Senior Spotlight: Savannah Coe

Swimming and Diving Headshot

Name: Savannah Coe

Hometown: Auburn, WA

Major: Biology and Psychology

Graduation date: May 2015

Why did you choose Fordham? During my senior year of high school, I was recruited by Fordham to join the Fordham Women’s Swim and Dive team. I had never even been out to the East Coast before, so the idea of moving 3000 miles away from home was a little daunting. But when I came to visit Fordham the campus was so beautiful and the school was what I wanted both academically and athletically that I decided this was the right school for me.

What clubs/organizations/internships have you been involved in? What has been your favorite experience? During the last four years I have volunteered at Montefiore Children’s Hospital, St. Barnabas Hospital, and the Bronx AIDS Society. I also helped perform genetics research at the Botanical Gardens. However, my favorite experience has been as a member of Peer Health Exchange (PHE). PHE members are trained to teach workshops about various health topics to ninth graders in the local public high schools. I joined the club my sophomore year and have worked my way up to become one of the leaders this year. It is really rewarding to teach a class when the students are engaged and you can tell that they are really soaking in all of the information. Plus, it is a great way to travel around the Bronx and see different areas.

Spring weekend: music, friends, and food!

What do you think is the best resource available to students on campus? I think career services is one of the best resources available to students on campus.

What is your favorite personal memory at Fordham? One of the best weekends at Fordham every year is spring weekend. My sophomore year was especially good because we had great weather and on Saturday Andy Grammer and Grouplove had great performances. Who doesn’t love a weekend full of concerts and free food?!

Where is your favorite place to hang out at Fordham or in NYC? It may be a cliché, but I love hanging out in Central Park when I have some free time to relax. Generally that only really happens in the summer, but it is a great place to workout, relax, or escape the noise of the city.

What are your plans/goals/aspirations for post-graduation? My plans are to attend medical school, but right now I am still waiting for acceptances so I’m keeping my fingers crossed! 

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! 

It's the bees-knees!

Senior Biology Major Stephanie Szempruch takes a class trip to the New York Botanical Gardens:

Fordham College Rose Hill: It's the bees-knees!: "Ummm, I'm not 100% sure what this saying means (so I googled it, obviously). Thankfully, it does pertain somewhat to what my post is about...."