On July 19, 2018, Bigelow was driving around his hometown of Easton, Connecticut, with two friends before heading back to school. The driver, who was intoxicated, accidentally crashed the vehicle. The driver and another passenger were mostly uninjured, but Bigelow could no longer walk on his own. 

A neck fracture had paralyzed Bigelow from the chest down and limited his arm and hand movement. After the accident, he underwent emergency spinal surgery at Yale University Hospital in New Haven, where doctors tried to repair his vertebrae. He spent the next few weeks in the surgical intensive care unit, where he required a ventilator, tracheotomy, and feeding tube. Once he was stabilized, Bigelow was transferred to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, a facility with a special spinal cord center that could provide the care he needed. 

Over the next four years, he underwent multiple surgeries, physical rehabilitation, and therapy to try to recover his mobility. His parents also moved from their Connecticut home to a wheelchair-accessible apartment in Boston, where they could better support their son. 

It was a miracle that Bigelow had survived the car crash, especially without any brain injuries, said his family. But his life would never be the same. 

“Before the accident, I was the most independent I had ever been. I had moved out of my childhood home, I was living on my own. Then I moved to a new state and was taken away from my friends and hometown,” said Bigelow. “Everything, from going to the bathroom to sexual function, also changed. I wasn’t able to properly feed myself, get out of bed, get dressed, or bathe.” 

His final year at Fordham stretched into a three-year-long hiatus. He could no longer play club lacrosse or continue his summer job as a tram driver at the nearby New York Botanical Garden. He was also unable to graduate with his classmates in 2019. 

The accident changed everything, but it also gave him a new perspective on life, he said. 

“It gives you perspective on everything you once took for granted and what you used to consider difficult,” he said. “It really made me appreciate my family and the relationships I’ve built in my life.”

Returning to Fordham: ‘It Feels and Looks Like Home’

After becoming more accustomed to life with his disability, Bigelow returned to Fordham College at Rose Hill in fall of 2020. He took advantage of the online courses offered during the pandemic and learned how to complete his schoolwork alongside his disability. Instead of using a computer and keyboard to type papers, he used voice dictation on an iPad Pro. His advisers at Fordham also pitched in. 

“The Office of Disability Services made test-taking, scheduling, and note-taking as simple as possible,” he said, giving a special shout-out to the office director, Mary Byrnes. 

Bigelow said he was concerned that his disability would cause him to fall behind his able-bodied classmates, but he proved himself wrong. 

“I was really worried that because of my injury and not feeling like I could always do everything as easily as my classmates, that I would fall behind and lose out on those honors that I was proud of,” said Bigelow, who received a Loyola Scholarship, a renewable scholarship that requires a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00, as an incoming first-year student. “But I finished my degree and maintained at least a 3.00 GPA.” 

The last time he stepped foot on campus was nearly four years ago, before his accident. On May 21, 2022, he returned to Rose Hill to receive his bachelor’s degree in economics at Commencement. 

Bigelow said that his friends and family asked him if the campus looked different. “No,” said Bigelow, who had lived in Loschert Hall and off-campus apartments in the Bronx. “It feels and looks like home.” 

‘I Can Do Those Things—Just in a Different Way’

Bigelow now lives in Marina Bay, a Boston neighborhood lined with restaurants and boats. He and his girlfriend live in a two-bedroom apartment with their four-month-old kitten, Batman. 

In the future, he sees himself working remotely in a senior data analytics position in the banking, finance, or insurance industries. He said he wants to continue exercising regularly at his local YMCA and enjoying life in Boston, particularly the theater district. 

After years of therapy, Bigelow is able to grasp objects, although he can’t hold onto them for a long time. He can brush his hair and teeth and use a stylus for his iPad Pro, which has become an essential tool in his daily life. But he still deals with chronic pain and fatigue everyday. 

Bigelow said his doctors have told him that most mobility returns within two years of an injury. But instead of focusing on what he might be able to do, he said he tries to focus on what he can do.  

“There’s always a way to do what you want to do. It might not be the way you expected or the way you’re accustomed to, but there’s always a way to find out how to get what you want,” Bigelow said. “When it comes down to it, I can do those things—just in a different way.”

Tatiana Hyman, LAW ’22

I will always remember January 31, 2021, which was the day I got the phone call telling me I would be the editor of the Fordham Law Review. It was particularly significant for me because I’m the first Black person to hold that position. I am the daughter of Jamaican immigrants and the first person in my family to go to law school, so accomplishing something like that reassured me that I should never shy away from opportunities that seem daunting. I also thought a lot about students of color who have ever felt that certain seats are unattainable.

Ricardo Andrés Arocha, GSS ’22, M.S.W.

I was able to participate in a new program called the PIPELINE, and there was a monthly seminar where we would hear from people who have worked in the social work field. I will always remember how I got the privilege of a window into each person’s multiyear, and in some cases multi-decade, trajectory. I was able to develop a vision for myself as a social worker moving forward.

Originally, I was thinking I was going to aim to lead an organization, and not take on much of a clinical role. But I realized that I want to spend a few years after graduation honing my clinical skills and getting a license and accreditation. I don’t know that I would have made that choice without hearing those speakers.

Katherine Delehunt, GABELLI ’22, B.S. in Finance

I’ll always remember the last Fordham home football game. There was this big tailgate party beforehand. I remember walking in, and there were people from both Fordham and the opposing school celebrating everywhere. Parents were wearing their Fordham colors, there was tons of food, corn hole, the whole thing. It was a real encapsulation of how you can have the true college experience in the middle of New York City.

 Jackson Elliott, PCS ’22 B.A. in English

The best thing I had in my life during the pandemic was Fordham. I will always remember when I realized I could go to school full time. I was doing live events and producing, and there was so much of my work that I couldn’t really do, because everything had shut down due to COVID. I had started working on my degree in 2014 and was just chipping away at it one or two classes at a time. Once the pandemic hit, I thought, “I’m definitely going back.” No one would have wanted something like this to happen, but it offered me the opportunity to finish my degree sooner. The way Fordham handled the pivot to remote was seamless, and I had wonderful experiences.

