Views: The Empire State Building

View of the ESB from the Flatiron Building.

There is no better symbol to represent New York City than one of the tallest buildings making up the skyline itself: the Empire State Building. People come from all over to both see the Empire State Building from below and climb it to see the view of Manhattan from 102 stories. When you're a Fordham student, there's no shortage on amount of times you'll get to see the Empire State Building, but it heeds the same amazing feeling each time - and from each place!

View of the ESB from MSG - unreal.

The Flatiron District, located surrounding 23rd Street, is home to Shake Shack, Argo Tea, and the Flatiron Building itself.  But, it also provides a stellar view of the Empire State Building.  Eating your Shake Shack while gazing up at one of the most famous buildings in the world is an experience that never gets old.

One of New York's other major selling points is Madison Square Garden, home to so many performances over the years by Billy Joel, Radiohead, Justin Bieber... pretty much anyone you can name! Going to a concert or a Ranger game at Madison Square Garden is somewhat of a right of passage for living in New York, and the view that hits you as soon as you exit a Madison Square Garden event is unparalleled.

There are so many other great places to see the Empire State Building, whether up close or far away, but my personal favorite view will always be from right here in O'Hare Hall on the Rose Hill Campus.  I always have to take a moment when I walk by the 5th Floor Lounge to appreciate how lucky I am to go to Fordham, so close to so much opportunity.

NYC view from O'Hare Hall at Fordham Rose Hill.

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. 

Making the Most of MTV

Whether it's transcribing an interview with a celebrity, sitting in on a podcast taping, or sporting a completely tinsel ensemble for a photo shoot, it's hard to bored as an intern at MTV News.

A typical day starts with the editorial staff meeting at 9:30. I sit at the table and listen as different writers update us on what the big stories are for their sections today. With sections like music, movies, TV, style, politics, and celebrity, there's always a lot going on and a lot to be caught up on from the night before.

My desk at MTV News!

After the meeting, I'll head over to my desk and see if I've been emailed any assignments. Usually, there will be an audio file of an interview waiting for me in my inbox. My task is to transcribe the interview and send it back so the writer will have a written account to pull quotes from for her story. The interviews range in length and content -- the longest one I've transcribed was 54 minutes and took me the ENTIRE work day. However, that's definitely on the longer side because they're typically around 20-30 minutes.

One of my favorites was getting to hear one of the writers interview the two directors of the Amanda Knox documentary. I got a ton of behind the scenes information on what their process was like making the documentary -- a lot of which didn't even end up in the article. So naturally, as soon as the documentary was released on Netflix, I grabbed a blanket, some tea, and watched in awe. Knowing some of the details from the directors prior to watching definitely made the experience more interesting because I knew to pay special attention to certain things.

That's me on the left as a "Tinsel Mammal".

Other than daily office tasks, sometimes I get to assist with non-written projects. The silliest and coolest of which was a photo shoot and interview with musician Helado Negro. My boss emailed me the day before and asked if I would be interested in helping out with a photo shoot the next day from 10-12. It sounded like a great opportunity, so naturally I responded with an enthusiastic yes. Later that day, the producer for the shoot emailed me with details about the project. She said that I would be wearing a tinsel suit and be posing in the background of various photographs.

A truly bizarre yet wonderful experience that
ended up with me looking like this.

This definitely wasn't what I anticipated when I was asked to "help out with a shoot." Regardless, I went into it with an open mind and a smile on my face. The crew for the shoot was super nice and was thrilled that I had volunteered to be one of the Tinsel Mammals. The musician was also incredibly kind and was so grateful that I was part of his creative journey. He also snapped the killer photo of me in the suit.

I think it's safe to say that even if I only end up fact checking and transcribing interviews for the rest of the semester, I already have more than enough stories and experiences to talk about from my first few weeks.

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.

Art and Music in New York City

         

Blog by Katie Porter 

When I first arrived at Fordham, I was prepared to make the most of my time at college, and take advantage of everything possible in New York City. In high school, when I thought about art and music in New York, I pictured places such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Madison Square Garden.  After starting my freshman year however, I realized that the city has so much more to offer.  Since coming to Fordham, I’ve taken a tour of street art in Soho, attended a Marina and the Diamonds concert at the Bowery Ballroom, and explored a sketchbook library in Brooklyn.  

