This more numbers-focused branch of the field, along with an interest in how resources, capital, and labor moved throughout the world economy, led Woodard to spend more time analyzing markets and investments.

“One of the ways that I found my way into finance was through curiosity about political philosophy and issues around global justice,” Woodard says. “One of the things that you talk about if you’re talking about John Rawls or Karl Marx or other political philosophers is questions of justice and distribution. And so I got more and more interested in learning macroeconomics and learning about how global markets worked.”

Woodard, who earned a master’s degree in theology from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland before enrolling at Fordham, believes that the breadth and plurality of Fordham’s philosophy department made this kind of shift in focus possible, noting that its emphasis on history and interdisciplinary thought made it unique among doctoral programs.

“I think they were one of the relatively few philosophy departments that still had their students take comprehensive exams covering the whole history of philosophy, from the ancients all the way through to the modern time,” Woodard recalls. “The requirement to be familiar with ancient philosophy and medieval philosophy, as well as modern and contemporary periods, meant that we were able to understand the common threads and through lines that have driven human inquiry throughout the ages,” a skill that plays out in his analysis of market trends and their context.

Building a Career, Finding Optimism

While pursuing his doctorate and with his growing interest in global markets, Woodard founded both Condor Options, a firm where he tested investment strategies on large data sets, as well as the publication Expiring Monthly, where he wrote about research into options and volatility trading strategies. This experience led him to post-Ph.D. jobs as a senior equity derivatives strategist at BGC Partners and a global investment strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. His current role, which he began in October 2019, is as head of the research investment committee at Bank of America.

“My task is to help investors think about where to allocate their investments toward different asset classes, like stocks or bonds,” Woodard explains. “And to do that, a big part of my job is to try to make sense of what’s happening in the global economy and in the global market.”

While 2020 has presented challenges, including economic volatility, in the U.S. and throughout the world, Woodard says that there is reason for optimism when it comes to financial markets.

“There are so many people who are eager to make a contribution,” he says. “And if you get help to the people who need it, if you get resources to the students who want to learn, and training to the workers who want to work, I’m incredibly optimistic about the potential of the United States as an economy and as a culture.

“One of our big themes in our department is on the shift from globalization to more local and regional forms of production,” he adds, “being more thoughtful about where we produce things and how we produce them and who produces them. And if those trends continue and you start to see this more thoughtful shift … they can have some really positive implications for markets and investments.”

Maintaining Connections and Offering Help

Woodard has stayed involved with Fordham as a member of the Dean’s Leadership Committee at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and he has come back to campus to speak to students about postgraduate career paths beyond academia. He has also stayed in touch with a number of his professors and friends made through the program, including Joseph Koterski, S.J., associate professor of philosophy and editor in chief of International Philosophical Quarterly.

“Whether it’s the priests on campus or the faculty, I think that there are some connections that were deep enough that I’ve been really fortunate to maintain,” Woodard says. “Current students will reach out from time to time, whether for advice or connections, and I’m always happy to help in that way when I can.”

Each alumnus will be honored during the annual Fordham University Alumni Association Recognition (FUAA) Reception, to be held virtually on Thursday, January 21. The two award winners were nominated by their peers and selected by FUAA Advisory Board members.

Di Giorgio, so surprised he would be receiving the Ram of the Year Award—given to a graduate who has enhanced the reputation of the University through their professional achievements, personal accomplishments, and loyal service to Fordham—was convinced he’d been notified accidentally. He said he read the email three times, initially assuming he was cc’d as an alumni chapter leader and that another Mark was the winner. It wasn’t until he checked the list of email recipients that it started to sink in.

“I don’t know if I’ve been in the running before or been considered. So, it was a complete shock,” he said. Di Giorgio added that for him it was one of few “shining stars of 2020.”

Sarwar said he felt that same shock and was “extremely humbled” when he learned he’d won the Trailblazer Award, which is presented to a graduate from the past 10 years who has demonstrated outstanding dedication to Fordham and whose leadership has inspired fellow alumni.