Natalie Blair,  FCLC ’22, B.A. In Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

I am a part of the Office of Multicultural Affairs committee for LGBTQ History Month. We spent the first two months of school planning a whole month of activities, and the end-of-month celebration in October is something I’ll definitely remember. We had such fun decorating the room, we had music playing, dancing, we had empanadas. It was just a real moment of recognition for the hard work that we had done. These people are some of my best friends now, so I really appreciate having the chance to meet them, work with them, and put on great events.

—Reporting and photos by Patrick Verel and Tom Stoelker

This year’s graduates faced months of uncertainty as the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered college campuses across the country in March 2020. Even when they returned that fall, many of their classes were still being held online. And face masks became a part of everyday life.

Dawn Saito, an associate clinical professor in the Fordham Theatre program, and Christopher Koenigsmann, Ph.D., an associate professor of chemistry, witnessed firsthand the resilience that students exhibited in those four years.

“It was really a profound time for discovery and an exploration of how to continue to be creative,” said Saito, who teaches acting and movement classes.

 “I had not seen their faces during the rehearsal process, so it was even more poignant, because of the sacrifices, to get to that place.”

 At the height of the pandemic, when classes were all virtual, acting students had to learn techniques associated with acting for film, instead of stage, because film acting could be done on video. They learned how to incorporate graphics and animation. When they returned to in-person instruction, they had to figure out how to do scene work with half their face covered by a mask.

“I think the scene work that they did really was quite profound and still had a tremendous impact, because not only do actors use their faces, they use their intentions as characters and physical impulses to tell stories,” she said.

When the program resumed mainstage performances in the fall, students rehearsed with masks on, but took them off for shows. “These students found ways to adapt to every situation. They were on Zoom, and then they were masked, and then, thankfully, they could take them off,” she said. When they did, she said, there were gasps in the room.

Koenigsmann has been working on research with three graduating seniors—Julia Mayes, Ian Dillon, and Rosario Troia—since the fall of 2020. Like their theater counterparts, they had to adjust to working in a lab, then at home, then back in a lab. Through it all, they were able to contribute to the research of Koenigsmann’s lab, which is focused on creating atom-size structures that can be used to detect glucose.

“Chemistry research is fundamentally a hands-on thing. It requires you to go into a lab to produce samples and to test them,” he said. “During the summer of 2020, even I was like, ‘What are we going to do?’ We figured it out.”

Essentially, the students flipped the research process. While labs were off limits, they used the time to conduct a literature review, which brought them up to speed on what others had learned from conducting similar experiments. When they returned to the lab last spring, they were fully ready to pair that knowledge with experiments. They still had to learn how to make samples in the lab, but Koenigsmann said they were able to share that knowledge with their younger colleagues, which was extremely beneficial.

“When something is written on paper, that’s great. But there’s a lot to be said about having a senior student there with you and giving you tips. You know, ‘don’t do it this way, do it like this,’ or ‘here’s this helpful extra little step that maybe I didn’t write in the procedure,’” he said.

The paper that will feature the results of the students’ research will be published a little later than planned, but the fact that they were able to pivot and still contribute is a testament to their resilience, Koenigsmann said.

“These students were at the forefront of basically reinventing the wheel.”

“My friends, you will never have a job,” said Joseph McShane, S.J., in his final address to graduates as Fordham’s president.

“You will have something much more important. You will have a vocation—a demanding vocation, a loving vocation, a vocation that will change people’s lives. A vocation that will heal hearts, and vocation that will bring hope.”

The ceremony featured the conferral of bachelor’s,  master’s, and doctoral degrees in social work, as well as an honorary doctorate of humane letters conferred upon Bill Baccaglini, former president and CEO of t he New York Foundling. 

‘Because It Needs to Be Done’

Baccaglini told graduates that they deserve every bit of respect as is afforded to the great entrepreneurs and CEOs in this country.

“They built great companies and they’ve done big things, but ask yourself, have they ever sat with a distraught 4-year-old and told him or her that they couldn’t live with their mom any longer because it was unsafe? Have they ever counseled the family of a terminally ill person and talked with them about what the right time was to let their loved one go?” he said.

“You don’t do this because it’s easy. You’ve chosen to do this because it needs to be done.”

He cautioned that graduates should work for long-lasting change, and most importantly, he implored them to “have a life.” 

“You will work 80-hour weeks when your teams are short-staffed, and you’ll always wonder, ‘What else can I do?’” he said.

“It’s the nature of the work and likely what brought you to it. You can try to be perfect and lose sleep when you’re not, but here’s the truth: You’re not doing your clients any favor, and you’ll be burnt out in just a few short years.”

Although the problems we face are numerous, Baccaglini said the COVID-19 pandemic had revealed to many what heroism looks like.

“We’ve seen enough suffering to know that the true heroes are those individuals who believe that the highest calling and greatest gift is to have the opportunity and ability to improve the lives of those around them,” he said.

Dean Urges Adaptation to New Challenges, But Not Acceptance

Debra M. McPhee, Ph.D., dean of the Graduate School of Social Service, called the graduates’ commitment an antidote to a surreal time when oppression is legitimized by leaders. The social work field is not the same now as it was when they started, but they’re equipped for the new reality.

“You already have learned a most critical lesson of adapting to the life that unfolds in front of you, as opposed to the one that you expected. I urge you, however, not to confuse adaptation with acceptance,” she said.

“Step into the uncertainty of the present but commit to building the future that you want to live in—a future not designed to protect the status quo, but a future that helps reset our collective moral compass, making unacceptable the conditions that perpetuate racism, violence, poverty, and the intentional disenfranchisement of whole communities.”

A Drum Call to Action

Vanessa Tricoche Pacheco, a member of the graduating class, serenaded those in attendance with a drum and song, and pronounced her classmates “the ones that our ancestors prayed for.”

“We use the drum as a way to call to action,” she said after acknowledging the Munsee and Lenape indigenous peoples who called the land where Fordham sits home.

“Those who are living and those who have passed, we use our drum and voice to acknowledge, to cry, to celebrate, and to come to the present moment.”

