This spring, a dozen Gabelli School students learned what it takes to sustain a small business in a country where entrepreneurship is tied to recovery from genocide and civil war.

“Rwanda is a vivid example of the power of entrepreneurship and how it can change not just individuals’ lives, but can actually have a deeply profound impact on the whole country,” said Dennis Hanno, Ph.D., an associate clinical professor who created the course Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Rwanda at Fordham.

Hanno, the founder and CEO of IDEA4Africa and a former president of Wheaton College, has visited the central African country with students on similar trips more than 20 times.  He said entrepreneurship has been a healing force for the country in the 30 years since the 1994 genocide that killed nearly one million Rwandans. 

The class paired teams of two students with six businesses in and around Kigali, Rwanda. The students were given background information before they departed for the nine-day April trip, but it was the in-person meetings where they learned whether the business owners needed help with financing, marketing, or expansion.

Kyla Hill, a Gabelli School student pursuing an M.S. in management, and Jaden Chocho Anaya, a junior majoring in business administration, were paired with Gloria Girabawe, the founder of Flove, a social enterprise that hires single mothers to manufacture sustainable fashion accessories such as tote bags, laptop sleeves, and wallets.

Hill said working with Girabawe to expand her company’s presence in New York City and locate a local source for vegan leather was the highlight.

“I had a little bit of imposter syndrome because as a student, I’m thinking, ‘What could I possibly bring to the table for her when she already has a business that is pretty successful?’” said Hill, who graduated from Fordham College at Rose Hill last year with a degree in economics.

“I found myself asking Gloria, ‘Do you feel like you’re getting value out of this?’ And she very adamantly would say, ‘Yes!’ The encouragement that I got from her made me feel like I was helping to make a difference.”

For Anaya, the trip was her first out of the country, and just being exposed to a different culture was deeply moving.

“It really made me think differently about just the way we live in the U.S. and how people decide to take on entrepreneurship here based on the freedom to be able to experiment and innovate. In Rwanda, entrepreneurship and innovation are seen as more of a necessity,” she said.  

Anaya was also moved by Girabawe’s support of women who are abandoned by their families when they become pregnant, a growing problem in the country.

Girabawe said the fresh perspective the students brought with them was invaluable. Flove has been in business for three years and boasts 14 employees who manufacture 15 collections, so she feels she’s ready to expand to overseas markets like New York City.

“If I’m going to expand, then I have to really understand the user.  I can’t use the same insights of a person in Rwanda and think that it’s going to be the same as the person who’s in New York,” she said.

“They learned a thing or two from us, and we learned from them as well.”

“I thought I should get proper professional experience and a business school education,” Patel said, adding that he gained even more than he imagined when he began his M.B.A. experience. “I learned how to work as a member of a team, and I would have to participate and present in a class. This was very new to me. I was put into situations that I would not normally be exposed to, and [that]has boosted my confidence. I learned about everything in such a structured and precise manner, exactly how it should be.”

Patel earned his undergraduate degree in geology at the M.G. Science Institute at Gujarat University, a typical field that interested him and would prepare him to join the civil services in India. However, after working at Shree Umiya Developers, the company his father established, his vision for his future changed. Serving as general manager, Patel assisted in the completion of a luxury bungalow project and, when each of the 21 properties sold, he knew the experience was the first step toward his new career journey.

Patel notes a few M.B.A. courses that are particularly relevant to his next chapter. Strategic Branding not only focused on “how to build a brand, but how to differentiate it,” valuable skills he will use to grow the real estate development business. In Marketing with Cultural Intelligence, Patel discovered how different modes of marketing appeal to different cultures. This enlightenment came from learning specific practices that cater to Indian consumers and clients, which inspired him to reflect upon his own culture from a marketing perspective.   

“When I would visit Indian grocery stores, I would just go as a consumer, and I would not think why this item is placed here, and how it is different from the American way,” he explained. “After this class, my understanding of marketing within my cultural context deepened.”

Patel took advantage of many opportunities to build his leadership skills as an M.B.A. student. As the president of the Student Advisory Council, he and his team worked to enhance the student experience and campus culture by coordinating events, balancing budgets, and serving as a liaison between students and the School’s administrators.  

An accomplished equestrian who enjoys adventure sports and the outdoors, Patel looks forward to life in North Carolina and to his new role that will keep him connected to family and friends from India. 