    

My best experience as a Fordham student came when I met a singer at a book signing in Tribeca, and he asked me to design a car wrap for his Range Rover.  I had met him in NYC previously, and given him some of my art.  During the winter of my freshman year of college, I hand drew the designs that would cover his car, and he even flew me down to Florida to spend the day and see the unveiling of my design.  There are so many opportunities for self-discovery, adventure, and education in New York City, and Fordham gives students the opportunity and the skills to thrive inside and outside of the classroom. As Fordham students, New York truly is our campus.

Ferragosto Connects Rose Hill to its Surroundings

Blog by Luke Berman


Any Fordham Student will tell you that one of the best parts of the Rose Hill campus’s location is having some of the best Italian food in New York in your backyard. Arthur Avenue, about a block away from Fordham’s gates, is informally known as the original Little Italy, and features some of the best and most authentic restaurants you can find. Being from New Jersey, I know good Italian food, and believe me when I say any of the eateries on Arthur Ave are hard to beat. In fact, my parents and I have a goal to try every one of them before I graduate. 

Every year the local Belmont community hosts the Ferragosto Festival, a traditional event marking the end of the harvest season, and this past Sunday, I attended for the first time. The street was flooded with guests trying to get a taste of the various treats the local vendors were selling, and embracing the Italian American tradition that flows through the neighborhood. From the decadent gelato to the pig being roasted on a spit, culture and cuisine filled the air.

Aside from just being yet another chance to have some great food, this was also a fantastic opportunity for Fordham students to immerse themselves in the Bronx community, which is filled with a rich cultural history and surrounds our gorgeous campus. 

New Experiences: The Metropolitan Opera

It’s amazing how my time at Fordham has led me to discover new things that I otherwise would have never experienced. This is especially true in terms of my newfound love of the opera. It all started in my first semester at Fordham. In my philosophy of human nature class, my professor allowed us the opportunity to earn some extra credit by going to see the opera Aida, by Verdi. Wanting to earn a few extra points, and also curious, I decided to go.

The Metropolitan Opera House is located at Lincoln Center, and is only a 5 minute walk from Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus in Manhattan. Utilizing Fordham’s intercampus shuttle, and dressed in my very best, I arrived to the opera house not knowing what to expect.

The Metropolitan Opera House located at Lincoln Center

The building was absolutely beautiful. The staff was very friendly and helped direct me towards my seat. But perhaps even more beautiful than the theater was the opera itself. The sets were stunning, the dancing was extremely graceful, but above all the singing was phenomenal. Despite not knowing any of the words being spoken (the opera was in Italian), the opera was incredibly emotional and moving, both happy and sad. It was like nothing I had ever experienced before.

Since then, I have gone to two more operas my sophomore year, La Boheme and Madama Butterfly both by Puccini. Being a student at Fordham, I have been able to buy steeply discounted tickets and sit only a few rows away from the stage, making my experience even more incredible. I even made one of my best friends by going to the opera.

The Interior of the Opera House

Before coming to Fordham, I had no interest at all in opera. It is only because Fordham is constantly encouraging me to try to new things and broaden my experiences that I was able to discover my love for classical opera. Going to school in New York City allows for many new experiences, especially when one is a student of Fordham University.  

"FUEL"ing the Leadership Spirit

I’m currently in the midst of an application frenzy. Desperately seeking an internship for this summer, job descriptions have become additional required reading for me this semester. Every job posting I have my eye on is distinct, but what they have in common is that they are seeking “leaders." As a young sophomore, I realized that I haven’t refined my leadership skills to their fullest potential. Fortunately, I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of Fordham University Emerging Leaders, or FUEL for short.

Sponsored by the Office of Student Involvement, FUEL is a ten week workshop for students to develop their leadership skills. Every week we have the opportunity to listen to guest speakers, which include various faculty members, professors, and administrators, present on various topic related to leadership. Some of these topics include motivation, public speaking, diversity, and Ignatian values. We also participate in many group activities, which allows us to meet other students interested in becoming better leaders, and we have weekly challenges to fulfill.

This week we listened to a presentation on values and learned that in order to become a better leader we have to be in touch with our own values as well as identify the values of the people we are in touch with. This week’s challenge, in preparation for next week’s presentation on mindfulness, is to note all the times in the week we are faced with stressful situations.