The Class of 2022, she said, are a unique group of social workers who understand that they are on the front lines of building a new world.

“We understand what it feels like to sacrifice, pivot, shift, work, advocate, organize, occupy, decolonize, and co-create during very, very challenging times,” she said. 

First Time on Campus

Several graduates echoed the importance of being present. Jessica Champagnie, a native of the Bronx who was paralyzed from the waist down by an errant bullet when she was 19, enrolled in the GSS online program because it felt safer than in person learning, she said. She decided to become a social worker because when she was shot, it was social workers who, along with her family and friends, helped her rebuild her life. 

“I lost my father five years ago, and with these big achievements, it feels a little sad. But I worked hard, and he is here in spirit. I carry him in my heart, and I am proud of myself, and so is my family. So, I decided I deserve to come to this graduation,” she said.

It was the first time she’d been to the Rose Hill campus and the first time she’d seen her classmates in person. She loved her online classes, but there was nothing quite like seeing people in the flesh.

“It was such a friendly and warm atmosphere, and to meet some of the people that I was going to class with on Zoom, it’s just, it’s like, ‘Yay, we did it, we came through!’” she said.

“There’s been a lot of screams and hugs and kisses and high fives.”

After Working 40 Jobs, a Desire to Be Part of the Solution

Vivek Sreekumar had graduated in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science in economics and had worked, “something like 40 jobs” before the pandemic hit. Inspired by his mother, Mridula Nair, he gave GSS a look.

“Just seeing the devastation that was happening around us, I felt like I wanted to be part of the solution. I realized that social work was bigger than just clinical work, so now I’m focused on macro social work policy and advocacy,” he said.

His mother and father, Cumar Sreekumar, drove in from Rochester, New York, for the occasion. Nair, a scientist at Kodak Eastman for the last 42 years, said that her son was living her dream of devoting oneself full time to helping others.

“I always believe in serving people and giving things back. We all have so much. We forget those around us, and with just a quirk of fate, we could be one of the those who are marginalized by society,” she said.

“The more science and research I do, the more I wonder about all of the people around me, these amazing minds who have never been tapped into because they haven’t had the resources—and what can we do to make change?”

Crawley, who received an honorary doctorate during the ceremony, recalled his own experiences in the executive MBA program at the Gabelli School during another fraught period: the Great Recession.

“I was in a cohort that represented many of the banking institutions engulfed by the crisis,” said Crawley, who earned his MBA in 2009 and has since risen to a series of high-profile senior leadership positions at Morgan Stanley, including chief marketing officer and head of the firm’s private wealth management business. “My classmates and I relied on each other and got through that experience together.”

Indeed, this idea of building community through a tough shared experience was a common theme at the ceremony, present in nearly every speech the audience heard. Throughout the afternoon, the graduates—including 20 military veterans who were also feted at a special Victory Bell-ringing ceremony on May 20—were cheered on by hundreds of friends, family, faculty, and members of the Fordham community who had gathered on Edwards Parade.

The Value of ‘Strategic Persistence’ and the Gabelli Network

Donna Rapaccioli, Ph.D., GABELLI ’83, dean of the Gabelli School, told graduates that their time together at the University helped them hone a capacity for what two-time Fordham graduate Caroline Dalhgren, director of global consumer insights at Tiffany & Co., calls “strategic persistence.”

“What does that mean? Caroline says it’s that Fordham graduates are ‘scrappy’ in the best possible way,” Rapaccioli said. “You do not expect that anything will ever be handed to you on a silver platter. Instead, you are go-getters. You are solution-finders. You know what you want—and you come up with exciting plans to get there.”

Rapaccioli described Dahlgren as an ideal member of the alumni community, someone who has helped hire many Fordham graduates in her role at Tiffany & Co. and who always says yes when Fordham students and alumni reach out to her for career advice. Rapaccioli encouraged graduates to do the same as active members of the Fordham alumni network—more than 200,000 people worldwide, including 40,000 Gabelli graduates, she said.

“When they contact you asking for career guidance, or when they email you asking for help in their job search, say yes,” she said. “As Caroline puts it, ‘We only will be successful in building this alumni network if we all say yes.’” 

Graduate School in Turbulent Times

Addressing graduates at his final degree ceremony as president of Fordham, Joseph M. McShane, S.J., cited the challenges they encountered as they pursued their degrees: the COVID-19 pandemic and the financial instability it spurred, the country’s ongoing issues with race and inequality, and budding international political strife.

“My dear friends, let’s be honest: Your time in graduate school has not been an easy time,” he said. “You found yourselves in graduate business programs preparing to take on a world—and a global economy—at a time that both of them were seriously out of joint.”

He congratulated them on persevering, even as they “may have been a bit battered along the way,” and encouraged them to never forget the lessons they learned as Fordham students, namely how to be business professionals marked by competence, conscience, compassion “and deep commitment to the cause of the human family.”

A Heartfelt Tribute to Dean Rapaccioli

Father McShane also offered a special thank-you to Rapaccioli, who is stepping down at the end of June to return to teaching and research after a remarkable 15-year tenure as dean. He surprised her with a Magis Medal, making her the first-ever recipient of the award, established this year to honor longtime administrators who have strengthened the Fordham community “through their discerning wisdom, extraordinary leadership, and unstinting commitment to excellence in the service of others.”

“She has led the school with energy, vision, devotion, and love,” Father McShane said of Rapaccioli, who led the unification of the University’s undergraduate and graduate business schools in 2015, launched Gabelli’s first doctoral programs, and oversaw significant growth in enrollments and rises in rankings at the school. “In the process, she has transformed it and made it a leader not only in American business education, but a leader and trailblazer in international Jesuit business education. Therefore, we are all in her debt, a debt that is so great that I could never adequately thank her.”

Six faculty members were also recognized during the ceremony. Paul Kramer, GABELLI ’88, and Joseph Zirpolo, GABELLI ’98, each received the Dean’s Award for Faculty Excellence; Miguel Alzola and John Fortunato each received the Gladys and Henry Crown Award for Faculty Excellence; and Alex Markle and Iris Schneider each received the Stanley Fuchs Award, presented in memory of the former area chair of law and ethics who was a devoted teacher and student advocate.

