A Comprehensive Guide to New York City Airports

At the beginning of every semester, I anxiously await the final exams schedule’s release. I check flights for price drops rather religiously and think to myself whether or not I should take the plunge. Living cross-country from Fordham most definitely has its drawbacks, but I feel lucky to be able to call two very different places home. Additionally, with all of the flying I have done since I began here, I’ve become an expert of airlines, airports, flight preferences, and packing. So, for all of us who know the struggle of travel all too well, here’s a look at the experience of flying out of NYC’s three major airports.

Hello, JFK!

LaGuardia Airport (Queens, NY): 

Ideal Passenger: Local Traveller, Connecting Flight Traveller

Ah, LaGuardia: outdated architecture, and a beautiful pocket of time travel. The closest airport to Manhattan by distance, the airport is set to be completely overhauled over the course of the next few years. I lovingly refer to LaGuardia as “the maze.” While LaGuardia doesn’t bring the amenities, it does what it sets out to do with moderate efficiency. For all intents and purposes, LGA is a short-trip domestic airport, and probably your best bet if you’re not going too far, or taking a connecting fight within the US. From LC, LaGuardia is accessible by taking the Queens bound Q Train to Astoria Boulevard and transferring to the M60 Select Bus Service for free if you’ve swiped your MetroCard in the last two hours. (Note: This may not be fun if you have lots of luggage because there’s some pretty substantial stairs to climb down at this station) Cabs to LaGuardia from Manhattan run about $45 at a flat rate.

John F. Kennedy International Airport (Queens, NY): 

Ideal Passenger: Long Distance Traveller, Cost Effective Traveller

Aside from the construction occurring on the runways at (most) every given time, JFK proves to be a simple, reliable airport. JFK is probably the easiest to navigate and has lots of options for food and entertainment while you await your flight. Since I fly cross-country and prefer direct flights, JFK normally supplies the highest volume of flights at the cheapest cost. JFK is substantially busier than its smaller Queens cousin LaGuardia, so when flying out of here, it’s essential to account for travel time, check-in, and security to avoid a nervous breakdown in one of the nation’s most high traffic airports. Also note: in cases of bad weather, smaller airports will experience cancellations first, which is where and international airport like this one comes in particularly handy. From Manhattan, JFK is highly accessible via public transportation. But wait! Be careful! The A train connects to the AirTran at JFK, but it’s essential to choose a Howard Beach-JFK bound or Far Rockaway bound A train, and not a Lefferts Boulevard bound train. Do not board a Lefferts Boulevard bound train. You will not make it to the AirTran, and you will be sad. However, if you have made this error, a connection to the Q10 bus is possible! The A train to the AirTran takes about an hour and ten minutes from Columbus Circle to your specific gate, and the fare for the subway and the AirTran comes to a combined total of $7.75. A cab to JFK from Manhattan will cost you around $60, but traffic at most times will make for a longer trip.

Newark Liberty Airport (Newark, NJ): 

Ideal Passenger: Long Distance Traveller

Newark Airport is located about 14 miles from Midtown Manhattan and claims the title as one of the oldest airports in the nation, and also the busiest in the NYC/NJ Metro Area. Be warned, this place is BIG, so make sure to leave enough time for yourself if you're ever trying to make a connecting flight elsewhere out of Newark, because if you have to change terminals, it will take some time. From Manhattan, Newark has easy access from the west side because of its proximity to New Jersey. However, when travelling back to Manhattan from Newark, be advised that New York City Yellow Cabs are not permitted to pick up, and therefore you will have to use a New Jersey cab as well as cover the charge of the toll to re-enter Manhattan. By public transit, the equation becomes pretty simple! From Penn Station, you can hop aboard a New Jersey Transit train for $12.50, which includes the cost of boarding the AirTran once you enter the airport’s radius. Be sure to ask at the window when the next departing train to Newark Airport is if you are not familiar with NJT’s system. Like JFK, Newark has a high volume of flights and extreme passenger traffic, so plan ahead.

