Gabelli Dual Degree: My Experience at Fordham Lincoln Center!

As a current undergraduate senior at Fordham's Gabelli School of Business at Rose Hill, I have had many unique opportunities to further my education in business. From internships, to case competitions, to consulting projects, there has never been a dull moment for me at the Gabelli School of Business. Now that I am entering my final undergraduate semester, the time has come for me to explore new opportunities the Gabelli School has to offer for its seniors. 

Fordham's Gabelli School of Business at
Lincoln Center is newly renovated!

This semester, I was accepted into the Gabelli School of Business Graduate Business School. Since I am currently a senior Applied Accounting and Finance major, I had the opportunity to apply to begin my graduate education early in order to get a head start on earning my additional credits to take the Certified Public Accountancy (C.P.A.) licensing exams. By creating the opportunity for Fordham undergraduates to get a head start in graduate school, Fordham makes it super easy for accounting majors to get their required C.P.A. credits and sit for their licensing exams! Taking a few graduate classes in addition to my remaining undergraduate classes this semester will allow me to better prepare myself for my career as a C.P.A.. 

Beautiful views from the hallways and
classrooms of the business school!

Fordham's Graduate Business school is located on the university's beautiful Lincoln Center campus on W 60th Street in Manhattan. Taking classes at Lincoln Center has been an amazing experience so far! The graduate business school is a beautiful learning environment, and the Lincoln Center campus is filled with exciting activities. It is very easy for students who live on the Rose Hill campus to take classes at the Lincoln Center campus, and vice versa. When I signed up for my classes at Lincoln Center, I was given free passes to take the campus shuttle (The "Ram Van") from my apartment on the Rose Hill campus straight to the Lincoln Center campus for class! 

View from inside of the Gabelli School of Business at Lincoln Center

I am so lucky to be a part of a learning community that dedicates itself to helping its students succeed in their careers, and supports students professionally and academically. I am so excited to be taking graduate business classes at Fordham Lincoln Center this semester, and to continue my graduate education as a Fordham Ram! 

Midterms: Keys to Success

You’re halfway through the semester and it’s going swimmingly so far. However, midterms are approaching and they are stressing you out. No matter how much they are worth towards your final grade for each respective class, midterms are extremely important. Not only do they count a lot towards your grade point average, but they are also an evaluation for how much you have learned so far in the course. Here are some good tips for keeping your composure and making sure you succeed on your exams.

First, you must plan ahead. This means looking at each of your midterms, evaluating how much studying is necessary for your success, and executing your plan. If you have an exam worth 40% of your final grade, it might be a good idea to study a week or two in advance, even if it is just for 30 minutes a day.

You also must try to find a study place that fits the way you learn. If you need quiet, go to the library and find a secluded spot. If you’re comfortable in your dorm room, make sure there are no distractions around to interrupt your studying. If you retain information well in a group sessions, find a partner or a group to study with and make sure to keep your focus the entire time.

Finally, keep a level head and try not to stress. If you put in the work correctly, there is no doubt you will ace your midterms. It may require more effort than you thought, but as long as you stick to your personalized plan you will succeed.

The Gabelli School at Lincoln Center is the perfect place for students to get an excellent education both in the classroom and outside, when they step out into one of the countless F500 firms in Midtown Manhattan. There are numerous internship opportunities, on campus competitions, and events to which Fordham students have access. Here, every interaction is a chance to learn something new, meet someone who has valuable insight and experience, or to explore new career paths. As a junior in the finance major at Gabelli Lincoln Center, I can personally attest to the network it provides.

The biggest advantage of studying finance in New York City is the opportunities that await you right off our campus grounds. Hiring manager look for Fordham students because of their drive, commitment and sensible business background. In tandem with the Fordham Alumni network, the possibilities are endless. Personally, the Fordham network has taken me to J.P. Morgan, where I intern with the Equity Derivatives Billing Group here in New York City. I have been given the privilege of seeing the trading happen live, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, and I've even gotten to sit in meetings across from senior leadership and clients on a regular basis. The internship has truly opened my eyes to the scale and scope of a large bank that I really had to see to believe. I was offered the opportunity to return for the coming semester and continue exploring further! Fordham first gave me the coursework to prepare for the internship, and then it gave me the alumni connections and resources to push myself into having the opportunity to learn within such a prestigious firm and outlook.

 

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 .