“I am lucky to have my own family business here,” he said, adding that while he is excited for the next chapter in his career, he will miss the home he found at the Gabelli School of Business. “For one and a half years, I’ve been used to the Gabelli School way of living, meeting people, studying, attending events, and everything else. I will miss that when I [leave]for North Carolina.”

– Written by Gabrielle Simonson for Fordham Business Magazine

Remember, on the evening of May 18, New York’s Empire State Building will be illuminated in Fordham maroon for our graduates.

At first, Farrell was concerned about the new format, but when she began studying, her apprehension was quickly replaced with confidence. 

“My biggest fear was that I was going to go in knowing absolutely nothing, and that could not have been further from the truth,” she said, adding that so far, “every single accounting class” she’s taken at the Gabelli School is reflective of the new exam content.

Farrell took the exam’s Financial Accounting and Reporting section in March, and has three more sections to go. In December 2023, she completed her bachelor’s degree in accounting information systems and is now working toward her master’s in professional accounting. She enrolled in the Gabelli School’s 4+1 program to complete both degrees in under five years. 

Farrell also secured a position with a “Big Four” accounting firm—PricewaterhouseCoopers—which she’ll begin in January. This highly coveted opportunity was the result of a successful internship in the firm’s external assurance division.

“I’m excited because it’s such a great company, she explained. “They take a genuine interest in the interns and I formed so many connections in the time I was there. I’m thrilled to be doing meaningful work—helping ensure the integrity of financial statements that are going to get issued—and doing it at a firm where the values and people resonate with me.”

As a woman in accounting information systems, the job stability and integration of cutting-edge technology are part of what attracted Farrell to the field. 

“I honestly don’t know why more women aren’t drawn to this field,” she said. “Women can be very organized, and I found that the characteristics of being organized and analytical aligned with both accounting and myself.” 

While Farrell’s decision to apply to Fordham’s Gabelli School was an easy one—she grew up in nearby New Jersey and liked the idea of studying business in New York City—she wasn’t sure what career path to pursue. That changed after her first accounting class when she realized that she had a natural aptitude for accounting and technology.

As an undergraduate, Farrell served as the president of Beta Alpha Psi, the honor society for accounting, finance, and information systems, and was a member of Smart Woman Securities, where she placed first in a stock-pitch competition. She also was a teaching assistant in the Gabelli School’s Ground Floor course for first-year business students, a freshman advisor, and a member of Fordham’s women’s club soccer team throughout her undergraduate years.

Farrell is the fourth member of her family to find her place in accounting, following her father, James Farrell, GABELLI ’98, and mother, both CPAs, and her sister who also works in the field.

“Ever since I left high school, my parents said, ‘The world’s your oyster. Whatever you want to do, just do it,’” Farrell said. “They’re so supportive. They think there are no limits to what I can do.”

—Written by Gabrielle Simonson for Fordham Business Magazine

Remember, on the evening of May 18, New York’s Empire State Building will be illuminated in Fordham maroon for our graduates.

Fordham’s high placement in the QuantNet Ranking of Best Financial Engineering Programs caught her eye, and so in August 2023, she enrolled in the Gabelli School of Business MS program in quantitative finance.

“I love financial markets. I think they’re really beautiful. The uncertainty in them is really charming,” said Wang, a native of Xiaogan, China.

Quantitative finance involves the use of mathematical models and extremely large datasets to analyze financial markets and securities. Practitioners need to be fluent in both computer programming, such as C++, and advanced math, such as stochastic calculus. 

It is traditionally a male-dominated field; nearly 80% of quantitative analysts are men. In fact, when Wang enrolled at the Gabelli School, she was one of only two women in her program.  This was a surprise to her, as her undergraduate classes were more evenly divided. But she was undeterred.

“I thought, ‘It doesn’t matter, women or men, we are just working on the same thing,’” she said. 

“Others might think, ‘This program is too difficult for a girl,’ but I love mathematics, I love finance, and this program is perfect for me.”

Wang is drawn to the fact that in the financial markets, profit is derived from uncertainty and that uncertainty brings a lot of different possibilities. 

“You can apply all your knowledge to the market, and you can see whether it works well; if it doesn’t, then you’ll know you need to learn something new that can fit well for this market,” she said.

“That’s where the beauty comes from.”

Wuhan boasts a population of 11 million people, so the transition to New York City wasn’t too difficult. Wang said she was able to quickly make friends with other Gabelli School master’s students from China; she recently visited the National Museum of Mathematics in Lower Manhattan with one of them.

