A Day in the Life of an Applied Accounting and Finance Student at Fordham

Fordham's Gabelli School of Business at Rose Hill has tons of opportunities for students of all schools and majors. From internships, to clubs, to case competitions, to networking events, there is something for everyone at the Gabelli School. I have taken advantage of many of the Gabelli School's opportunities over my last few years here, and I am continuing to do so now as a senior. In this blog, I will be discussing my experience as an Applied Accounting and Finance major at Fordham. 

Fordham's Beta Alpha Psi students volunteering with KPMG professionals

Majoring in Applied Accounting and Finance at Fordham has been an amazing experience, and has been filled with so many amazing opportunities! I am a part of Fordham's chapter of Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) an honor society for accounting and finance majors. In this society, students have the opportunity to network with professionals from Big Four accounting firms, mid sized accounting firms, banks, and other commercial companies. As a part of our membership, students in Beta Alpha Psi also have the opportunity to participate in fulfilling community service events. My favorite BAP community service event was an event sponsored by KPMG's Family for Literacy last semester. Fordham students went to a public school in Manhattan, and read books to students. The event was a great way for Fordham students to collaborate with accounting professionals while giving back to our community. 

Majoring in Applied Accounting and Finance at 

Fordham has opened the door to so many awesome 

career opportunities! Here's a great picture of me 

at KPMG's National Intern Training in Orlando, FL

Fordham is a great school for accounting majors who want the opportunity to intern and work for large or mid sized accounting firms. Due to Fordham's proximity to Manhattan, many business students can easily intern or work at the firms during the school year or over the summer. Another one of my fantastic experiences while attending the Gabelli School was interning at KPMG for the past two summers. Last May, I also attended one of KPMG's leadership conferences with a select group of students from universities across the country. Next summer, I will return to KPMG to intern in the Audit practice in Manhattan. I am so happy that I chose to attend a school that has allowed me to become involved with so many amazing opportunities related to my major. 

Me at my amazing summer internship 

at KPMG's Montvale, NJ office!

Being an Applied Accounting and Finance student at Fordham has been exciting, challenging, and rewarding. The Gabelli School's extensive academic curriculum combined with amazing opportunities to intern and network with firms has transformed me into a well-rounded, passionate young professional. If you are a prospective student interested in a career in accounting or finance, Fordham will definitely offer you the tools and opportunities to be successful. 

Honey, I'm Home!

While it is sad to leave home for the first time at the beginning of freshmen year, there is no doubt that you will make yourself right at home in Fordham's spacious and diverse residence halls! Each residence hall on campus has its own unique attributes, and you won't be able to resist the views from your window! Some dorm rooms are traditional two-person rooms, while many upperclassmen rooms on campus are apartment style; they include bedrooms, a kitchen, a living space, a dining room, and a bathroom! 

Below is a compilation of pictures from dorm rooms all across campus! If you were to come on a campus tour at Rose Hill, we do our best to showcase a freshmen residence hall. Here are some pictures from upperclassmen residence halls. While this post only features a few of the residence halls, descriptions of all the halls can be found online at www.fordham.edu. Enjoy!!!

O'Hare Hall Residential College: A traditional residence hall that includes double and triple rooms. Each room has its own bathroom! The hall has versatile social and study lounges throughout, and free laundry in the basement! There are multiple integrated learning communities (ILC) including: Wellness, Science Integrated Learning Community, Integrated Learning Community - Global Business, and West Wing: Integrated Learning Community for Ignatian Leadership and Civic Service.

Walsh Hall: This residence hall consists of apartment-style housing. About 500 students live in this 13-floor building, in two and three bedroom apartments. There is free laundry within the building, and many of the apartment have beautiful views of campus and of the city! Walsh Hall is only steps away from Edwards Parade and Keating Hall. 

Martyr's Court: This is a freshmen residence hall complex that consists of three sections: Lalande, Goupil, and Jogues. Each section is named after a Jesuit Martyr. This hall includes traditional double rooms and a small number of single rooms. There are 15 community lounges with kitchenettes throughout the complex, and 17 study lounges. There is also free laundry in each section of Martyr's Court. This hall also houses the freshmen Science Integrated Learning Communities in the Jogues section. The SILC is a great way to jumpstart your science career, whether you are majoring in a science field or are thinking about pre-med. The SILC offers tutors and a surrounding community that you can learn from.

