They were there to present their marketing ideas to 30 executives from the New York Giants organization. The presentation was a culmination of a study they did on ways to enhance the fan experience on game day and increase the appeal of the game to a younger generation.

The student team, known as the Giant Rams, featured Fordham College at Rose Hill sophomores Emma Kimble and Hayley Gregoire as well as freshman Demarice Rice-Williams, who is also a member of Fordham’s football team. The Gabelli School of Business was represented by sophomores Laura Anandappa and Matthew Reese and freshman Alexa Luther.

Pitching Nostalgia

The students pitched the idea of Throwback Thursday, which they connected to the elevation of past Giants’ triumphs. It features what is known as physical and digital “touchpoints,” said Kimble. That could be retro uniforms that fans can purchase or history-based trivia featured on the team’s social media accounts.

Kimble—an Austin, Texas, native—is currently one of the managers of Fordham’s football team and grew up watching Big 10 football with her father, who attended the University of Michigan. She recruited the other members of the team, which, rules stipulated, had to feature members from at least two different colleges.

“This may sound super cheesy, but it felt like the beginning of my future. This could be a big opportunity for my career,” said Kimble, an American studies and communications and media studies.

“I was scared because these are people I look up to, and I knew this was something I want to do, so there was that element of fear. But that translated into excitement when we pulled up it off.”

Before the students could share their thoughts on Throwback Thursday at the Legends Suite, they had to best four teams of their fellow students from Fordham’s four undergraduate colleges. After presenting their idea to a panel of Fordham administrators in early March, the winning team worked with Annette McLaughlin, director of career services, to tweak it based on the judges’ feedback.

At the stadium, they shared a PowerPoint presentation, fielded questions, and sat for a round-table-style Q&A with a select group of Giants executives.

‘Hard to Replicate’

Reese, a native of Weddington, North Carolina, who is majoring in information systems, played football in middle school and high school and is a fan of the Carolina Panthers and the New England Patriots. His team loyalty took a back seat to the opportunity to learn about the inner workings of a professional sports team though.

“When we won, it felt like, ‘Wow, this is legit.’ Going to MetLife Stadium and standing in front of a group of executives is going to be hard to replicate,” he said.

“A couple of the executives were like, ‘Hey, feel free to reach out; here’s my business card.’ I haven’t seen a business card in probably two years. It was just so nice to have that in-person interaction.”

Gregoire, a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, majoring in communications and Spanish, said working on the project gave her a better appreciation of the power of nostalgia. Although she has typically taken the lead on similar projects in the past, working as a team under Kimble was also gratifying, she said.

“It was really satisfying to do this massive project over three months, put in a lot of hard work and effort, collaborate with the team, and then present this really awesome idea and see the judges love it,” she said.

Research, Presence, and Hard Work

McLaughlin said the presentation was especially impressive given the fact that the work was not affiliated with any class the students were taking.

“I’m always just so impressed with the Fordham students and how they’re able to do the research and then have the presence to stand up in front of a group of executives and articulate their findings,” she said.

Even the students who don’t ultimately present their ideas to the Giants are getting something valuable out of the experience she said.

“All students who participate in the competition have a real-life experience they can put on the resume; they’ve done the research, created the presentations, worked as a team,” she said.

A Partnership that Goes ‘Above and Beyond’

The initiative was part of a partnership between Fordham and the Giants that kicked off in 2019 and most recently featured a joint service project to help residents of the Bronx affected by the Jan. 9 fire on East 181st.

McLaughlin said the partnership is a university-wide initiative that has been more than she’d hoped for.

“[The Giants] have gone above and beyond at every point. They come to career fairs, they join us for panels, this year they had the VP of business intelligence talk to students about data collection,” she said.

Amanda DiPane, manager of partnership activation for the Giants, said the case studies have been invaluable because students bring with them an outsider’s perspective. Tapping into nostalgia was an astute move, she said, given the fact that the team will be celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2025.

“The students were very thoughtful and answered all questions with ease in a manner that showcased the extensive research they conducted over the past few months,” she said.

“We love tapping into our team’s rich history and it was promising to hear that even the younger generation appreciates that as well.”

Kimble will be even more involved in those conversations going forward, as she will begin an internship with the team at the end of the month.

“This was probably one of the best experiences I’ve had at Fordham,” she said.

Fordham and the New York Giants, two institutions with deep connections to New York football and each other, will team up on an array of initiatives after signing a formal partnership this summer. Benefits will include academic offerings for students and exposure for the University.

“Our identity has been tied to the gridiron since the 1920s, with Fordham’s ‘Seven Blocks of Granite’ dominating the sport in the 1930s, and John Mara is of course a distinguished Fordham Law alumnus,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham.

“We are therefore pleased to deepen our family connection to the Giants and excited to enter a partnership with the team that will be mutually beneficial.”

The partnership has the potential to result in new academic programs and new initiatives in the areas of community service, student enrollment, fundraising, alumni relations, branding, and special events.