Coursework Is Good Prep for Internship Interview

Wang says a course on derivatives was especially helpful because she learned how to evaluate and price options and futures.”

“The class sparked my interest in derivatives and really laid a solid foundation for a career in derivatives pricing in the future,” she said.

This summer, she’ll be a quantitative research intern at startup hedge fund SIMO Capital. She expects to graduate in May 2025 and hopes to find a job in the United States, ideally as a “desk quant” whose job is to implement pricing models and hedge the risks.

Qing Sheng, Ph.D., the director of the quantitative finance program, taught Wang in the class financial markets. She said math skills like Wang’s have taken on even more importance of late, as many other aspects of business can be delegated to AI tools.

“Having the math will set you apart from your peers. It’s not one of those things that ChatGPT can just figure out for you,” she said.

Sheng said she’s been encouraged by Wang’s willingness to contribute more to discussions in class.

“We had some conversations when she first started because she was pretty reserved, and I know her background. She had a lot more to give,” she said.

“You could literally see that she was talking herself into saying, ‘I’m going to ask questions, even if they may sound stupid.’ That’s very good for a female student to say, ‘I am going to take risks and not worry too much about how other people think about me.’”

Since 2010, the Student Managed Investment Fund has helped launch graduates’ careers in the financial world.

Researching companies in diverse sectors. Analyzing stock market data to understand trends. Deciding how best to invest more than $2 million of someone else’s money. This type of work happens daily at investment firms across the country. It also happens at Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business.

Through the Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF), a two-semester course run by James Russell Kelly, students manage $2 million of the University’s endowment in a portfolio of stocks, bonds, and alternative assets.

Students start as analysts and are paired with second-semester students who work as portfolio managers. The analysts monitor sectors such as health care, energy, and real estate, while portfolio managers help make investment decisions and can take on additional roles, such as chief investment officer or quantitative analyst.

The fund started in 2010 with $1 million and has grown to more than $2.1 million, said Kelly, a senior lecturer in finance who also leads Fordham’s Gabelli Center for Global Security Analysis.

“The primary theme is student empowerment—students make all the investment decisions,” he said. “My role is to set the parameters to give guidance, guardrails.”

At the first-ever networking event for SMIF, held on February 6 in the 12th-Floor Lounge at the Lowenstein Center on the Lincoln Center campus, current students connected with alumni who shared how their experiences helped them in their careers in the finance and investing worlds. Attendees also shared their SMIF stories with Fordham Magazine.

Rohit Roy, Class of 2024
SMIF Role: Portfolio Manager, Health Care
Major: Finance with a Minor in Computer Science

“It’s active learning—you’re not learning from a textbook, you’re not learning theory. You’re looking at active real-world events and how they’re affecting the markets.

“Full time, I’m going to be working in trading [for Apex Capital after graduation]. So it’s a very, very direct kind of jump—you don’t really trade here, it’s more of a long-term investment mandate kind of thing. But a lot of the skills are obviously transferable. Like, you have to follow the markets closely, you have to understand how things work, be able to digest high-level information very quickly and act upon it. A lot of the skills link up quite nicely.”

Rishika Pal, Class of 2024
SMIF Role: Former Managing Director
Major: Finance with a Minor in Computer Science

“I learned about [SMIF] my freshman year and I was like, what a wonderful opportunity, given the fact that not many schools trust their students with a section of their endowment. Being able to actively manage it and gain mentorship was so important to me. It was a really great experience—I ended up becoming managing director for the fund, so that was a very full circle moment.

“It’s one thing to learn about [investing] in theory, but when you’re looking at it from a holistic portfolio perspective—what data is accessible to us? What should be our benchmarks? How do we forecast and manage our allocation and risk? That type of hands-on learning, I think, is very different and unique.”

Ria Naidu, Class of 2024
SMIF Role: Portfolio Manager, Information Technology
Major: Global Business with Concentrations in Finance and Economics

“I started looking into [the SMIF experience] my junior year, when I was figuring out my path. I thought it was a good opportunity to be able to [invest] money in an educational environment where there’s slightly more room for error than when you start in the real world. Whatever [work I’ll do as an equity research associate at Jefferies] will be pretty similar to what I’m doing now. So I think that’s been very helpful to get a glimpse of it, and actually be hands on and work with it, but also learn from Professor Kelly.”

Adam Arias, Class of 2025
SMIF Role: Analyst, Health Care
Major: Finance

“It’s kind of opening my eyes a little bit. It’s a very collaborative place. In SMIF, I can already tell your voice matters more. Your ideas are encouraged to come out.