Prepped and ready to go for today's session.

This year’s theme is “Know the way, go the way, show the way.” Knowing the way is knowing who I am as a leader, knowing those I am leading, and having a clear vision for the future. Going the way is taking initiative and setting an example for others. Showing the way is learning to be the best leader possible and inspiring others to become leaders as well. At the end of FUEL, I will be better equipped to do all three in my academic and social life. Also, hopefully I will finish all my internship applications and ace the interviews, so I can apply what I learned from FUEL to my career as well!

A College Student’s Guide to Groceries (in Manhattan)

It’s a question that should be added to the FAQ of Manhattanites: Where do you go grocery shopping? I mean, there can’t possibly be space for a regular grocery store, right? And prices must be outrageous, right? Wrong! (Well, depending on your definition of “regular” and “outrageous” …)

When it comes to the Lincoln Center area of Manhattan, there are actually quite a few options available, depending on your personal preferences. Here, I’ll attempt to enlighten you all on the nuances of each.

The Big-Name Chains

Whole Foods: This one is one of the closest stores to the Lincoln Center campus. It’s just a short walk to the Time Warner Building, down an escalator, and BAM! You’re smack dab in the middle of the busiest Whole Foods in the city. It’s got your standard Whole Foods fare, organic produce, free range meat, around 25 different varieties of dairy-free milk. My go-to in Whole Foods, though? The hot bar and prepared foods. When I’m just too lazy to make something myself, the hot bar at Whole Foods is my savior. There’s even a sushi bar and a Jamba Juice! But beware, Whole Foods is notoriously pricey and the lines can be absolutely ridiculous.

Trader Joe’s: Until recently, this was my ride-or-die. I mean, seriously, what’s not to love? There’s a great selection, the frozen food section is downright legendary, and the staff are so friendly! It’s even pretty cheap! Well, my friends, Trader Joe’s has two things standing in its way of total perfection: it’s 12 blocks from campus and it’s just too popular. The lines here can be almost as long as Whole Foods, and some products sell out almost immediately. If you’re going to Trader Joe’s go during off-hours (1 pm on Fridays is a great time. Tell your friends, just not too many).

The “Regular” Groceries

Morton Williams: This one might be your first instinct: 1 block from campus, open 24 hours, carries what you might consider to be your average grocery items. But don’t be fooled. While this one may seem convenient, it can easily sap you out of your allowance. You may be fooled into thinking that out of your two ultra convenient options, the other being Whole Foods, you’ll save a pretty penny by heading to Morton Williams. However, if there’s not a sale on what you want, you could end up spending just as much as you would at Whole Foods. My advice? Only come here for sale items.

Western Beef: Strange name, awesome grocery. The selection is here is amazing (and I’m not just saying that because it carries my preferred off-brand, Everyday Essentials). It’s not too far from campus, but the walk back does entail walking uphill, so beware and plan accordingly. In addition to being absolutely massive (on a Manhattan scale), the prices can’t be beat. There are constant sales and even regularly priced items are considerably less than what you would pay at Morton Williams. This one has usurped Trader Joe’s as my ride-or-die. It’s just that good.

The Convenience Stores

Duane Reade: There’s one on every block. And I mean every block. They’ve got a pretty large selection for a convenience store, and just like you might expect, they’ve got convenience store pricing. I don’t recommend buying here unless there’s a sale, in which case, stock up, because their sales tend to be pretty good. And keep an eye out on clearance items. Those items go wicked fast, and they are super cheap (45 cents for a box of pasta!). A surprise win is their egg prices. $2.49 for a dozen, cheapest out of all the options. Keep your Wellness card handy.

CVS: In my experience, their prices tend to be a little higher than Duane Reade, but they give you coupons galore after you purchase something. They have pretty consistent sales on candy, but typically don’t offer much else. If you’re a CVS fan, go for it, but if you can consider a switch, head over to Duane Reade. It’s not that far away.

The Conclusion

Stick to Western Beef and Trader Joe's if you ever find yourself in the Lincoln Center area. Don't be fooled by Morton Williams' proximity or the allure of Whole Foods. Keep your eyes peeled for sales and don't be afraid to try out the off-brand! May your grocery expeditions be successful from now on!