All and all, you'll always be ready when you know what you're getting into! May your travels always be safe and stress free!

Rose Hill Ramily

When I start my tours, I begin with the classic tagline: "Hi my name is ____. I'm from ____. My major is ____." However, I have something unique to add to the end of that introduction: I'm the third of four family members to have attended Fordham.

My dad attended law school at Fordham Lincoln Center. Owing to this connection and his childhood in the Bronx, my brother, sister, and I grew up knowing of and visiting Fordham Rose Hill. Our grade school basketball teams frequented half-time shows during the team's season and the Keating image was a well-known one in our household.

The day of my brother's graduation.

When my brother first decided to attend, I thought "No way will I do that. Who wants to go to school with their sibling?" I was looking for a new independent niche and didn't think I could figure that out at a school my brother attended. Clearly, I caved to this ridiculous presumption. Two years later, following suit, my sister faced the same challenge and ultimately chose Rose Hill as well.

To most of you that probably sounds like a lot of family, and trust me it has been! But it has been one of the greatest blessings in my experience at Fordham. From day one, we've know the in's and out's of departments like Gabelli and the Law School as well as the awesome reunions Homecoming and Jubilee bring. We can give you directions to the Ram Van or to Arthur Ave with a specific recommendation for exactly the kind of Italian cuisine you're looking for.

My sister and I on her first day of orientation.

More than anything else though, my favorite part of having family at Fordham is how it has grown. What began as my parents, my brother, my sister, and I now includes our roommates and friends. Some of my friends are my sister's and likewise for me. When I was a freshman, it was my brother's crew who showed me the ropes and kept an eye out for me. Over the years, our family has expanded so that my college community does not just stay in the Bronx: it comes back home with me too. Wherever I am, I'm followed by the spirit of Fordham University and the love of relationships I've made and fostered there.

Even though my experience has certainly been unique, it's one of the many examples of how Fordham fosters family. Families aren't always the one you're born into, but they're the ones you carry with you throughout and following college. As a senior, it's one of the many things that I will miss the most. I am so incredibly lucky to have both built and maintained my family here. I recommend it to anyone who's looking to do the same. 

Another Spring Weekend in the Books!

As quickly as it began, Spring Weekend 2015 has finished here at Rose Hill. This weekend was packed with endless events sponsored and planned by the Campus Activities Board (CAB). All the activities were completely free and welcome to all Fordham students!

Our seats for HONY's presentation

On Thursday, we had an inspirational talk by Brandon Stanton, the photographer and mastermind behind the infamous "Humans of New York" blog. In front of a packed gymnasium, he told Fordham students his life story, with everything from his own college experience to becoming interested in photography. It was an amazing presentation and we were blown away by his kindness. The next night, Solidisco, a DJ group, performed in from a packed crowd. Even though it was cold outside, everyone had a great time celebrating the end of the year.

Saturday was the Twenty One Pilots performance on Martyr's Lawn, right in the middle of campus. The performers were so energetic and crowd-surfed over the pit of students. Josh, the drummer, asked us to hold up his drum while he played on top of us. The lead singer also took turns being lifted up over the crowd. It was an experience that truly none of us will ever forget!

Josh, the drummer for Twenty One Pilots, "drum-surfing" through the crowd

Taking a bow after their performance

After the concert, students dressed up for the annual Under the Tent dance. This year's theme was "The Last Illusion". There was a live band, food and dancing among much else. This spring weekend was one of the best ones yet and continues to be one of the most fun and energetic events on campus!

Rams See the Stars! My trip to the Museum of Natural History and Central Park

Since Fordham's Lincoln Center campus is in Manhattan, and its Rose Hill campus is 20 minutes away from Manhattan by train, Fordham students have total access to New York City for fun activities, school projects, service trips, jobs, and internships. When taking classes at both Fordham campuses, it is very common to get opportunities to visit museums and other places in the city for class assignments. Today, I spent the day in the Upper West Side of Manhattan at the Museum of Natural History, and Central Park! My roommate is taking an astronomy class at Fordham College at Rose Hill, and one of her assignments for the semester was to visit the planetarium at the Museum of Natural History. Since I love museums and going into the city, I decided to tag along!