“I’m going to be working in more of a client-facing role [in my internship at PIMCO this summer]. But [through SMIF] I’m getting experience in how to work in a team, where you kind of have an equal say, and then also just developing communication skills with everyone, being able to know what’s happening in the market and convey that to your manager. In my future role, hopefully I’ll be able to convey that to clients.”

Stephen Hearn, GABELLI ’15
Vice President, Public Finance & Infrastructure Direct Lending, J.P. Morgan

“I work in the bank’s public finance infrastructure portfolio, so [we’re] kind of taking all the management risk, very similar to what SMIF did. In SMIF, I learned the proper way to analyze risk, risk-reward, which is something I kind of carried into my job.

“[The SMIF experience is] something on your resume that most other kids from other schools won’t have, even if they’ve gone to an Ivy or something like that. You may not actually have practical investing experience unless you’ve done a program like this.”

Yaakov Musheyev, GABELLI ’20
High Yield Credit Research at J.P. Morgan

“I work in credit research, looking at industry trends, company-specific trends—and covering a sector in SMIF, I feel, was pretty similar: looking at headlines, looking at news for the sector we covered, building a model for one of the things we were trying to pitch, and then doing the whole presentation. So, building out the investment thesis and presenting it.”

Brigida Caruso, Class of 2024
SMIF Role: Co-Managing Director
Major: Global Business with Concentrations in Finance and Economics

“The hands-on research that we’re able to do—it’s more independently driven, so if you have an idea that you want to run with, you’re allowed to do that. And our class is done in the trading room at Rose Hill, so a lot of Bloomberg terminals are accessible there.”

Tyler Hoffman, Class of 2025
SMIF Role: Analyst, Industrials
Major: Finance

“I’m sort of working under someone who I learn from—[that’s] not to say that the professor doesn’t teach, but he’s there more to moderate and kind of give structure to things.

“I’ll be [interning] in banking this summer. A lot of it is just analyzing companies, and when you’re in a position of investing and having your money at stake, like Fordham’s money here, it kind of ups the ante in terms of how much work you put into looking at things. I think being able to transfer that to a banking context is really important.”

Originally a marketing major, she also thought about going into fields like sustainability farming and fashion modeling before settling on finance.

Now a senior at the Gabelli School of Business, Abdulhussein hopes to combine her interests through Al Ameerat, her startup clothing brand that aims to empower women through modest and stylish fashion. Its debut collection is set to be released this spring with the aid of a surprising partner: Bratz dolls, the billion-dollar media franchise known for its outsized influence on youth fashion and culture.

“Nothing has gone [according] to plan,” Abdulhussein said of changing majors and landing her first big deal. “But it worked out.”

Abdulhussein has created eight original designs for women that will be modeled by select Bratz dolls and made available for purchase this spring.

Seizing Opportunities ‘in the Middle of the Night’

Al Ameerat’s initial rollout will focus on fashionable and affordable designs of the abaya, a religious garment commonly worn by women throughout the Middle East. Growing up between Tanzania and Dubai, wearing an abaya was commonplace for Abdulhussein. But in the U.S, she found limited offerings.

“In America, it’s very old style, traditional. But if you go to the Middle East…you’ll see such a big difference. It’s very flashy, it’s fun, it’s trendy,” she said.

Abdulhussein partnered with her friend Mira al Aqrabawi, based in Dubai, to collaborate on the business plan and manage operations on the ground.

It was an offhand comment between the two that sparked the breakthrough.

“I was telling her, ‘You look like a little Bratz doll,’” Abdulhussein said, conjuring the fashion-forward dolls of their youth. “And then I was like, ‘Wait, this is a great idea.’”

Abdulhussein did some research on the spot and messaged a Bratz representative for brand collaborations, emphasizing the opportunity to expand into a new market—modest fashion—while simultaneously demonstrating a commitment to diversity and inclusion. She didn’t expect to get a response at all—let alone a few hours later.

“It was a happy accident that took off literally in the middle of the night,” she said.

Now she and her partner are finalizing their collection to prepare for their spring launch with Bratz.

From the Classroom to the Market

A global business major with concentrations in finance, business economics, and fintech, Abdulhussein credits her classes and professors for her ability to execute her idea so quickly.