“As a graduate of Fordham Law, I was fortunate to experience firsthand the wonderful educational opportunities that Fordham has to offer,” said John Mara, LAW ’79, president and co-owner of the New York Giants.

“This partnership will create new academic programs, student internships, and community service initiatives that will build upon and strengthen those experiences for Fordham students and our community.”

Academic Programming and Marketing

Jonathan Crystal, Ph.D., vice provost for Fordham, said there are many benefits to the new partnership.

“This initiative furthers the university’s strategy of deepening partnerships with leading New York City institutions, using them as a springboard to develop new academic programs and create unique opportunities for our students,” he said.

“It draws on our strengths across a number of different disciplines, from business and marketing to communications and media studies. It also takes Fordham’s visibility to the next level.”

The University and its programs and schools will be featured on in-stadium advertising during Giants games, as well as radio, digital, and social promotion.

Anthony R. Davidson, Ph.D., dean of Fordham’s School of Professional and Continuing Studies, said an intriguing aspect of the partnership is the way he sees Fordham leveraging it to create new academic programming in sports business at the school—potentially at the graduate level. Davidson said he’s eager to collaborate with colleagues in the department of communications and media studies, which currently offers a minor in sports journalism, and the Gabelli School of Business, which offers a concentration in sports business.

“I think this allows for us to develop our offerings in sports, an area of interest for many students,” he said, noting that the opportunities in the field extend far beyond working for individual teams or leagues.

Davidson said also he expects that members of the Giants organization will likewise take advantage of continuing education opportunities that Fordham offers.

Internships and Class Projects

This semester, three students will be interning with the team. Annette McLaughlin, director of Fordham’s Office of Career Services, said the internships—in departments such as corporate partnerships, premium services, and media production—are well aligned with the academic interests of Fordham students.

“Career success depends on two things: connections and experience, which includes the classroom, internships, volunteer work, and campus leadership roles. Fordham does an amazing job on the academic side with projects and presentations. We prepare the students by helping them connect their experiences inside and outside the classroom for future employment,” she said.

“Our role is to facilitate and create opportunities that connect students to employers and introduce them to a variety of career options. The Giants internships really match well with the knowledge, skills, and interests of our students and will no doubt help them as they begin their next chapter.”

Students will also be able to work with the Giants in the classroom through a class project. The project, which will be treated like a case study, will bring together an interdisciplinary group of students to work on a business challenge. Students will have the opportunity to make a presentation to the Giants’ management team. The agreement will also bring Giants executives into the classroom for guest lectures.

Jeffrey L. Gray, senior vice president for student affairs at Fordham, called the agreement “a team effort.”

“It involved genuine collaboration by many individuals and units across the University and in the Giants organization,” he said.

“The process is a model for how to get complex projects across the goal line, and I am grateful for the time and effort put in by everyone in both organizations.”

Partnering on Community Service

Beyond the classroom and the field, the two organizations will pursue community service projects together. The Giants will support Fordham students as they assist in community service projects such as clothing drives for the homeless, food delivery to those in need on holidays, and visits to children in hospitals.

A Long History Together

Fordham and the Giants have shared many connections through the years. Wellington Mara, the son of the team’s founder, Tim Mara, graduated from Fordham College at Rose Hill in 1937. His classmate, Fordham football legend Vince Lombardi, got his start in the NFL as an assistant coach with the team. Several executives in the Giants organization are Fordham graduates. And Bob Papa, the radio voice of the Giants, who has broadcast the team’s games since 1995, is a 1986 graduate of Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business.

That is why, according to Annette McLaughlin, newly appointed director of Fordham’s Office of Career Services, career preparedness is critical for today’s college students, and can start as early as freshman year.

“Preparation for the workplace changed significantly after the 2008 financial crisis,” said McLaughlin, who took over the role in July after serving as interim director since February. “The global workforce needs to understand they are going to work for 20-plus employers over the course of their careers, and they’ll be changing roles on an ongoing basis.”

McLaughlin brings an appreciation for both business and arts and sciences. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in health from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill with an emphasis on nutrition, and an MBA in Personnel and Employee Relations from Georgia State University’s Mack Robinson School of Business. She began her management career at Spherion, a global recruiting and consulting firm, where she rose to director of Global Accounts and Training and Development and partnership director for the Goldman Sachs account. She later worked as vice president of Talent-Coaching and Outplacement for The Response Companies recruitment firm.

Since February, McLaughlin has taken up several new initiatives:

• increasing student engagement, with emphasis on reaching students beginning their freshman year;
• expanding employer relations initiatives by increasing relationships with targeted employers in high demand fields;
• reviewing industry trends and aligning programming to meet future world of work demands, particularly working with deans, faculty, and staff;
• achieving a 95 to 100 percent knowledge rate of graduate outcomes, with an emphasis to create as many opportunities for our students

No stranger to the University, McLaughlin’s relationship with Fordham goes back a decade. She served as Fordham’s alumni career coach from 2008 to 2011, and has been a career adviser at the Gabelli School of Business since 2010.

