Tea at The Plaza

While living on campus, students can take advantage of various programs offered in the residence halls.  From games to movie viewings, there is always something being run by a building's RAs (resident assistants).

Recently, I was able to take part in my favorite program to date!  A few RAs from Campbell and Salice-Conley Halls joined together to plan a program to tea at The Plaza.  Residents were able to request to attend the program a few weeks before it was held, and twenty students were able to partake.

My roommate & I enjoying our tea

We traveled to the Palm Court one Saturday afternoon to enjoy tea, scones, finger sandwiches, and pastries in the famous Plaza Hotel.  We each paid only $15 to attend the elegant affair, making what is typically an expensive NYC experience much more affordable!

Our special "Fordham University" tea menus!

It was such a unique and fun experience that allowed me to cross one more thing off my NYC bucket list!

Resident Assistants and the Fordham Experience

This year is my first school year as a Resident Assistant in Walsh Hall. I’m a junior now but my desire to be an RA is rooted in my experiences in my freshmen residence hall. My RA created a program to go see “Hair” on Broadway. To be honest, I was very nervous going into my freshmen year. I was scared I wouldn’t make any new friends, and I missed my old ones from home. My RA’s program to the city alleviated much of my worry right at the start of the school year.  I got to eat great food, dance onstage in a really fantastic show and even meet some of my closest friends. This experience sparked an interest in being an RA that lasted until I applied during my sophomore year.

I wanted to be able to provide that kind of experience for other residents. However, when I was placed in Walsh Hall (a junior dorm) I realized that the residents needed a different style of programming. So I focused my programming last semester on career preparation. My most successful program last semester was a job interview prep workshop. I interned at a corporate communications company over the summer and brought in their top communications coach to offer one-on-one interview prep for the residents. We started by offering a homemade dinner to all the residents who attended while my boss made a general presentation on succeeding in job interviews.

Each student then had a one-on-one mock interview with my boss and got feedback on how they could improve. The program was so successful that I am holding another interview preparation program this semester. This philosophy of tailoring the RA job to your specific residents is something unique to Fordham. Instead of just putting on general programs that satisfy a list of requirements, Fordham RA’s are challenged to make every program mean something to their residents.

Kayaking Through Cultures

Have you ever wanted to kayak on the Hudson for free and eat some delicious Awaze Tibs? Well, my friends and I participated in a program with an O’Hare RA to go kayaking on the Hudson River at The Downtown Boathouse. After our last class on Friday, we all took the subway down to 59th St./Columbus Circle and walked a few avenues over to Pier 96.  As soon as we arrived, we were all taken aback by the beauty and peacefulness of the pier. I never would’ve thought there could be such a quite place in the middle of one of the largest (and the best) cities in the world!

A picture I took of the Hudson while waiting

We were the last of the Fordham groups to arrive at the boathouse, so we had to wait around 45 minutes to go on the water. While waiting, we walked around the dock and listened to the lady in charge barking directions in one of the sassiest, but still encouraging, manners I have ever witnessed. Our favorite was her explanation for why not to swim in the Hudson (as if she knew that's what we were all secretly plotting.) She exclaimed: “And remember, there is no swimming in the Hudson. I repeat, no swimming in the Hudson. It is highly illegal. In fact, they will fight over who gets to arrest you, either NYPD, FDNY, Homeland Security, the Coast Guard... or even me. They will all gladly take you in.” For us, that was a clear enough warning.  

 Andrew, me, and Michael on the dock

When we finished kayaking, the sun was just starting to set, so we decided to walk around the city and get something to eat before heading back up to campus. While walking, we passed by the Intrepid and all thought…Nicholas Cage was lucky that kayak lady wasn’t there when he dove off the Intrepid in National Treasure because that is "highly illegal!" 

The Intrepid at sunset while we were walking

After walking around a bit, we came across The Queen of Sheba, an Ethiopian restaurant in Midtown Manhattan and decided to give it a try. This was the first time any of us had been to a restaurant like it. For starters, we sat on little stools and ate in a woven basket without any utensils. But we all embraced the differences, looking forward to a non-traditional meal. To get tips on what/how to order and eat, we started staring at the parties around us. We quickly learned two important things. One, the meal is mostly shared between everyone, and two, don’t stare at people for too long. It’s rude. We received a swift and semi-joking “What are you looking at?!” from the girl sitting next to us. But we took that to mean she had been waiting for her Atakilt Wot for some time now and wanted to eat it in peace...very understandable. 

Once we ate all of our Awaze Tibs, Doro Wot, and Menchet Abesh Alecha, we triumphantly walked back onto the streets feeling proud of conquering all of our food and a whole new culture, and we all agreed it was a great night! The experiences further emphasized the importance of trying new things and not being afraid of something different. I would definitely recommend The Downtown Boathouse and Queen of Sheba to anyone!  

P.S. If you ever go to the boathouse, tell the kayak lady that Fordham says hi! (You’ll definitely know exactly which lady I’m talking about right away)