“I couldn’t have told you anything about how finance worked before I got here,” she said. “It’s hard to forecast sales for a company that doesn’t exist yet. My analytics class was really helpful because I was like, ‘Alright, I have to make this balance sheet balance.’”

When it came time to finalize her pitch, Abdulhussein drew from hands-on learning experiences like the Gabelli School’s Consulting Cup event.

But Abdulhussein stressed that the ability to make connections was the most rewarding part of her experience.

“My professors put me in touch with good people. They taught me how to network,” she said. “Toy companies aren’t too scary once you’ve been reaching out to all these JP Morgan people.”

Employing Women

Abdulhussein still has big ideas. She hopes to sell out the first collection, donate a percentage of profits to a worthy cause, and eventually have a fulfillment center fully populated by women.

For now, she spends her nights on Zoom clutching pieces of fabric and trying to communicate her vision to tailors on the other side of the globe.

“You have to be patient,” she said, reflecting on the design process—and the path that led there. “It’s not always going to work out on the first try.”

Follow Al Ameerat’s progress on Instagram @ameerat.abayas.

“It’s amazing to be in a school that allows you to take advantage of being in New York,” Vilela said. “There’s something about the pace and person that New York attracts—it’s a driven individual who wants to be able to explore multiple interests.”

What she didn’t expect was that she’d get to explore a completely different interest as well—all while she made connections and secured a full-time position at Deutsche Bank.

Vilela, who’s a senior in the Gabelli School, said her background as an international student from Brazil helped inspire her to major in global business. But minoring in art history wasn’t something she saw coming.

“It’s one of the things that would have never crossed my mind if it wasn’t for the core curriculum,” she said. “Fordham is so good at giving us the opportunity to be exposed to and pursue disciplines we are passionate about. You don’t have to give up one over the other.”

After she took an introductory art history course, Vilela studied abroad at Fordham London, where she took a course on art and architecture. All the classes, she said, met in museums.

“It trains different parts of your brain,” she said of studying art history. “It wires you, in a way, to be very detail-oriented. Your critical thinking gets honed to a very sharp degree. It hones in a part of your brain where you’re constantly questioning things.”

From Art to Investment Banking: Asking the Right Questions

Vilela said she used some of those skills to stand out as when she interned at Deutsche Bank.

“Especially at a junior level you’re expected to ask questions,” she said. “I think the art history part my brain was incredibly helpful in that.”

Vilela will start as a sales, trading, and structuring analyst at Deutsche Bank following graduation. She credits Armani Nieves, GABELLI ’21, with helping her in the recruitment process. Nieves helped create networking events as a student, such as Finance Diversity and Inclusion Night.

“He mentors students from Latinx backgrounds into the investment banking recruitment process, said Vilela, who as part of her major is pursuing a concentration in global finance and business economics. “He connected me with Fordham alums who were incredibly supportive and helped me prepare for my interviews.”

Vilela said that she’s seen this level of support throughout her time at Fordham.

“Everything is so much smoother because everyone’s in it together.”

Business for Positive Change

Vilela also said that she appreciated the Gabelli School’s focus on business with a purpose.

“I got accepted into Ignite Scholars Honors Program—it’s for people who have a social entrepreneurship background who want to use business to affect positive change, which is very cool,” she said.

She also serves as an Angel Fund fellow at the Fordham Angel Fund, where she works to connect with Fordham entrepreneurs and vet their applications for funding.

“What’s cool about it is it’s not an undergrad club; it’s people from the Law School, MBA students, and undergraduates,” she said. “It’s also a really nice opportunity to learn from your peers—that’s what I love the most about it. You put a business student and a master’s in social work student and a law student together—the types of questions we’re asking these companies are very different.”

“I was very nervous when I was coming here—halfway through the flight, I was like, ‘Oh, my God, I’m really going,’” said Bhosale, an international student from India who is now a sophomore in the Gabelli School of Business.

But since he’s arrived on campus, Bhosale has found his community; he’s been thriving as a student leader and business student.

A Global Entrepreneur

Studying at Fordham has allowed Bhosale to combine two interests—entrepreneurship as part of his business administration major and global business as a minor.

Bhosale is a student at the Rose Hill campus, but he’s excited to take classes for his minor at Lincoln Center, where the Gabelli School focuses on global business.

“We always have that comforting place other than home, so Rose Hill will be my home,” he said. “But I have a lot of friends at Lincoln Center … and [it’s] a prime location,” he said, noting that the Manhattan campus inspires the creative side of him.