A Framework for Fulfillment

In his remarks, Crawley, a native of Chicago’s West Side, spoke about his professional path. He has been working at Morgan Stanley for three decades, since he landed a work-study position with the company in high school.

“My journey was far from linear; it was quite circuitous,” he said. “I started out as a 17-year-old intern running errands for bond traders, earning a wage of $5 an hour, [and] worked my way across different parts of the Morgan Stanley ecosystem.”

He continued working on the firm’s municipal bond sales and trading desk in Chicago while attending Northeastern Illinois University at night, transferring to Morgan Stanley’s New York City headquarters once he’d earned his bachelor’s degree in economics. In 2004, he garnered his first management role, and in 2014, he was elevated to chief marketing officer, a position he held until taking over the company’s private wealth management business in 2017. He has been the firm’s global chief human resources officer since early last year.

Crawley shared two frameworks he uses to assess his professional progress—one to determine if it’s time to do something different, and one to determine what career he should be doing.

For the first, he told graduates to ask themselves four questions, suggesting that if the answer to any of them is ‘no,’ they may consider reevaluating their role: Am I learning? Am I growing? Am I having impact? Am I happy? Meanwhile, he said, graduates should ask themselves a second, broader set of questions: Am I interested in the work? Does it align with my core capabilities or superpower? Can I be useful?

Crawley used his love for basketball as an example of how interest doesn’t always align with capability. “I’m interested in the game. I’m a tall guy. Unfortunately, I wasn’t wired for it. The NBA won’t be reaching out to me anytime soon,” he joked. But he encouraged graduates to bring passion to their careers.

“The energy and enthusiasm you have right now? Do not lose it; let it drive you,” he said. “Channel it throughout what I know will be long and successful careers for all of you.”

Better Today Than Yesterday

The ceremony also featured two student speakers: Jason Gurtata, president of the Student Advisory Council and a graduate of the full-time MBA program, and Aaron Martins, who earned an M.S. in global finance.

Looking back to the beginning of his Gabelli journey, Gurtata remembered meeting his cohort for the first time—on Zoom.

He said that while they may not have fully understood what they were in for at the outset—”Did we have any idea of what it meant to immerse ourselves so deeply that all we did was dream about LinkedIn Premium features during our naps?”—he relished being on the other side and credited his Gabelli experiences for teaching him the “most important lesson”: Strive to be better today than yesterday.

As he and his classmates learned “not to chase dollars but to chase our dreams,” Gurtata said he not only gained a new family of Fordham Rams but he also learned the true meaning of success.

“Success is not a test score; it is not that job at a high-end bank, investment firm, or media company; it is not about your salary,” he said. “It is about who we are as individuals. We have learned to partake in business with a purpose, but I encourage each and every one of you to live your life with a purpose.”

Nowhere Near the End

Martins echoed the day’s theme of persevering through the pandemic’s “unchartered territory.”

“We showed that we will adapt and overcome whatever life will throw at us,” he said. “In difficult, uncharted territory we were still focused on our goals and aspirations, ready to keep moving forward.”

He stressed that while their Fordham education was concluding, the ceremony certainly wasn’t the end of the road.

“This may be the end of the chapter, but the book is far from over,” he said.

New York Was Her Campus

Daniella Mignogni, FCLC’ 22, a natural science major, arrived at Commencement with her mother Rosa, her father Sam, her brother, and an aunt and uncle who traveled from Houston for the occasion. For her first two years, she commuted from her home in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, and although the pandemic kept her from moving into McMahon Hall last year, she was able to live on campus this year. She’s currently working as a dental assistant and is applying to dental school.

“I know it’s so cliché when they say ‘Fordham is my school, New York is my campus,’ but it’s true. I was able to go off campus all the time—going to restaurants, and just exploring the city in general. It was really fun, and I still had all my friends from Fordham.”

Her mother admitted she was emotional and happy.

“It’s been great. She absolutely loves it. She chose the right school for her. Some of the classes were difficult. She stressed, but she always excelled,” she said.

‘I Am My Ancestors’ Wildest Dreams’

Being a resident assistant helped bring together friends Ayana Bitter and Che Puentas, both 2022 graduates of Fordham College at Rose Hill.

“I was an RA for three years, and I got to build a community everywhere I was placed,” said Bitter, who’s from the Bronx. “I’ve been placed in freshman buildings so having the ability to help freshmen transition from high school to college has been a big part of my Fordham experience.”

Puentas, who’s from Brooklyn, said that he was only able to be an RA for a year since he transferred in, but it still helped him find his community.

“Being an RA, it’s helped me not only get to make friends within the RA staff and community, but it’s helped me get to know people throughout class years as well,” he said.

Bitter, a sociology major and African and African American studies minor on the pre-law track, will be attending Howard University’s School of Law in the fall. She said she wants to put her Fordham degree to work there.

“I was interested in sociology, learning about people and different groups of people. Being from a marginalized community, it was very important to me to know about aspects of life and how this affects our community and how we can work together, change structures and institutions,” she said. “Sociology does all of that.”

Bitter said that getting to this day is not only special after the last four years, but also because of how much it means to her and her family. She decorated her graduation cap with the phrase “I am my ancestors’ wildest dreams.”

“This once wasn’t even a reality for people like us, people of color, and just having the opportunity to be all together with the community, your family’s here it’s just a big achievement,” she said.

A Postgradaute Fellowship in D.C.

For Ned O’Hanlan, GSS ’22, a native of New Canaan who carried the banner for the school at Commencement and served as the school’s Beadle, Commencement marked the first time he’d set foot on the Rose Hill campus.

He did his field work placement in Brooklyn at MJHS Health System and East New York Family Academy, and after graduation, he’s doing a postgraduate fellowship at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C.

“I felt a part of Fordham before, but after two years, it’s interesting to see everything in person. It’s more exciting, and I feel like it’s a great cap to everything,” he said.

O’Hanlan said that while he had an untraditional experience, taking many classes virtually, the faculty and curriculum made it worth it.