Single room in Martyr's Court

Campbell, Salice and Conley Halls: The integrated learning community within these halls is designed to meet the unique needs of seniors and junior during the transition into the "real world." The learning community helps develop the special skills that are needed after college. These halls were erected in 2010 and consist of apartment style housing. Between 4-6 people live in each apartment in either single or double rooms, and each apartment has its own living space, kitchen, and bathroom. Plus, there is air conditioning and free laundry!

Concerts and Performances in NYC

We got a good spot for Grouplove at Rumsey Playfield!

One of my favorite things about living in New York City is having the opportunity to see endless concerts, shows and performances! My friends and I try to attend as many concerts in this city as we can. Some of the most famous stages in the country are in New York, from Webster Hall to Madison Square Garden. Last week, my friends and I saw Grouplove and Portugal. The Man in concert. The venue was at Rumsey Playfield in the middle of Central Park. The beautiful New York skyline in the background made this concert even more awesome.

This weekend was the Global Citizen Festival in Central Park. In order to win free tickets, you had to help raise awareness for extreme poverty around the world on the Global Citizen website. A lot of my friends won these free tickets and got to attend the festival, which was amazing! Performers such as No Doubt, Fun., Carrie Underwood and The Roots were featured live at the festival. Jay-Z headlined, and Beyonce also made a surprise appearance! According to my friends, the experience of singing along to “Empire State of Mind” with Jay-Z in the middle of Central Park was unmatched.

My friend, sophomore Habin Lee, got this awesome panorama of the festival!

Cold War Kids performing right on campus!

New York is one of the music capitals of the world, and it is often one of the highlights of the performer’s tour. Other performers my friends have seen include Kanye West, Young the Giant, Vampire Weekend and Kodaline. A performer always comes to Fordham’s annual Spring Weekend in April. Last year, Cold War Kids and Cartel performed along with DJ Enferno. Other performers that have been featured in previous years include Grouplove, MGMT, Third Eye Blind and Andy Grammar.

There’s always an awesome concert to see in New York City, which is one of the countless benefits of living here!

Fordham A Cappella: The Hot Notes

Today I present an easy, almost fool-proof way to make new friends at college: join a club.

There are a few ways to approach your first semester at college. You can dabble in one or two clubs while focusing on your schoolwork. Others might avoid the club scene altogether until they've established good grades. I, for one, cannonballed straight into Fordham student life. During my first semester I performed in back-to-back productions with Rose Hill's main-stage theater group, The Mimes and Mummers, in addition to joining an a cappella group. 

Performance groups are highly time-consuming, and I may have slightly burnt out, but I don't regret my crazy schedule from that fall. Why? Because it led me to my first family at Fordham: The Hot Notes.

The Hot Notes, Spring 2013. That's me in the first row, second from the left.
We're pretty good-looking. Hence Hot Notes. Ha ha. Ha.

I've always identified more as an actor than a singer. I expected to devote most of my extracurricular life at Fordham to theater, just like I did in high school. Don't misunderstand me; I loved my experience with the Mimes, and I still regularly perform in productions with Fordham's various theater groups. But I certainly didn't expect to fall in love with a cappella in the way that I did.

A quick overview of Fordham a cappella: We have a five a cappella groups between the two campuses, four of which are at Rose Hill. The Ramblers (who I will never not call our resident boy band) are all men, the Satin Dolls are Fordham's all-female group, and the B-sides, like the Hot Notes, are co-ed. A third co-ed a cappella group, the F#s, are based at Lincoln Center.

The Hot Notes are the newest group at Rose Hill, founded in 2012. We're babies, really. But in the short time since we began, we've become known for our unmistakable blend, our complex arrangements, and our jazzy sound. 

Although we're a jazz-based group, we also play around with contemporary songs, whether that means singing them as is or giving them a retro spin. For example, we performed "Thrift Shop" this past spring, true to Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's sound, but next month we'll be singing a vintage version of "Don't You Worry Child."

We push ourselves even farther each semester. This fall, we auditioned for the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (the competition made famous by the movie Pitch Perfect) for the first time. A week ago today, we discovered we'd been accepted. On top of that, we're scheduled to attend and perform at the New York City Jazz Festival at Lincoln Center in April. 

What struck me about the Hot Notes was the balance between fun and commitment. I met the silliest, funniest kids in Hot Notes, but everyone was also dedicated to becoming a better a cappella group and, to my pleasant surprise, better individual musicians. They had fun, but they knew how to get work done. When Executive Board elections came around, I knew I wanted to help this group develop and sharpen its vision. The Hot Notes are ever growing as a club. I'm constantly proud of everything we do. It's exhilarating to be part of a group that has come so far, and yet continues to leap forward. 