Bhosale said that it was the curriculum that drew him to the Gabelli School, particularly its Ground Floor course for first-year students. The course gives students a background in the major areas of business before asking them to propose a brand-new business idea that meets a current need.

Acting as a consultant, he made a presentation on a company and helped develop an idea for a startup with classmates. “It kind of gave me first-hand experience as to what my future would look like,” he said, and it made him sure he wanted to pursue entrepreneurship.

Community Leader on Campus

Outside of the classroom, Bhosale serves as a leader with the Hindu Students Council, the cultural board of Campus Activities Board, and the International Students’ Association. He’s also a Ramfluencer, making videos and content for Fordham’s social media channels. A favorite is one he made on the Ram Van.

“I cannot stop bragging about it to my friends—I literally go by a shuttle to Manhattan,” he said with a laugh. “So I’ve always loved the Ram Van, and I also made a video on that because I wanted to cover all the points that I did not get to know while I was at home in India.”

He also did a video on Global Transition, a preorientation program specifically for international students.

“I believe that it made me feel at home because when I came here, I was very scattered—I didn’t know what to do,” he said. “But Global Transition, they took us out on an excursion. I went to The Edge. I was in awe when I went to the observatory, and I saw the whole of New York. I was like, ‘Okay, I’m living my dream.’”

Bhosale said that he also made some of his first friends in the program because they all were dealing with similar challenges of being far from home.

Recognized for Success

His efforts to enhance campus community, culture, and academic excellence were recognized last year when he received the DEI Innovative Leadership Award from the Gabelli School of Business.

He said that made him even more excited for his next few years; he plans to get involved at the Fordham Foundry, study abroad with Fordham London, and intern in the city.

The key to nabbing the internship? Networking. 

“It was a matter of just communicating and reaching out,” said Ortega, who was introduced to a UBS senior professional by a close mentor. “Networking is super important in finance. I can’t stress how important this is.”

Networking Advice 

Ortega spent his first year at Fordham not only in the classroom but also online, reaching out to industry experts for career advice. He set up chats over coffee and meetings over Zoom, often taking note of the “small things” that could deepen a connection. One meeting led to his internship at UBS. Another meeting, with a senior banking professional outside of UBS, led to a new mentorship, said Ortega. 

“I connected with him to learn more about his role and past experiences across his career. The meeting was over Zoom, and the conversation was flowing fairly well until I noticed that he had a New York Giants banner on his wall. This sparked a conversation because I’m a New England Patriots fan, and the idea is that we are meant to be rivals. However, as a result of that small, personal interaction that may have seemed meaningless, he has decided to coach and mentor me individually as I continue to grow as a young professional. It just goes on to show that the small details matter more than you think,” Ortega said. “Be a good listener, learn how to talk, and be OK with feeling uncomfortable while networking.”

Paving the Way for Future Generations of Hispanics

Ortega is originally from Corona, Queens. He was raised by a single mother who raised four boys on her own. His mother, a Mexican immigrant who works as a hairstylist and part-time bookkeeper, sacrificed her dream of becoming a biomedical engineer in order to support Ortega and his brothers. “Her support, love, and sacrifices fuel me to succeed in my endeavors and passions,” Ortega said. 

Her work paid off. Ortega earned admission to several schools, including Emory University and Boston College. He chose to attend Fordham and its Lincoln Center campus, where he earned the National Hispanic Recognition Scholarship and would be able to live closer to home. 

At UBS, Ortega is learning finance basics, professional etiquette, and technical skills. He is unusually young for a finance intern. His fellow interns are mostly college upperclassmen, but that doesn’t deter him. “It’s a good time to learn. The earlier you start, the better,” he said. 

Ortega’s long-term goal is to join a venture capital firm that invests only in Hispanic start-ups. He wants to change a statistic: just 2% of U.S. venture capital investments go towards Latino entrepreneurs, who made up nearly half of the net new small business growth between 2007 and 2017.  

“The venture capital community is very close-knit and exclusive to certain people,” he said. “My goal is to hack into that field and pave the way for Hispanic generations to come.”

First in Their Families

Lori-Ann Andrews was inspired to pursue a dual degree in early childhood and early childhood special education at the Graduate School of Education, where she wanted to “utilize the downtime” that came with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Andrews, who is in her seventh year teaching, saw a need to provide support to students receiving special education services.

“I’m getting chills right now,” she said. “Every day, I see children across the board where they need services pertaining to special ed, but they’re not getting those services, because the general ed teachers don’t have the knowledge as to what to look for. As a special ed teacher, I will be able to make sure that those students receive all the services that they need.”

