International Business Association Hosts Lacoste CEO

Fordham's International Business Association (IBA) is a club that organizes activities and events with a multicultural bent for students who may be interested in working abroad.  Participation in the club is also an extracurricular requirement for students pursuing a secondary concentration in the Gabelli School of Business.  One of IBA's primary activities is organizing presentations from global business professionals, and yesterday, they hosted Francis Pierrel, CEO of Lacoste North America.

Mr. Francis Pierrel

Mr. Pierrel earned his undergraduate degree in his native France and completed his MBA in the UK.  Before Lacoste, he worked for Diesel in the United States.  He spoke about the difficulties and benefits of studying and working in different countries throughout one's career.  Mr. Pierrel stressed the importance of networking and maintaining personal relationships for students who are interested in working internationally.

The timeless tradition of the polo shirt is one of the main facets of Lacoste's brand, but they must constantly adapt to stay relevant in the dynamic retail market.

In addition to general advice about building a career in the global business environment, the guest also spoke specifically about his company.  Mr. Pierrel explained, for example, the challenging strategic implications of trying to grow a business in a foreign market (Lacoste is based in France).  He fielded several questions regarding the future of retail stores given the rise of e-commerce and the role that data will play in the future of retail.  Events like this presentation, though frequently sponsored through the Gabelli school, are open to all students.

Who's Speaking at YOUR Graduation?

Cheer up, John Brennan!
You're comin' to speak at Fordham!

The Fordham community received news recently that John Brennan, the Obama administration’s deputy national security adviser for counterterrorism and homeland security, will give the commencement speech at graduation this year. Apparently, this is especially awesome since he works with Obama. That, and he graduated from Fordham in 1977.

We like to keep it "in the family" over here.

Personally, I was routing for Alan Alda, also a Fordham grad, to speak, because he rocks. He gave an insightful and all-around beautiful speech to Connecticut College in 1980. And he starred in M*A*S*H, which I'm too young to appreciate, but still. Who wouldn't want this shining face delivering a commencement speech!?

Alan Alda is not speaking at Fordham's
graduation this year, but he's still happy!

We may have scored Brennan, but we haven't lost our bragging rights. Alas, what our commencement speaker lacks in awesomeness our baccalaureate mass celebrator makes up for tenfold. Because he's not just a priest. He's not even just a Bishop. He's a stinkin' CARDINAL.

CARDINAL Tim Dolan

And, like the rest of us, he's pretty darn excited about it.

Fordham Pre-Law Society

Why do I want to go to law school? How rigorous is the admissions process of Fordham Law? Do I really want to become a lawyer? Is the LSAT actually the nightmare that people claim it to be? What is the everyday life of a Manhattan District Attorney like?

These are only a few of the numerous questions that members of the Pre-Law Society ask themselves frequently. The Pre-Law Society helps Fordham students who have any degree of interest in pursuing a career in the field of law to obtain invaluable insight into the legal profession and into the life of a law school student. The society is headed by Dean Erin Burke, who with her expertise has helped an impressive number of Fordham students obtain admission to the nation’s top-ranked law schools. We hold several events every month. These range from having prosecutors come and explain in vivid detail the proceedings of a murder case, to taking a day trip to the Westchester County Courthouse and sitting in on actual hearings. Each fall, Dr. Stephen Brown, Dean of Admissions of Fordham’s Top-30 ranked law school, comes and explains to students the process of applying to law school and dispels the myths of how to impress law school admissions officers, especially those of Fordham Law. Members of the Pre-Law Society are given in-depth knowledge of the inner workings of the Law School Admissions Test, or LSAT. Each member is required to take at least one practice exam per year, which are offered twice on Fordham’s campus each year by test preparation giant Kaplan. Members of the society are offered numerous discounts on LSAT preparation programs administered by Kaplan. However, the benefits of being a member of Pre-Law do not stop there. This past year, the Pre-Law Society hosted the test preparation program “PreProBono,” which lasted for an entire weekend during September. The instructors, through their intensive teaching methods, provided me with invaluable methods of increasing my LSAT score that I had never learned before. This was especially mind-blowing for me, since I had spent the entire summer of 2011 taking a course administered by a well-known test preparation company and had not learned of any methods that even resembled what the instructors of PreProBono taught me.

Membership in the society also allows a student to speak with Dean Burke, who stops at nothing to aid students in their pursuit of not only admission to law school, but also in the pursuit of a legal career. Any member of the Fordham community who wishes to attend law school and take the career path of law would find it not only invaluable, but absolutely necessary to become a member of the Pre-Law Society.

El Grito de Lares

El Grito de Lares E-Board with poet Tato Laviera

Fordham University offers many clubs for their students to join ranging from academic clubs to culture clubs. One of the culture clubs available at Fordham’s Rose Hill Campus is El Grito de Lares,which means “the cry of Lares” in Spanish. It stands for the first revolution against Spanish rule in Puerto Rico. This is a Hispanic club that “serves to increase the awareness of the heritage of Latinos through social and cultural programming”. Although it is a Hispanic culture club, students of all races can join!

This club holds meetings every other Thursday during activity hour, that way anyone can participate. Anything and everything is discussed during these meetings, where members can enjoy the discussions and eat great food! Grito de Lares also holds many events during the school year to spread the awareness of the Latino heritage. It recently hosted poet Tato Laviera, a Nuyorican poet, whose famous Spanglish poems address language, culture, identity and race. It also holds many fun events where students can just take a break from school and relax. They are currently giving salsa lessons to any student willing to learn. They hold an annual Latin Gala where a popular Latino artist comes to Rose Hill and performs. I attended last year’s Latin Gala and had the time of my life! There was great food and great music. Not to mention the wonderful performances by the reggaeton artist Fuego and bachata artist Luis Vargas!

El Grito de Lares is only one of many great clubs to join at the Rose Hill campus. If you’re ever around, please come and check out any events that the club is holding!

Marketing Practitioner Sessions

Gabelli School of Business: Marketing Practitioner Sessions at Fordham: "Fordham University hosts several marketing practitioner sessions each semester in Keating Hall. At these sessions, a small group of students..."