible for addressing all club concerns—including the creation of new clubs. The Budget Committee deals with club budget allocations. While the Student Life Committee works on student life initiatives that are brought forth to them.

As freshmen you would have a variety of options to get involved with student leadership. You could contact the Vice Presidents of Operations, Finance and Student Life to fill one of the reserved freshman spots on those specific committees. Or you could pick up an election packet during Orientation, attend an election meeting and run for student office. If you do not want to take a direct role, like committee membership or elections, always remember that our meetings are open to the public and we are always looking for students to get involved in our projects!