“Any sort of feelings that I felt earlier on when I was a little bit confused about how it would go with Zoom courses, that’s all been appeased,” he said.

Focusing on ‘Business for Good’

For Laira Bhurji, a 2022 graduate from the Gabelli School of Business at Rose Hill, attending Fordham not only helped her earn a bachelor’s degree in applied accounting and finance, but also figure out her own identity and community.

“I think a big part of the last four years was figuring out my identity within my college and my community,” she said. “I’m originally from California, so I moved across the country. I did everything by myself, like moving in. It was a solemn experience, but I learned a lot. My parents are immigrants who came here from India. They basically came here with nothing and worked really hard for me to attend a private university. As I reflect, I’m really thankful for all the opportunities I had.”

Bhujri will be going on to work as a risk business controls associate at accounting firm PwC after graduation.

“I’m really into social innovation, entrepreneurship, and business for good,” she said. “I want to change businesses from within, instead of just making new ones. I chose Fordham because of its social innovation programs and proximity towards big businesses I want to work for, like big banks.”

Bhujri said that she plans to use her Fordham lessons in her new role.

“I think my peers and I have a really good head on us, and we think not just about money, but also stepping into the world and figuring out how to impact people on a greater level,” she said.

And she and her family aren’t quite finished with Fordham just yet—her younger brother is following in her footsteps and starting at the Gabelli School of Business this fall.

A Spiritual Director Working with Disaffiliated Children and Their Families

Don Kremer, GRE ’22, a spiritual director from Arkansas, said he was called to pursue his doctor of ministry degree at Fordham.

“I had kind of a spiritual experience in that I heard God telling me to do this. I’m a spiritual director, and I’m a teacher too, so the reason I chose this is that I just liked the social justice orientation,” he said. “I just liked the philosophy of the Jesuits and Fordham.”

During his program at Fordham, Kremer wrote and defended his thesis on the impact of the disaffliation of children on the parents, and plans to put what he learned into practice.

“I hope to take back some sort of ministry for parents of children who have left the church,” he said.

Learning to Be Adept at Adapting

Erica Messina, FCLC ’19 and now GSAS ’22, who got her master’s in English, aid that she appreciated how her Fordham professors and classmates dealt with all the challenges of the last few years.

“What I was most impressed with was that my classes worked both online and in person,” she said. “Students and faculty were all very adaptive. I think my Master’s Capstone was my most rewarding class, being in a classroom physically and talking about how we could improve our work, being supportive of (each other’s) work.”

Messina, who hopes to work in publishing, said that she was “grateful to my family for being supportive of me and putting up with me stacking books all over the house.”

Bringing Cura Personalis to Goldman Sachs

Angel Alcantara, originally from Queens, New York, graduated from the Gabelli School of Business at Lincoln Center with a bachelor’s degree in global business with a concentration in global finance and business economics.

Alcantara said one of the things he appreciated about his education at Fordham is that it gave him a wider perspective on how to be successful in business beyond just the profits.

“Cura personalis is embedded within every teaching, including finance classes,” he said. “It’s not always cutthroat. It’s more of thinking of the greater good.”

This July, he will begin working as a full-time investment banking analyst at Goldman Sachs, and wants to bring some of those lessons with him.

“At the heart of the field is the idea of trying to help companies achieve their end goals. Usually there’s a stigma when it comes to finance that it’s sort of culling the excess employees and stuff like that, but I think it’s more of giving a company opportunities to grow, and that also means giving employees and people the opportunity to extend their living,” he said.

Staying at Fordham for a Social Work Master’s

Meg Cardi, a 2022 graduate of Fordham College at Rose Hill, said she decided to transfer into Fordham for its social work program, location in New York City, and the community. Cardi, a double major in social work and anthropology, said one of her favorite experiences was participating on the Graduate School of Social Work’s strategic advisory commmittee.

“I was the bachelor’s student representative,” she said. “That was really cool—being able to speak up on what the students are wanting and getting involved in behind the scenes stuff like course schedules.”

Cardi decided to continue her Fordham education at GSS, in the hopes of “advocating for children with chronic illness and disabilities.” That made her graduation feel more like a next step.

“It feels really rewarding—it was a very crazy four years I think especially for this class, getting here and then leaving and then being able to come back, it’s just really exciting,” she said. “I’m staying with Fordham for my master’s degree, so it also feels like I’m not fully done yet, but it’s definitely really exciting and rewarding.”

Completing a Religious Ed Degree Online

Kelly Henderschedt, GRE ’22, decided to pursue her master of arts in religious education, with a concentration in youth ministry, after learning that she would be able to do it all online.

“Since I work in Hartford, I wasn’t able to get to campus, so I’ve been able to take all these great classes but do it remotely,” she said. “I just was impressed with the academic rigor of the program, and … just the great reputation Fordham has.”

Henderschedt, who works for the Archdiocese of Hartford, said she’s going to use her degree to help support the youth ministers and the faith formation leaders there, and hopefully use her own story to inspire them.

“At 53, I didn’t know if I could do it, but I just felt like it would really inform the way I work with the people in Hartford. I just thought, ‘I can do this!’” she said.

A Real Estate Master’s Grad from Colombia

Carlos Mena, PCS ’22, moved to Astoria, Queens, from Colombia more than three years ago.

“I’m happy to be here at Fordham,” he said. “I came as an international student, and the faculty, staff, and the professors—and the whole environment—gave me the opportunity to stay here, and I’ve enjoyed it.”

Mena got his master’s in real estate this year, after already earning degrees in finance, engineering, and public administration in his home country. His goal is to find a job on the development side that connects all of his interests.

“I would like to connect the engineering, the finance, and international view of the [real estate]business,” he said.

Additional reporting by Patrick Verel, Sierra McCleary-Harris, Taylor Ha, and Adam Kaufman.

This year’s Lord of the Manor, Jay Izzo, followed tradition by delivering a satiric sendup of all things Fordham, along with a few gentle jabs at Fordham College at Lincoln Center and a heartfelt goodbye to his fellow classmates.

“Fordham has always been a very welcoming place,” Izzo said, referencing a welcoming ceremony for first-year students that left him petrified.

