Women in STEM Club

Fordham has over 90 different clubs and organizations at Rose Hill that students can participate in, including cultural clubs, performing arts clubs, and academic clubs just to name a few (check out the complete list here) 

One of the great things about Fordham is that if there isn’t a club that caters to a particular interest, students are encouraged to start a new club.  I am currently in the process of starting a new club on campus with a few of my friends.  My friends and I are all majoring in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields, and we decided that we wanted to create a club that fosters community among females in these areas where we are usually in the minority. 

In order to become a club recognized by Fordham, we needed to complete an application packet.  The application involved finding a faculty member to act as our advisor, writing a club constitution, and gathering student signatures to show that there is a desire for this club on campus.  My academic adviser Christine Papadakis, who teaches in the computer science department, has been encouraging us to start this club, so she was the perfect person to ask to be our club adviser.  We submitted all of the necessary paper work to United Student Government, who is in charge of reviewing new club applications, at the end of last semester.  We received feedback on our constitution and submitted a revised edition, so now we are just waiting to hear back.

Although we are still in the process of becoming a Fordham club, my friends and I are looking forward to our first official event.  As the founding members, we are serving as the inaugural Executive Board (E-board), which means that one of our responsibilities is planning the events our club will host.  We have already had brainstorming sessions with our adviser to decide how we can make this club a resource for all students. 

A Twitter post about the IBM event we attended to
get ideas for our Women in STEM club.

To help get ideas for our club, my fellow E-board members and I attended an event in Manhattan hosted by IBM. We attended the event called “Girls Night Out” because the theme of the night, empowering women in technology, aligned with our goal for our own club.  When we got to IBM, we were able to network with influential members of the IBM community, including IBM General Manager Sandy Carter, who were excited to hear about our club.  She even tweeted pictures of us at the event! We then listened to a panel of women talking about their experiences working in the technology field and watched a demo of IBM’s new Bluemix platform.  Be able to attend sophisticated events such as this one is just another perk of going to school in New York City.  My friends and I are looking forward to implementing our ideas and building a stronger community of women in STEM on Fordham’s campus with our club.

  

IBM General Manager Sandy Carter was excited to hear
about our new club and gave us a shout-out on Twitter!

A Day in the Life of a Math Major

As one would assume, the major a person decides to pursue says a lot about him/her. This is mainly because a student's major directs some if not many of the activities that he/she gets involved in. Now that the November 1st Early Action Deadline is approaching and you are trying to decide where to apply, something else that you are probably considering is what you will be majoring in at the school that you eventually end up attending. I have known from a young age that I want to be a teacher when I get older, and in high school, my math skills encouraged me to pursue a degree in mathematics through which I hope to become a high school math teacher. While I know math is generally not most students' favorite subject, for those of you interested in math or thinking about pursuing math, here is a little taste of what being a math major at Fordham consists of. 

John Mulcahy Hall, or JMH as it is commonly referred to by Fordham students, is home to the math department. Consequently, most if not all, math classes offered at Fordham will be located in this building. 

Central Room of the Math Department-Often students and professors are found working together on the blackboard to solve a difficult problem. 

Interestingly enough, I am currently in four math classes and every single one of them is even in the same classroom! So, Monday through Friday my friends know they can most commonly find me in JMH 406. 

JMH 406- This classroom has great technology and chairs that swirl around so that you can face any of the boards when needed. 

When I am not spending my time in JMH 406, I am also frequently attending office hours and spending time in the math help room. Attending office hours and going to the math help room are both extremely useful resources to help math majors with their homework and test preparation. All of the math professors have specific office hours, as do professors in all other departments. Every single one of my math professors makes him/herself available whenever possible. Sometimes I find myself stuck on a math problem late at night and e-mail my teacher only to get a response back within five minutes. However, when your specific professor may not be around to answer a question, the math help room is also a very useful resource. Each hour a different professor is assigned to the math help room to answer any questions that one may be struggling with. 

The Math Help Room- A schedule is posted on the door of when different professors will be in the Math Help Room 

Being a math major is not all homework and studying, however. The math department hosts speakers who give talks on a wide variety of topics that generally apply math to real world scenarios. Before these talks, a different professor each week will bring in cookies and tea for "tea-time." "Tea-time" is a great time to socialize with other math majors and professors and hear about problems that others within the department are working on. 

"Tea-time" Cookie Sign-Up Sheet in the Math Department

Posting of the latest talks happening within the Department 

Other opportunities for math majors, which I take advantage of, are being a member of the Math Club and working as a grader for math professors. I am currently the treasurer for the Math Club, and it is just another great way to get to know fellow math majors. Secondly, as a student grader, I get paid to correct homework assignments. It is a great way to get a bit of extra cash each week! 

There are so many cool things offered for math majors here at Fordham (as for other majors I am sure)! However, when deciding what to mark off on your application for Fordham, consider becoming a math major!