Location, Location, Location!

Exterior of the Bronx Museum of the Arts

Location is a big pull factor for Fordham; students from all over the country and all over the world are drawn to pursuing higher education in New York City. The city doesn’t just offer plentiful opportunities for future careers, but also those for cultural engagement and entertainment.

Personally, I love to spend weekends visiting museums. Like any big city, New York has its fair share. There are the famous ones in Manhattan, like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History, and then there are the smaller ones dotted throughout each borough.

The Bronx Museum of the Arts is a world-renowned institution of contemporary art exhibitions and innovative education programs. Just four subway stops away from Fordham’s Rose Hill campus, admission is always free! The museum is also known for its special cultural events, including live performances and workshops in poetry, salsa dancing, and more.

Last spring, I attended a truly spectacular event where women of the Bronx performed music, stories, and poems inspired by an art piece within the museum, in front of that specific piece. This July through October, the museum is home to "Art AIDS America," the very first exhibition to explore the impact of the AIDS epidemic on American art and culture.

Willie Cole, How Do You Spell America? #2, 1993
Exhibit: Art AIDS America

The Bronx Museum of the Arts is not one you’d want to miss!

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A Trip to the Frick Collection

When I decided to head to school in New York City, a city full of some of the greatest museums in the world, my dad repeatedly reminded me to check out his favorite. “You have to see the Frick, it’s this rich man’s art collection in his grand, old mansion.” And I did what all good children do, and nodded my head and totally disregarded this golden piece of advice.

The entrance to the collection, on the corner of E. 70th and 5th Ave.

This week when I found out I had a day off of both work and class, I decided I would pay the Frick Collection a visit. I gathered a few of my roommates and walked up and through the park to the Upper East Side.

The iconic indoor garden.

The building was a masterpiece in itself, complete extravagance and beauty. My friends and I repeatedly wondered how someone lived in this incredible mansion in New York City. It felt like a quick trip to Europe. We saw a lot of work and practice sketches from an Italian painter named Andrea del Sarto, whom Henry Clay Frick really admired. We saw beautiful portraits from François Boucher, Joseph Mallord William Turner, and more incredible artists I had never heard of. 

We saw the iconic indoor garden and the water fountain, wondered more about how someone could be this wealthy, and continued our exploration through the halls. Before we left, we sat down to watch a small video about the history of the collection. I learned that Henry Clay Frick was not just some old, rich dude. He intended for his collection to be housed in his home so that in the future the public could enjoy his favorite works. He had passed away in 1919 and the museum didn’t officially open until 1935. It was cool to experience these famous paintings, rather than him having kept them locked away in his own privacy. So, thanks Mr. Frick! I absolutely loved your house and your impressive collection of art!

I also learned my parents are usually right, so I texted my dad these shots of the garden (since it is the only room in the museum that allows photography.) I highly recommend paying a visit to this incredible collection, just another Wednesday afternoon going to college in the coolest city in the world.

The indoor garden's water fountain.

Summer in Paris

View from the dorms in the Latin Quarter

This summer I studied abroad for 6 weeks in Paris, which was an experience that was all that I could have wanted yet could have never expected.  As a French minor, I felt that it was necessary to take what I had learned inside the classroom and apply it to the real world.  This desire was definitely fostered by Fordham’s mission to educate the whole person where learning is not confined within the walls of a classroom.  With the help of the Office of Study Abroad as well as guidance from faculty in the French Department, I found the program that was right for me.  During my 6 weeks I took 2 classes – French Culture through Cinema, and Art History – that would transfer back at Fordham as 8 credits towards my minor.  After months of finding the perfect program and restless nights leading up to my departure, I finally arrived in the city of light!

My first, and one of my favorite memories of my summer abroad was my first French Ferris wheel ride.  In “Les Jardins de Tuileries,” the garden beside “le musée de Louvre” has a small carnival that opens each morning and closes at dusk.  I was so surprised to see such a carnival with games, fun houses, slides, a giant Ferris wheel, and flying swings, right beside one of the world’s most impressive art museums!  On my first full day in Paris, I went along with several of my new friends in my program to ride the Ferris wheel, where we were able to look over the entire city of Paris.  It was a truly breathtaking moment as I was taken completely by surprise at my first introduction to this magical city.

Views from the Ferris Wheel!

Caught the sunset on the London Eye

Throughout the trip I was required to visit museums such as the Louvre, Marmotton, D’Orsay, Pompidou, and Rodin for my Art History course as well as watch classic and contemporary French films.  I even was able to visit the quant city of Chartres which houses one of the oldest Catholic Cathedrals, and even went to London for a weekend! After studying movements from neoclassicism to post-modernism, training my ear to understand the countless films I had to watch, and enjoying the Parisian ambiance, I felt by the end of the trip that I could have stayed there permanently.  This is the power of expanding your global network!