“Let me paint the scene for you: We’re all standing there by Keating, this tall gothic building bathed in a deep red light,” he recalled. “What could be more welcoming to a group of freshmen who just left mommy and daddy for their first night away from home?”

In her remarks to classmates, co-valedictorian Maja Soto recalled a similarly harrowing first night.

“I was curled up in bed in Martyrs crying on the phone to my mom and asking her if I could transfer. I just felt so far from home,” she said, adding that she’d probably be crying that evening, though for different reasons.

“Tonight is my very last night at Fordham and after tonight, you’ll probably find me exactly where I started, curled up in bed crying on the phone to my mom, but this time I’ll be telling her I never want to leave.”

Soto’s co-valedictorian, Molly Henschke, recalled that the initial stages of the pandemic, noting that they “felt as daunting and unknown as the virus itself.”

“I found myself missing the home I had built here at Fordham with all of you, the people who had made that home feel full,” she said.

Even when she returned, she said, the situation was far from normal.

“We logged on to courses at Eddies and had freezing outdoor picnics in February,” said. “Needless to say, a very different New York than expected became our campus.”

She said that it wasn’t until this school year that the class returned to a full-fledged campus experience.

“We have had the unique opportunity to experience a premature homecoming,” she said, adding that the experiences have prepared her and her classmates. “The world we are entering into is very different than when we started. There will be countless challenges, tests, and tribulations waiting for us, but there will also be moments of joy, accomplishments, and pride.”

In her dean’s valedictory address, Maura Mast, Ph.D., gave students some final homework that directly addressed the challenge that lie ahead.=

“My assignment is simple. I ask that you do good and be well.”

She then clarified the distinctions between doing great, doing good, and being well.

“Doing great is all well and good, but doing good is what’s really great. And here’s why. When you focus on doing great things, you focus on yourself, not others. But when you focus on others that’s when you do good.”

She said that by caring for their community, students will find ways big and small to work with others to do good, such as being an anti-racist.

“I challenge you to think of what you can do every day to disrupt racism in our society, in our country, in our world,” she said to great applause.

She then cited four apostolic preferences put forth by the Society of Jesus in 2019 as a roadmap for students to do good, saving the first preference for last in her presentation.

First, in her order, was to walk with the poor, the outcasts of the world, those whose dignity has been violated, in a mission of reconciliation and justice.

“Justice comes from love, not the other way around,” she said. “Walk with them learn their truth and walk with them to do good.”

The second preference she noted was “to accompany young people in the creation of a hope-filled future.” But as they themselves are still somewhat young, she charged the students to promote the dignity of young people, by lifting up their own voices, finding ways to build community, and expanding opportunities for those with less.

The third preference, she told them, was to “collaborate in the care of our Common Home.”

“When we harm the Earth we jeopardize the future of young people,” she said. “Climate change is violence. It is destructive to the Earth and its people. Care for creation with little actions,” she said.

She closed with the first of the preferences: “To show the way to God through the Spiritual Exercises and discernment.” She said that by way of discernment students can make sure that they are well.

“Be well,” she said. “You need to be well if you want to do good,” she said.

She began with advice from a 2011 award ceremony address in which she told students to mind how they treat colleagues. 

“What really matters in business is the way you treat people, because the way you treat people is what creates trust and what creates relationships,” she said. 

In 2016, she stressed the importance of humility, she said. 

“People often misunderstand humility, it doesn’t mean hiding your accomplishments or being a doormat,” she said. “Humility really involves being open to others’ opinions, reflecting on your experiences, embracing your success, but also admitting your mistakes.”

She said that she remains proud of the many changes she helped facilitate and bring to fruition during her tenure, from the renovations of two buildings that house the school at Rose Hill and Lincoln Center to the naming of the school for one of the University’s most generous donors. However, she said that her legacy will not be found in bricks and mortar. 

 “You are my legacy, so thank you for that,” she told the graduates, before offering a parting bit of advice. “I want every business student to be a compassionate leader who contributes to society and lives a balanced life … Reach high, care about others, be an innovator and creative thinking, make your community and the planet better.”

‘Put Me In Coach’

Graduate Andrew Pace was, along with Brandon Aptilon, the class’s co-valedictorian. He echoed Rapaccioli’s remarks on cultivating relationships. In his speech, he said that there are two characteristics that mark all Fordham students. One is that they are“expert excellent relationship builders,” he said. The second is grit. 

“For Fordham students there’s not a sense of entitlement, there’s just a sense of ‘Put me in the game coach; let me show you what I can do,’” he said.

For his part, Aptilon echoed the importance of humility. He said that when he was in high school he did not get many awards, but Fordham changed all that. 

“I don’t say that [I won awards] to boast, rather I say it to encourage all of you who are entering this new stage of our lives where nothing that came before really matters,” he said. “I challenge all of you to make the most of it and be who you want to be. If there’s something you want, let that be your driving force.”

Jake Braithwaite, S.J., GABELLI ‘11, GSAS ‘15, who was selected as the Alumnus of the Year, harmonized with Brandon’s observation that who they were before graduation is not who they were about to become. He had no designs on becoming a priest after graduating from business school, he said. Though, much to his surprise, his education revealed itself to be incredibly useful in his chosen trade. 

While teaching math at a local Bronx grade school, he helped the school balance spreadsheets to pave the way for a school lunch program. Braithwaite said his business education has served him in ways he never expected, particularly after taking a vow of poverty–something his students have picked up on. Using the Bronx vernacular for money, i.e.-”bread,” the young people have taken to calling him “Jake-no-bread” behind his back. 

He said he has embraced his new name. 

“You’re all going to be called to new names,” he said. “For some of you that name is going to be Madame President and for some of you it’s going to be dad and for some of you it’s going to be in some crypto language that hasn’t been invented yet,” he said.  “But that true name is the way you are going to be remembered for all time how you will be remembered, perhaps for all time.”

He told the students that from this day forward their Fordham experience is their backstory. 

“I want you to hold on to today as a way that God is planting seeds so that that new name can bear beautiful flowers and will grow into history. I know it because I’ve seen it happen to me and I’ve seen it happen to my classmates from Fordham,” he said. So, Know that I worship the way that God is already at work in you and I pray for the ways that God will continue to work in utterly surprising ways in you.” 