Most importantly, though, the Hot Notes made me feel comfortable--a rare feeling during my first semester at college As an introvert, I'm thankful whenever I meet someone who instantly makes me feel welcome. It take me longer than most to feel comfortable enough to be myself around others. It's fitting that Thanksgiving is next week because the Hot Notes are one of the things I'm most thankful for at Fordham. They gave me, a shy and unsure freshman, somewhere to belong. 

For more information about us, check out our Facebook or official website. Performances from our most recent concert, #HotNotes, are also available on our Youtube channel. Here are just two of my favorite numbers. (Make sure to watch in HD!)

 We wanted to collaborate with our friends at the Fordham Jazz Collective,  and so 
this number was born.  The Jazz Collective are the fellows accompanying us in 
this video. I know, I know, it's not a cappella. But it was one of the most fun 
(and in some ways, funny--see 3:58) songs to perform at our show!

Live From New York, It's Saturday Night!!

Have you ever wanted to be in the audience at the longest running live late night show?  Here at Fordham many students take advantage of their extremely close proximity to the set of Saturday Night Live. I’ve only gone twice, but during those two trips, I made a “College Kids Survival Guide to the SNL line” that I feel is pretty universal. Here’s how it goes:

1) Plan on what time you want to get in line.

2) Pack warm clothes…extremely warm clothes.

3) Set up a comfy spot.

4) Meet your neighbors (you will be in line for over 12 hours with them).

5) Eat, talk, and sleep.

Step One: Plan on what time you want to get in line.

For my second time, I went on October 11 with my friend, Gianna. Since there are only stand-by tickets available, it runs on a first-come, first-served basis. So, you want to get in line as soon as possible. However, they do not give out the tickets until 7 a.m. Saturday morning.  Now, you have to plan according to how badly you want to see the show. Do you consider the host to be a god amongst men? Well, you better get there early. Thursday afternoon early. Is the host hugely popular, a SNL legend, and your favorite person on the face of the planet? Then you better get there Wednesday afternoon…at the latest. But don't worry, we got in line Friday at 6 p.m. and were about 40 people back.

Step 2: Pack warm clothes…extremely warm clothes.

This one may sound obvious (and it is), but people still don’t pack warmly enough. My first time going, I wore two pairs of pants, two sweatshirts under two jackets, two socks, and snow boots, and I still almost shivered my way to 7 a.m. At first, you’re fine and enjoying a night out on the streets (literally). But then 4 a.m. hits, and it hits faster than a speeding bullet.  However, if you pack warmly and bring blankets, you’ll be A-OK!

The line in front of us

Step 3: Set up a comfy spot.

This step is similar to packing warmly. If you have a nice campsite, you’ll enjoy the night!  Make sure to bring a blanket to put on the cold concrete and bags or pillows to lay on.  This, again, may sound obvious, but is a must to have a comfortable night.

Step 4: Meet your neighbors (you will be in line for over 12 hours with them).

One of the first things you should do is to meet your neighbors. You’ll be in line with them over 12 hours, so talking to them really makes the time go by faster. Throughout the night, you’ll learn a lot about them, sometimes even too much. But hey, when it's 5 a.m. some things slip the mind. No judging. This time, we all decided to order pizza to the sidewalk in front of 600 Fifth Ave. Over dinner, we talked about our favorite SNL skits, Lonely Island songs, and how much we hoped to get into the show!

Step 5: Eat, talk, and sleep*

Chock Full o' Nuts truck line around 7am

Pretty self-explanatory, but make sure you pack snacks or bring enough money to buy food. It’s a long night, so you most likely will get hungry around 2 or 3 a.m. Next, you have to talk and play cards to make the night go by faster. This is when you’ll learn a lot about people and yourself. Conversations on the street at 5 a.m. tend to be pretty entertaining when you think back on them. And finally, sleep. For some, sleeping on the streets may be difficult; however, you just have to snuggle up in your blankets and count past SNL hosts (works better than counting sheep!) It takes you back to Christmas Eve when you couldn’t sleep due to your excitement!!

*Repeat Step 5 (in no particular order) until 7 a.m.

Gianna and me with our tickets

The audience at SNL

My ticket

Katy Perry performing "Walking on Air"

And…1) if you do get into the show, make sure to have a Boy Dance Party in celebration!!!

2) the pictures inside the set aren't allowed so shhhh!