Getting to the museum was very easy, thanks to the trusty Fordham Ram Van shuttle service. The Ram Van transports students from Fordham's Rose Hill campus to its Lincoln Center campus. Since I live on the Rose Hill campus, the Ram Van made it very easy to get to the Museum of Natural History on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The planetarium was very exciting. My roommate was very excited to take the knowledge she learned from her astronomy class, and use it to better understand the exhibits at the museum. Getting homework done is never a chore when the assignment involves taking a trip to Manhattan! 

A sculpture of the Moon at the planetarium

After we were done visiting the planetarium, my roommate and I walked back to Fordham's Lincoln Center campus to catch the Ram Van back to our dorm on Rose Hill. On our way there, we passed through Central Park. It was a beautiful day, and we really enjoyed sitting in the park and walking through Lincoln Center! The classes at Fordham really motivate and encourage students to explore the city, and to use their classroom knowledge in actual places throughout New York. As a current sophomore at Fordham University, I can truly say: Fordham is our school, and New York is our campus.

Central Park is always a beautiful spot for a walk!

This is my last blog of the school year! I really enjoyed my first year as a Fordham student blogger, and I cannot wait to get back in the saddle next year for more blog entries! Thank you so much for reading, and stay tuned for next semester! 

When Journalism and Theatre Collide

I am a very proud communications major (with a concentration in journalism) here at Fordham. I look forward to getting a job in the journalism field. In addition to my passion for news, I also have a passion for Broadway or anything theatre related at all. That’s why I was so quick to register for Fordham’s “Theatre Journalism” class this spring.

Theatre Journalism is by far my favorite class I have taken at Fordham so far. The class is at Lincoln Center and being a rose hill student, I do have to commute to class via ram van, but it is well worth it! The professor is Frank DiLella. He is the feature Theatre reporter for NY 1 in addition to hosting  the weekly television show On Stage Across America.  He is so knowledgeable because he is active in the communications field right now. He has structured the class in a very experiential way that helps us develop skills that we will be able to use in the future. Some of our assignments included writing TV news scripts and articles, creating publicity plans for Broadway shows, and writing Broadway reviews.   We have also had a ton of guest speakers including, Glenn Burger, co writer of Spiderman: Turn off the Dark and author of Song of Spiderman, and Paul Wontorek of Broadway.com.  But, I must admit my favorite class was when our professor took us to the NY1 studio and gave us a tour. We also had the privilege of talking to many people who also work at NY1 including, Roma Torre the midday anchor for the station

This is the Playbill for a show I saw for my theatre journalism class

What I love most about this class is that it has practical value. Instead of studying about the industry through textbooks, we are actually doing what we would be doing if we were Journalist. This hands on approach enables us to receive extremely valuable experience in an environment that fosters learning. I look forward to taking other communications courses in the future!

The Early Action Deadline is November 1st!

Colorful folders make organizing application material way more fun!

It's seems like just yesterday that I was completing my application for Fordham University...but it was actually 4 years ago! Yikes! Time really does fly by. So for all of you prospective students, relish every moment! For me, applying to college was the most exciting time of my high school career. Organizing and crafting every piece of my application was like putting one foot toward my future.
Now I am jumping toward my future by applying to graduate schools and fellowship opportunities for post-graduation!! This means writing another personal statement, and taking another standardized test, and making sure I get all my letters of recommendation. Fordham has been such a great help in getting me ready for grad school. I have taken practice free GRE tests rights on campus, and my advisors have been continuously critiquing my personal statement. While applications seems tedious now, I know that pursuing further education and fellowship experience will make me the ideal candidate for competitive job positions in the future. I hope to pursue an MA in Public Policy which will, hopefully, allow me to work within legislative government, or just let me leap right into the White House ;) Wish me luck! And good luck to prospective students! May the odds be every in your favor. 