The FCLC Alumni Chair Award was given to graduating senior Lindsey Fritz, who was lauded as a “phenomenal ambassador for the Fordham community,” an energetic mentor for first-year students, and an enthusiastic team member at alumni events.

Awards were also given to students who’d excelled in disciplines ranging from the arts and sciences to the social sciences and the humanities. Four of them shared their thoughts about what their field meant to them.

Back On Stage

Marley Poku-Kankam, a junior enrolled in the Ailey/Fordham BFA program in dance who was asked to speak about the arts, said she was honored to be part of a community that has persevered, grown, and thrived. Attending the annual BFA benefit concert when it returned for in-person performances on May 2 after a three-year hiatus brought it all home for her.

“My heart lit up when I saw my friends and colleagues dance on the stage again. I was a volunteer at the event, and I was beyond amazed and inspired by the dancers,” she said.

“Cheering on my fellow artists reminded me how lucky we are to be doing what we love on one of the most unique college campuses in one of the most creative cities in the world.”

Shannon Rao, who would graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature, talked about how the humanities gave her the ability to read with a critical eye and communicate effectively with specific audiences.

“The humanities have given me the skills to interact with the world, to understand it, and to, in my own small way, work to change it,” she said.

“I wanted to deeply examine this world that we live in, in my case through the lens of literature.”

‘Something Slightly Magical and Incongruous’

Batool Adelhafez, an anthropology and psychology major who was asked to speak about the social sciences, said she was grateful that her professors addressed fundamental issues of neocolonialism, capitalism, and stubborn barriers to mental health access. As a queer Arab woman, she noted that her identities naturally intersected with her studies.

“In one semester, I had a class on psychopathology, and I had another class on global South megacities. Within these two classes, I drew connections between mental health disparities among the displaced, dispossessed, and marginalized communities,” she said.

“One of the most persistent lessons that FCLC has taught me is that no matter what I should do in life, I should do good for others and help those who need it.”

Vincenzo Harty, an integrated neuroscience and French studies major, joked that he was surprised to be asked to speak about the sciences, as he was “possibly the least science-y of science people,” and spent as much time around the arts as he did the science lab.

He credited Jason Morris, Ph.D., professor of biology, for introducing him both to Fordham and to integrated neuroscience.

“The science department here at Lincoln Center is unique and wonderful. It’s a great group of faculty and students who all feel like a family,” he said.

“There’s something slightly magical, and perhaps incongruous as well, in undertaking biology experiments in labs on the eighth floor of a Manhattan skyscraper with a view of the performing arts capital of the world outside the window.”

A First for FCLC

It was the first time FCLC held an awards ceremony prior to Commencement. When Laura Auricchio, Ph.D., became dean of the school in 2019, she learned that, unlike Fordham’s other undergraduate schools, FCLC’s awards had been presented at their diploma ceremony. She vowed to change that—starting in June 2020.

“Apparently, COVID had other plans for all of us,” Auricchio said to laughs from the crowd. “But after multiple false starts, here we are, three years later, belatedly fulfilling that promise.”

Keynote speaker Daejah Woolery, a creative writing and film major, drew parallels between college and a four-season television show.

“Though each of our foundations is different, altered by our backgrounds and our hearts, they all have something in common. We chose Fordham, and with that foundation, we built a series one day, month, and semester at a time,” she said.

Awards vs. Rewards

She encouraged her classmates to consider the difference between an award and a reward.

“An award is given in recognition of an achievement. A reward happens as a result of passion. Sometimes it’s given, and other times it’s completely intrinsic to the experience. Each of the awards given here tonight detail an achievement we should be proud of, remember, and celebrate,” she said.

The joy of making it to the end of “the season” and recalling how they made it, she said, is also a reward in and of itself.

“This intangible celebration, the electricity in the air as graduation nears, the reasons we never stopped going. … We did it. We did it. We won.”

“Thank you for making this finale as rewarding as it was exciting.”

“As you will soon find out, your service will be a transformational experience,” said Lt. Gen. Maria R. Gervais, a highly decorated 35-year Army officer who serves as deputy commanding general and chief of staff with the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia.

As Army officers, she said, “you will practice leadership each and every day, in everything you do.”

“You will lead the best soldiers in the world, and they will be hungry, hungry, for your leadership,” Gervais said. “My advice to you is even on your worst day, your worst day, it must be the best day for the soldiers that you lead. Each and every day, you should strive to be a leader that inspires your soldiers.”

It was the 93rd commissioning ceremony for the Fordham University Army Reserve Officer Training Corps, also known as the Yankee Battalion. The program trains cadets from Fordham and other New York-area universities; nine of this year’s cadets were graduating from Fordham.

It was also the last commissioning ceremony for Joseph M. McShane, S.J., who is stepping down as president of Fordham at the end of June. In his own remarks, Father McShane lauded the cadets for being leaders and role models on their respective campuses.

“You have spent long hours in drills. You have spent your summers not at the Jersey Shore but in camps where you rubbed shoulders with other young women and men for whom the service of others is a passion and service of our nation is a sacred vocation,” he said.

“On behalf of the proud and grateful universities that you represent, I would like to thank you for being a leaven in all of the collegiate communities in which you have lived,” he said. “I find myself awestruck whenever I see you, and whenever I think of what it is that you wish to do with and through your service of our country and the world.”

Honoring Father McShane

Michael K. Hoblin Sr., FCRH ’91, GSAS ’03, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, former professor of military science with Fordham ROTC, and president of the Fordham Veteran Alumni Chapter, praised Father McShane for all he had done to advance the program and raise its national profile.

Father McShane was presented with the President’s Saber from the original Fordham ROTC class of 1929, which alumni located for the occasion. “I respectfully request that this saber … be displayed in your office for years to come,” Hoblin said, calling it “a token of our gratitude for all you have done for Fordham, the Fordham ROTC program, and our country.”

At the same time, Father McShane was announced as the first recipient of a new award, the Father Joseph McShane, S.J., Award for Outstanding Faculty and Administrative Support to ROTC.