“I see Fordham’s Career Services as the center of collaboration,” she said. “Our first line is students, but we have active partnerships with the alumni community, the Fordham Parent’s Leadership Council, the deans and faculty, and the marketplace, where we’re talking to employers daily.”

Today’s college graduates entering the job market need to be tech-savvy, have a global perspective, and possess skills needed for the growth industries—science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM), said McLaughlin.

“You have to add in the arts because the new world of work requires core competencies to be successful: communication, collaboration, problem solving, critical thinking, flexibility, and technology skills—all of which are the framework of our career planning model, Fordham Futures.”

For these reasons, McLaughlin said, a Fordham education serves job seekers well because these competencies are the foundation of a liberal arts education. Her office is working with deans and faculty to strategically align its efforts with the academic curriculum.

“A liberal arts background is so important, and too often it is missing from other schools and other graduates,” she said. “A Fordham education provides students the tools to articulate their value in the workplace and their career goals. Every organization is looking for candidates who can answer the question why they want to work for them.”

In addition, a Fordham degree brings the Fordham network. “Our alumni are uniquely generous with their time and talent, and [are] devoted to our students’ career success,” she said. “The Fordham brand is powerful.”

McLaughlin heads a department that serves more than 10,000 students and alumni annually. Fordham students have been hired by NBC Universal, Goldman Sachs, Teach for America, the Big 4 accounting firms, and many other industry leaders.

“We are excited to continue to serve the students, alumni and employers, and develop our services to meet the constantly changing needs.”

Alumni relations offers several specialized services for all alumni who need assistance finding work, changing jobs, networking, polishing their interview skills, updating their resume, and much more—all free of charge.

The services include career development workshops, individual counseling, and a monthly career support group hosted by two Fordham alumni.

“Alumni need an objective sounding board—whether it’s updating their resumes, learning about growth fields and how to align their skills with them, or how to use social media,” said Annette McLaughlin, who hosts the workshops and offers personal coaching and referral services.

McLaughlin has more than 20 years of experience working with job seekers. Prior to starting her own consulting firm, she was vice president of talent at the Response Companies, a recruiting and advisory services firm. Since 2008, she has been helping Fordham University’s alumni with their career needs.

“I offer a broader perspective,” said McLaughlin, who has an M.B.A. in personnel and employee relations from Georgia State University. “I can show alumni different routes they can take with their career paths.”

She hosts four workshops on career development each semester—at the Westchester and Lincoln Center campuses—covering such topics as defining a personal brand and an “elevator pitch,” and making the most of connections and networking events. She also provides individual coaching to alumni of the Graduate School of Business Administration.

McLaughlin also emphasizes that LinkedIn can be an effective tool for career support. The alumni-driven Fordham University Alumni Networking Association LinkedIn group offers an online resource for alumni to network, set up discussion groups, and exchange ideas. The 11,000-member group includes alumni from a variety of industries—from law to public relations.

In addition to the workshops, alumni can benefit from individual counseling with Jorimel Zaldivar, a career counselor based at the Lincoln Center campus. With a master’s in counseling for mental health and wellness and a certificate in career planning and development from New York University, he also brings to Fordham more than 10 years of experience. Zaldivar provides one-on-one counseling and career assessments for Fordham’s undergraduate students and alumni of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

“It’s very person-centered,” he said. “Wherever alumni are in their career process, I help find out what they want to do, how to transition to another career area, review their resume, or offer advice on networking and interviewing skills.”

Networking skills, he said, are a key component to the job search process—a component that many alumni can find challenging.

“Alumni are very curious about how to network,” he said, but one of the only ways for alumni “or any job seeker to advance is to have some face time with their fellow professionals in the field. It’s very important.”

Zaldivar offers about 26 counseling appointments per week to students and alumni throughout the year.

“We want it known that the service is available. We like to help those who need the help,” he said. “The job search can be very tough and alumni don’t have to go through it alone.”

Alumni can also get help from fellow Fordham alumni Nick O’Neill, FCRH ’55, and Bob Miller, FCRH ’55, who have been sharing their advice and professional expertise through the Career Continuance Support Group for 17 years.

O’Neill and Miller founded the group in 1995, one year after O’Neill, an independent insurance broker, was seeking a new job. He contacted former classmate Miller, a principal in a New Jersey-based career outplacement and consulting service firm, for help, and when O’Neill landed a job, the two decided to help others benefit from the strength of the Fordham alumni network.

Over the many years, the two men have helped hundreds of Fordham alumni and friends who are out of work, contemplating a career change, or searching for more meaningful employment. The group’s sessions, held on the last Saturday of each month at the Lincoln Center campus, cover resume writing, interviewing, and many other topics.

“We get a lot out of this, too,” said O’Neill. “It’s amazing to see the growth [of the University], and to still be a part of it.”

Zaldivar added: “We try to communicate to students that Fordham is always here for you.”

Visit the alumni events calendar for more information on Annette McLaughlin’s upcoming workshop, and on the next Career Continuance Support Group meeting.

To set up a session with Jorimel Zaldivar, e-mail [email protected] or call 212-636-6280.