Almost as daunting as the SAT!

Just a few reminders to myself.

THE EARLY ACTION DEADLINE FOR FORDHAM UNIVERSITY IS THIS SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1ST! 

Completing your application for early action is a non-binding commitment, but a good way for the admissions staff to get a jump on holistically reviewing your material. It shows your interest in Fordham and allows for an early admission decision. You still have until May 1st, the national decision deadline, to make your final decision.

You can follow Fordham admissions on Instagram: @fordhamadmissions
and on Twitter: @fordham_admis
and don't forget to join Varsity Outreach: apps.varsityoutreach.com/fordham

These platforms will allow you to get the most up-to-date information on Fordham and the admissions process, as well as allow you to ask questions to current students!

Fall at Rose Hill

A picture taken while jogging through the Botans.

Nothing beats the beauty of Rose Hill's campus this time of year- we weren't voted the "12th College Campus Most Made for Instagram" for nothing! The combination of changing leaves and cooler weather makes the atmosphere on campus even more exciting. The Botanical Gardens across the street from Rose Hill are especially beautiful this time of year. Students are seen frequently jogging through the trails or even studying in the gardens. Admission is free to the Botanical Gardens, so I make sure to take full advantage of them during the warmer months!

Keating Hall is also especially beautiful this time of year. It stands tall surrounded by colorful foliage and fallen leaves. Students take advantage of Eddie's by studying, eating, or just hanging out with friends before the weather gets cold. Soon enough, the lawn will be covered by snow, so students are making sure to make the most of these last few weeks!

Keating Hall admist the changing leaves.

With Halloween and Thanksgiving quickly approaching, students are keeping themselves busy with midterms. However, there are also a ton of fun activities happening around campus that students are keeping themselves involved in, such as football games, fundraisers and other campus and club sponsored activities. Fall is beautiful at Rose Hill, and our students love to keep themselves involved in all the campus and the Bronx has to offer.

Weekend Update

The beautiful Manhattan skyline from the Brooklyn Bridge Park

Amy Caffrey

After a long week of midterms, some friends and I decided to relax by heading downtown and taking a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, one of our favorite things to do! We hung out in the Brooklyn Bridge Park on the Brooklyn side of the bridge, and stayed long enough to see the beautiful view of the city skyline at night across the water.

Foster the People at the United Palace Theatre

Matthew Calhoun

Kicked off the weekend Friday night by going to see Foster The People preform at the United Palace Theater in Washington Heights, one of the most beautiful venues I've ever been to. The next day was spent with friends shopping and dining in Chelsea and SoHo, two of the coolest neighborhoods in Lower Manhattan. Sunday was dedicated to wrapping up schoolwork and studying of course, but not too bad for a weekend that flew by!

One of the Botanical Gardens' picturesque trails

Victoria Cappucci

With fall in full bloom here at Fordham, I decided to unwind this Sunday for a walk through the Botanical Gardens. The gardens are always a great way to de-stress before and after midterms, which we could all use during this time of year! And the best part is that it's free for Fordham students. Go rams!

The choir gathers for one last rehearsal

Kate Callahan

This Sunday, the Fordham University and Women’s Choirs presented their annual fall concert. These groups, which are made up of students from both the Lincoln Center and Rose Hill campuses, come together a few times a year to perform for the Fordham community. Both choirs put on impressive shows and are looking forward to the Festival of Lessons and Carols, one of Fordham’s most exciting holiday traditions!

Fordham Famou$

Cameras outside Dealy!

You probably hear it all the time. And, if you’ve visited campus at least once, you’ll know exactly how true it is: Fordham is beautiful. Beautiful. There isn’t a single season that fails to show off Fordham’s impeccable architecture, beautiful landscaping, and energetic atmosphere. Whether the campus is covered in snow in the winter or blooming with bright colors in the spring, you feel like you’re walking through a storybook.