Among other awards to distinguished cadets, Elizabeth Thomas, of Columbia University, was presented with a separate President’s Saber that is given to a graduating cadet every year; Olivia McNeil, of Fordham, was given the General Jack Keane Distinguished Graduate award, named for the retired general and 1966 Fordham graduate.

Gervais was presented with a Yankee Battalion shillelagh—or traditional Irish fighting stick—of the type awarded to cadets.

‘You Are Ready’

In her address, Gervais told the cadets to “listen to your NCOs and veteran service members, because great officers learn to listen, and continually learn in order to lead,” she said.

She addressed the cadets’ families as well. “These young men and women represent the very best of our nation. These young men and women have decided to serve the people of the United States and defend the Constitution, and that speak volumes about the strength of their character, a strength of character I know was instilled in them by you.”

“They made it to this point in their lives because of the … values you instilled in them—values like loyalty, integrity, duty, honor, and country. We owe you a sincere thanks and a debt of gratitude for supporting your cadet’s decision to serve in … the best trained, the best equipped, the best fighting force, and the most respected force, in the world.”

Among her final words to the cadets? “You are ready.”

“You have achieved so much in such a short period of time,” she said. “In the process, you gained confidence in yourself, in others, and in your team. You have learned self-discipline and what it takes to be the best you can.”

“You persevered during the perfect storm” of the COVID-19 pandemic and a national reckoning with racial inequities, José Luis Alvarado, Ph.D., dean of the Graduate School of Education (GSE), told them during the May 23 ceremony on the University’s Rose Hill campus.

“The path you chose was tough, yet the skills you developed—resourcefulness, tenacity, resilience, and patience—will serve you well in your professional career. … As GSE alumni,” he added, “you are equipped with the tools to promote a just society and to advance educational and social equity.”

For Ever Ramirez, the sense of solidarity Alvarado described was palpable.

“All these people right here who I’m graduating with—they’re my people,” said Ramirez, who earned a master’s degree in school counseling. “I know everyone here is going to support me.”

Ramirez, who started as a part-time student in the program, will begin working as a counselor at Tompkins Square Middle School in Manhattan this fall. “It’s been four long years, and it’s not just [about]me. It’s the people who have been helping me through it: my parents, my fiancée. They’re honestly more excited than I am.”

A ‘Sympathetic and Caring’ Faculty

Several graduates noted how Fordham faculty members not only imparted their expertise in the classroom but also acted as mentors who provided space for making connections, even as classes shifted to meeting online.

“The professors were so sympathetic and caring about our days, so there was a lot of catching up on our weeks” during online sessions, said Coleen Clarke, an assistant teacher at an early childhood center in the Bronx who graduated from the curriculum and teaching master’s program. “I loved all of my professors, each and every one of them. I gained so much from all of them.”

For Teresa Garofalow, online classes were part of the plan from the outset. She graduated from the online master’s program in childhood special education, earning an M.S.T. and certification in both childhood education and teaching students with disabilities in childhood. But she said that faculty support was essential in making things go smoothly.

“I loved my adviser, Annie George-Puskar,” said Garofalow, who works at a private school that emphasizes applied behavior analysis. “She was really easy to get a hold of and talk to with any issue I had. She became my

adviser mid-program, which was honestly really helpful, because I felt I was a little lost. She was a huge help in getting me in the right direction.”

An Accelerated Path to the Classroom

The diploma ceremony marked the second Fordham graduation in three years for Jazmin Nazario.

Three years ago, as a Fordham junior, the Red Hook, Brooklyn, native enrolled in the Graduate School of Education’s accelerated master’s in teaching program. She had been serving as an AP calculus instructor in Fordham’s STEP program, and she knew she wanted to become a math teacher. Nazario began taking graduate courses while completing her bachelor’s degree at Fordham College at Lincoln Center in 2020. That same year, she joined the faculty at Icahn Charter School 6 in the Bronx, where she teaches math to seventh- and eighth-graders.

“What was nice about the accelerated program was Fordham was already familiar to me,” Nazario said, noting that she had the chance to work with her graduate adviser, Alesia Moldavan, Ph.D., as an undergraduate researcher. “It didn’t feel like I had to start over. I already had familiar faces, so it was like keeping it going instead of starting from scratch.”

Bridging a ‘Gap of Inequity’ in Mental Health Services

Ricardo Perez, who graduated from GSE’s bilingual school psychology advanced certificate program, said that one of his professors—Yi Ding, Ph.D.—became a familiar face as soon as he looked into attending Fordham.

“She was at my open house,” Perez said of Ding. “She was actually the person who sold me on Fordham. I credit her with my decision to go here. She’s also been a huge pillar of support. She recommended I apply for scholarships [that I got], so I’m in a great position because of her.”

Perez is currently interning at P.S. 142 Amalia Castro on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, and he is applying to full-time positions as a bilingual school psychologist for the fall. He said he was motivated to become a school psychologist because of his experiences with a younger brother with autism and because of his own childhood ADHD diagnosis. While completing childhood clinical psychology internships as an undergrad at NYU, he realized he wanted to work in a public school. Doing so would offer him a greater opportunity to serve children who have fewer resources, he said.

“The first point of mental health contact is schools, public schools specifically. I wanted to bridge that gap of inequity in mental health services.”

In the Service of Others

Better serving children—a goal at the heart of so much of the work being done by GSE students, faculty, and graduates—was the reason that Melissa Szymanski enrolled in the school’s doctoral program in educational leadership, administration, and policy.

“I consider myself the lead learner of my organization,” said Szymanski, an assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in Westchester County, New York. “So everything that I’ve done through this program is really in service to my own learning, in contribution to my organization, and in support of the children.”

That sense of service and dedication is what made Joseph M. McShane, president of Fordham, refer to the graduates as “brave oddities.”

“More precisely, you are saving and heroic oddities,” he said in his address to graduates. “You are not in a profession that you will spend your lives in for either money or glory. Rather, you are a reckless bunch who put the welfare of those in your care above your own. … I am jealous of the students whom you will teach.”