Andrews was surrounded by her family, many of whom traveled to see her graduate.

“I’m really so proud of her, I actually flew in from Florida to be able to support her,” her sister Cavell Lilly said. “She really is amazing.”

Andrews said that earning a master’s degree with her family’s support felt very significant

“I’m the first [in my family]to receive a master’s degree, so it’s breaking that generational curse.”

Mardoqueo Arteaga, who earned a Ph.D. in economics from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and served as the president of the Graduate Student Government, said a speech six years ago by Joseph M. McShane, S.J., then president of Fordham, inspired him to enroll in the doctoral program.

“I was a DACA recipient,” said Arteaga, referring to the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which allows young people brought to the U.S. as children to remain in the country. “In 2017, Father McShane sent out a message that was pretty convincing about this place being a place where I felt safe to come—and inclusive. I knew I wanted to get a Ph.D., and I thought this would be a good place to kind of be intellectually free, while also knowing that the community was rather supportive of someone like me.”

Arteaga, who goes by Marc, will be starting work as an economist with KPMG. He views earning a Ph.D. as both a privilege and responsibility.

“It’s a privilege to do so because I know that my family, and where I come from—you don’t have those kinds of opportunities,” he said. “But more than anything, I also consider it a responsibility, because I’m changing a narrative that would otherwise remain unchanged.”

New York City: The Finance and Fintech Capital

Shafrin Mustafa said that the reputation of the Gabelli School of Business’ MBA program and its location drew her in.

“I know that they had a really great reputation and it was located in New York, and this is where I wanted to be,” said Mustafa, who is graduating with an MBA with a double concentration in finance and fintech.

Mustafa, who is from Canada, said her time in the program flew by, as she’ll be starting work with American Express in July.

“It’s been a very exciting journey. It almost feels like it just started yesterday so I can’t believe we’re here already.”

Research for Single Mothers and Education

Three students graduating with their doctoral degrees from the Graduate School of Social Work, Carolyn Peguero Spencer, Danielle Jimenez, and Denise Gosselin, said that they leaned on the community they developed at Fordham.

“You really have to have a beautiful cohort to get through. You’re not going to get through this alone,” said Spencer, a licensed clinical social worker, who got her master’s at the Graduate School of Social Work in 2000. She decided to return for the doctoral program to finish some “unfinished work.”

“I just saw a lot of things and we didn’t have data for it and research for it, so I was told, ‘You do it. You research it.’”

And so she did, putting together her thesis on single mothers in the Latina community, titled Intersecting Identities, Education, and Economic and Subjective Well-Being: A Qualitative Testimonio Study Among Latina Single Mother Community College Students.

Additional reporting by Patrick Verel

Jesuit Educated: Caring for the Whole Person

For Fordham College at Rose Hill friends Dylan Hakim and Laura Rose Kelly, Fordham was a transformative experience.

“We have lived so many lives and undergone so much change over the past four years,” said Kelly, a digital technologies and emerging media major and Italian minor from Western Springs, Illinois. “I feel very grateful to be here and to have a normal graduation after so much change and so many moments when we were unsure.”

Hakim, who earned a degree in mathematics with a double minor in philosophy and computer science, said that he feels like he’s become a more well-rounded person.

“People told me when I was going to college, I was gonna learn how to be a person. And I did not believe it because I thought I was already one,” he said.

But Hakim said that the Fordham ideals of cura personalis, or care of the whole person, and eloquentia perfecta, or clear expression for the common good, helped him on his way to becoming “complete.”

Hakim will be teaching math in the Bronx through the NYC Teaching Fellows program, and Kelly will be a marketing coordinator at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

Enhancing Asian American Culture

Finding a community at Fordham was essential to Fordham College at Rose Hill graduates Maleiya Lorenzo and Arthur Ze An Liu. The two met through their work with multiple Asian clubs and organizations on campus; Lorenzo was vice president of FUPAC (Fordham University Philippine-American Club) and Liu led the Asian Cultural Exchange Club.

“I think for me, the sense of community, and being connected to my culture has been a really big part of college for me,” said Lorenzo, who majored in communications with a concentration in film and TV and a minor in biology. “My favorite club event ever is called Simbang Gabi, which is a Christmas event.”

Liu, who is from Hong Kong, said that he found a second home in New York.