Currently, as the leaves change from green to red and yellow, we feel like we’re walking not through storybooks, but instead, through… movie sets?

Casually walking through a movie set.

Over the past few weeks, Fordham’s been taken over by cameras and production people. If you’re familiar with Rose Hill’s presence on the screen, you’re already well-aware of the fact that this campus has been featured in movies like “The Exorcist” and “Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps”, shows like “White Collar” and "Saturday Night Live”, and even the music video for “What’s Luv?” (Fat Joe ft. Ashanti).

Props table!

Currently, the new CBS show “Madame Secretary” also found a home here at Rose Hill. It’s amazing walking out of class and feeling like I’m suddenly on a Hollywood sound-stage. The filming takes place right in the middle of campus; I can literally walk through a set amidst beautifully-dressed actors and extras on my way to class!

Walking filming from our apartment windows!

Aside from “Madame Secretary”, there are numerous other productions being filmed on campus. Just the other week, we spent an hour hanging out at Keating, watching a protest scene being filmed. Later that day, we watched extras dressed in ‘70’s apparel playing a soccer game – I was surprised at how many takes it took before the directors were happy with the shot.

The Greatest City In The World During The Summer: Fordham Style

An amazing perk of going to Fordham that I didn’t realize until well after I came here, is Fordham during the summer season. What’s better than NYC during the school year…NYC during the summer time of course!

My roommate and I enjoyed ice cream on a warm day this spring in Manhattan!

 Six of my good friends are doing summer sessions here, four of them living at Rose Hill and two of them living in Manhattan at Lincoln Center. Fordham has AMAZING summer opportunities. While I have a job back home that I need to go home for, next summer I am DEFINITELY going to do a summer session, hopefully at Lincoln Center! My four friends that are living here at Rose Hill are working at our Call Center, which is a job here on campus that calls alumni and works on fundraising. They’re making money and living in the city that never sleeps, how awesome is that?! Two of these friends have internships in the city and the other two are taking classes. My two friends that decided to live at LC for the summer both have summer internships too! Last year another friend of ours lived at Fordham LC for the summer, and she balanced a class and an internship, while also having tons of city adventures all summer long! Living in NYC in such a beautiful neighborhood on the Upper West Side is such a privilege and a great opportunity; I really recommend that every Fordham student does this for at least one summer session while they are an undergrad.

 

Isn't Bryant Park so beautiful in the sun?!

Fordham has a great career services office; they can set you up with an awesome summer internship. If that’s not your cup of tea for the summer, how about taking a summer course at one of our two beautiful campuses?

My friends at Fordham doing summer sessions will be able to explore the city all summer long!

 Fordham is very accommodating with housing, and you can choose whether you want to live at LC or RH based on your own personal preferences. I cannot wait to visit my friends that are staying on campus this summer!! I’m so jealous!!

Senior Spotlight: Emily Pandise

During my short time at Fordham, I've met plenty of hardworking, ambitious students, especially in Rose Hill's performing arts scene. One of the busiest and most accomplished is Emily Pandise, who I've gotten to know mostly during her time as president of the Mimes and Mummers, our main stage theatre group. Having been recently accepted to NBC's insanely competitive Page Program, her post-grad plans are also looking pretty sweet. This weekend I chatted with Emily about her college experience, crazy schedule, and future adventures.

Name: Emily Pandise

Year: FCRH '14

Major: Double major in American Studies and Communication & Media Studies 

Hometown: Mahwah, NJ 

Clubs: The Mimes and Mummers, Fordham Experimental Theatre, 90.7 FM WFUV, Fordham TV (Fordham Nightly News and Fordham Mornings)

Internships: Entertainment Events, Inc. (Summer '12), Weekend TODAY at NBC (Spring and Summer '13), MSNBC's The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell

Did you come to college with a clear idea of you wanted to do? 