I recommend anyone to study abroad and make the experience their own because it can truly be life changing!  

A video taken from Bastille Day, France's Independence Day

Weekend Update

Hello all! Happy Monday. This weekend was marvelous. We experienced some nice weather, which was much needed. Our students took advantage in a variety of ways! Check it out below!

Erica Restaino

On Friday, I went to the MoMA since there is free admission on Friday evenings. It was a lot of fun to wander around and look at all of the artwork, especially the pieces I recognized from my art classes!

Drew DiPane

This past Tuedsay was my birthday, so Friday night I celebrated it with friends over delicious pizza at Michaelangelo's and then (attempted) to play tennis in the beautiful weather on Saturday. Many students took advantage of the nice weather and spent most of their time outside on Eddie's and other grassy spots.  

Emma Eccleston

I went to a Miley Cyrus concert Saturday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn! I went with five of my friends from school; we all had so much fun. It was definitely a crazy experience! 

Taylor Engdahl

My friend and I got tickets to see a taping of the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon! Standby tickets are available daily...another great perk of going to school in NYC!

A Rainy Saturday at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Rainy days at Fordham are the perfect time to travel into the city and take advantage of the wonderful museums. Today I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with a group of my friends. 

Since the Metro North has weekend city passes for $4, the transportation was cheap. Additionally, the Met has a recommended admission rate. This means guests are allowed to donate as much as they are able to. For poor college students who are on a low budget and are looking for something fun to do, this is a great opportunity!  

We walked around the Met and explored different exhibits. Every time I go to the Met I always discover a different section of artwork that I had not previously seen. Today I spent a lot of time looking at American Art because the last time I was there I focused on the Egyptian Art. 

One of my favorite exhibits is the large house with the many different rooms. It is always cool to see rooms decorated so nicely with antiques. 

 I love the Met because it has so much to see! 

Why I Chose Fordham...

I chose to attend Fordham University for many reasons. One of the main reasons I fell in love with Fordham was because of its LOCATION. 

On all of my college visits I did not visit any other school at which I could... 

Take a spontaneous trip into the city with friends to explore the MET. 

Visit the 9/11 Memorial on a Saturday afternoon. 

Eat delicious Italian pastries at a bakery in Little Italy for a homework assignment. 

Walk through the Botanical Gardens on a snow day. 

Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge with my dorm. 

Go to see Mama Mia...

...and Newsies on Broadway with friends from my dorm.

Or catch a Yankees game after class one day. 

I would not be able to take a break from homework to go see the Global Citizens Festival  in Central Park. 

Or see America's Got Talent being filmed. 

And I definitely would not be able to take multiple trips in to the city to see the decorations at Christmas time. 

And stand in the freezing cold to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree being lit. 

At no other University could I do all of this...and still come back to a BEAUTIFUL CAMPUS that feels like HOME! 

   

New York Is My Campus, Fordham Is My School

The Cloisters Museum and Gardens
is located in Fort Tryon Park in northern Manhattan 

New York is my campus, Fordham is my school. As you complete the core curriculum, you will find this saying to be true. You are likely to have an assignment that requires you to visit a museum or zoo exhibit, attend a musical or theatrical performance, or travel across the street to the New York Botanical Garden. Not only do these experiences enhance the lecture material by applying hands-on learning outside of the classroom, but they propel you to take advantage of the wide variety of opportunities available right in our own backyard!

Medieval architecture at the Cloisters

My freshman year, I ventured to The Juilliard School at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts for my Music History class, a fulfillment of my Fine Arts core requirement. I watched and listened to the Julliard Chamber Orchestra perform the music of renowned composers, such as Stravinsky and Mozart. I also visited the Cloisters, the branch of The Metropolitan Museum of Art devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe - a trip prompted by my Medieval History class, a fulfillment of my Understanding Historical Change core requirement. Other students, from the Gabelli School of Business and Fordham College at Rose Hill, frequently visit The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in midtown Manhattan for core classes such as Art History or Texts and Contexts. During the fall semester of my sophomore year, Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History became a destination for my Astronomy class, a fulfillment of my Physical Science core requirement. During the spring semester of that year, I walked five minutes down the street from campus to the Bronx Zoo (free admission on Wednesdays!) to construct an ethogram of the Coquerel’s Sifaka in the Madagascar exhibit. This was part of a lesson on the study of animal behavior for the lab portion of my Foundations of Biology class, a fulfillment of my Life Science core requirement.

The Coquerel's Sifaka at the Bronx Zoo

Though some of these assignments slightly challenged my comfort zone as an inexperienced city navigator, they encouraged me to make connections with my classmates and ultimately led me to gain a greater understanding of and appreciation for the course material. Each was an interesting learning and cultural experience and another way in which New York is my campus and Fordham is my school.