“The culture shock was the toughest part, and that’s a legit phenomenon that people experience,” said Liu, who double majored in economics and political science and double minored in accounting and philosophy. “But what I love about New York City, in particular, is the diversity. And I think that you always find someone of your national origin, if you look hard enough.”

Both said that they appreciated the support of their families along the way.

“I’m happy that we’re finally here, and I get to celebrate with my family. They’re coming from out of state,” said Lorenzo, who is from Charlotte, North Carolina.

Professional and Continuing Studies: Flexibility and Fun

When the COVID-19 pandemic sent students home to take classes remotely, Alicia Wilcox used that as an opportunity to switch schools for more flexibility.

“I always wanted to live in New York, and I started out at [Fordham College at] Lincoln Center, but then I switched to PCS because it was easier with my job,” said Wilcox, who was graduating from the School of Professional and Continuing Studies with a degree in psychology. “I do freelance writing, so I liked PCS because it had night classes.”

Although she took most of her classes at Lincoln Center, Wilcox said some of her favorite memories came from trips to Rose Hill.

“I always love coming to Rose Hill for the games and the events, like Homecoming—that was so fun,” she said.

Finding Friends and Community

Izzy Budetti, who majored in new media and digital design, at Fordham College at Lincoln Center, said she also changed colleges during the pandemic, transferring from Rose Hill to Lincoln Center, which she said helped her find her place.

“I met my best friends here,” she said, adding that they met over Instagram, went to each other’s birthdays, and then participated in the same clubs, such as Splinter Group, Lincoln Center’s musical theater group. That reinforced some of her friendships, including with Lucy Murray, who served as the co-president of the group for more than three semesters.

Drawn to New York City

Murray, who graduated from Fordham College at Lincoln Center as a double major in music and psychology, said that she will miss the activities she was involved in.

“I feel really lucky because all my people are staying in the city, and we all live pretty close together, so I’m excited to just continue living life,” she said. “But I am going to miss the clubs I was involved in a lot.”

She said she was drawn to Fordham because of its location in New York City.

“I grew up in Raleigh [North Carolina]. I lived in the same house my whole life … I knew I liked that city feel, but I wanted bigger, more to explore. I really decided New York was for me and then Fordham was just what I was drawn to,” Murray said.

Murray said that her favorite class was Race and Gender in Latin American Pop Music with Professor Angelina Tallaj-GarcÍa, assistant professor of music.

“She’s just so fabulous. I took that class over Zoom during Covid and it felt like an actual class [happening]in person,” she said. “Everybody was really talkative—we hung out in the chat, we all had a really nice community.””

Murray said she will be returning to New York City after traveling and visiting with family for a while, with a plan to work in music therapy.

Julia Rinaldi, who came to Fordham from Bergen County, New Jersey, also said she was drawn to Fordham for its location.

“I applied to Fordham Rose Hill,” she said. “And then I started touring the campuses and thought, ‘I didn’t even know Lincoln Center existed, and this is perfect for me.’ I wanted to be in Manhattan.”

Rinaldi, a psychology major, said she’s starting a doctoral program in clinical psychology at Felician College in New Jersey next.

A Supportive Business School Community

Shaquille Kampta said that the Gabelli School of Business at Lincoln Center community helped him get through the last four years, despite pandemic-related challenges.

“I’m happy that we were able to persevere, especially with Gabelli, that camaraderie, and that group sense was very strong with our class, and as a group we were able to push through even though the pandemic was holding us back,” said Kampta, who majored in global business with a concentration in business economics and finance.

Kampta said that he will be working in wealth management in M&T Bank but plans to eventually go to law school.

Catherine Sperl entered Fordham as a transfer student and also said she appreciated the community she found at the Gabelli School.

“For Gabelli students, we’re all driven by the need to succeed and by academic markers that are visible and tangible,” Sperl said. “I think there’s something intrinsic to Fordham students, the spirit of Fordham is very collaborative and community-based.”

Sperl was a global business with a concentration in marketing and consumer insights along with her friend Melanie Sztulman, who had the same major. Sztulman said some of her favorite memories came from the University’s orientation program.

“I had a wonderful orientation experience, and at Lincoln Center, I worked as an orientation coordinator last year,” Sztulman said. “So it was a full circle moment for me to start off having such a positive experience in orientation and meeting so many wonderful people, and then helping new students.”

Sztulman is going off to Boston College Law School in the fall, while Sperl will be working in corporate communications at BlackRock.

Additional reporting by Patrick Verel