I did, but I completely changed my mind. I really wanted to go into publishing; I wanted to be an editor for fiction publications and ultimately become a writer. I wanted to write first-person essays and short stories. When I got here and got involved in a few activities, I realized that I really like working with people more than I like reading about people. So through my involvement with the Mimes and Mummers and especially with Fordham TV, I realized that I really like to be hands on, not working in an office, and that television would be a better fit for me. 

How did you end up at Fordham? 

When I was looking at schools, Fordham was on my list because my guidance counselor had mentioned it, and I knew a lot of people who went here who were happy. I ended up getting in through early admissions, and they gave me a bit money. This was the last school I visited. I had been doing theater since high school, and I came to visit a friend of mine overnight and sat in on an FET rehearsal; they were doing Clue. I sat in on a class I really liked. I think it's nice that the people here are the kind of people who open doors for each other. Good vibes.

If you could do the college process over again, what would you do differently, if anything?

I applied to a lot of reach schools, so I would've probably applied to more safety schools for scholarship money. But I'm so happy I ended up here, especially as someone who didn't know she was interested in television until she came here. 

Could you describe your most favorite role as a leader and student on campus? 

That's such a toss-up. I have loved working with the Mimes and Mummers, and the club has afforded me so many opportunities that I wouldn't have been able to get elsewhere… but I have loved producing Fordham Mornings just as much. I really couldn't pick one.

What kind of opportunities has Fordham given you that you might not have found elsewhere?

I think it's really great (because this is not the case in other schools) that students have the chance to work in the TV studio and the radio studio no matter what their major is. Neither of my co-producers for Fordham Mornings are communications majors. My sister's at Syracuse, and I know they won't let her work in the television studio because she's not a communications major.  

What kind of duties do you have as a Fordham TV producer?

We have production meetings every week to decide what's gonna go into our next show. We write, shoot, and edit everything ourselves. Every week I do between one through three packages to air. And we have bunch of live segments, musical guests, and interviews every week. This semester we've added a cooking segment, which has been really fun. I do a lot of the "Do It Yourself" segment each week. I've done fitness segments. We have a new segment called Student Spotlight, and we focus on people and events on campus. During the shows, I floor manage.

What're your post-graduation plans? Do you have an ideal job in mind?

Since I was a little kid, I wanted to be a writer in some form…and then you know, theater is the art of live storytelling. News is the same thing, and I love that no matter what, you can talk to the most important person in the world or the least important person, and you can still tell someone about them. I'm really excited because I was accepted to the Page program in November, so I'll be starting work as a Page in August. 

My ideal job is to be a segment producer for news. I really love talking to people, and I love asking questions and hearing what people have to say, and telling the story for those who can't tell it themselves. You know, because there's so many people who don't have the means, or just can't really articulate what needs to be articulated. 

Can you talk more about what the Page Program entails?

It's a one year program, and it's super competitive. They choose about 80 people from about 12,000 that apply, so it's really, really exciting. And they choose people that want to spend their careers at NBC. You apply for three-month assignments, so you can really get a taste for what each department is like, and from there you can decide what you want to do. Hopefully I'll get to do work with MSNBC, and then morning shows, and then nightly shows. We also give tours and seat people for SNL and other shows.

I know you've had several internships at college. What has been your most favorite internship experience so far?

That's hard. Weekend Today was great, obviously. I spent 8 months there, and I really loved it. And I gotta tell you, I was working on the The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, and they had amazing people there, and I learned a lot from them. I learned a lot about politics. And at network news, they have so much money and so many resources, but they do so much with so little in a 24-hour turnover period at MSNBC. It's incredible what the producers and editors do over there. 

I remember seeing on Facebook that you actually got to go on air at one point.

Yeah, I was modeling Kate Middleton's maternity dress on Weekend Today. I was working late in the office one weekend, and they said, "Hey, what's your dress size?"

Finally, what have you loved most about Fordham?

I think the sense of community here is really strong. And you can really find people who are passionate about the things you're passionate about, and you form lifelong friendships over those things. I love how open people are, how much they're willing to share their time and share themselves with you.