“There are a lot of young alumni who are doing a lot of great stuff, so I definitely feel very thankful to the University for this recognition,” he said.

Building New Ties, Finding Camaraderie

Di Giorgio and Sarwar both have years of supporting Fordham under their belts, albeit in different ways.

Now a financial analyst at Bank of America, Di Giorgio initially found it hard to maintain a connection to the Fordham community after he moved from New Jersey to California in 1996, a professional move he thought would be relatively short-term—and then he found the Alumni Chapter of Northern California.

He joined the chapter’s leadership board and in just a year was nominated to serve as president, a role he’s held for almost 15 years. During that time, he has helped revamp events to engage a wider group of people, especially younger alumni. In the spirit of engaging alumni who are physically distant from Fordham but still identify as New Yorkers, he’s even created a bocce team, the Bronx Ballers, that competes in San Francisco’s Ferry Bocce league. “It turns out we get enough people to participate in the league three times a year. … People ask, ‘Are we playing again? Are we doing this again?’”

“A lot of people, they don’t get back to New York, and this was one way that they still connect with Fordham,” he said. “So, it’s the satisfaction of the alumni engaging, not necessarily [with]Fordham but [with each other]for the camaraderie.”

In a normal year, the chapter would hold a number of in-person events, from an end-of-the-year Christmas dinner to attending sports games and more. But “COVID-19 has thrown a wrench into everything,” Di Giorgio said.

“I’m optimistic that one day soon—within three months, six months—that I’ll be able to shake the hands, hug the people that I haven’t been able to in a year,” he said.

Education as ‘Silver Bullet’ for Socioeconomic Mobility

Sarwar, whose family immigrated to the U.S. from Pakistan when he was in eighth grade, believes in the power of education and the opportunities it affords people. He attended Fordham thanks to the Thomas G. Labrecque Smart Start Program, which included a full four-year scholarship to the University and an internship with JPMorgan Chase while he was a student.

“My father spent most of his adult life getting the rest of his family to this country because he believed in the educational opportunities that America had to offer,” Sarwar said, adding that his own goal is to try to help provide educational opportunities to others. He sees higher education as “the silver bullet to help people transcend socioeconomic backgrounds and ensure mobility in our very fast-changing world.”

Now six years into his tenure at JPMorgan Chase as a risk associate in asset management, Sarwar is passionate about paying it forward. He’s been a member of Fordham’s Young Alumni Committee since graduating, and he’s also chaired its philanthropy subcommittee twice. He said the committee is a great way to stay in touch with recent alumni and identify ways they can give back to Fordham.

“Their time, their thoughts, their ideas, their feedback to the University [are]extremely critical, especially because it’s the most fresh batch of feedback we can get,” he said. “Relaying [that feedback]to the appropriate administrators and making sure that it’s part of what the Fordham administration considers to make changes has been very rewarding.”

Through Fordham’s Social Innovation Collaboratory, Sarwar uses his specific career experience as a risk associate to mentor current Fordham students interested in entrepreneurship. “Trying to implement that kind of thinking to entrepreneurship, I feel, is a good way I can give back.”

Mission-Motivated

Fordham’s spirit, values, and mission sit at the center of both Di Giorgio’s and Sarwar’s efforts. “Being a mission-oriented university, I think, really helps us continue to make those bonds stronger,” Sarwar said. “I got to go to the University with a scholarship. I got to meet some of the best people ever, and if I can help other people do that, that’s what [I’m] inclined to do.”

For Di Giorgio, who lives across the country from many of his family and friends, maintaining a sense of connection to his alma mater and the “Go Rams” Fordham spirit is crucial.

“What I can think of and touch and feel, it’s the friendships I have,” Di Giorgio said. “They’re lifelong friendships, and I think it’s because Fordham draws the same types of person at its core. So I’ve had friends for 50 years, but the ones I call and stay in touch with—send Christmas cards to—are my Fordham roommates.”

Typically held in person, this year’s FUAA Recognition Reception will be held virtually due to COVID-19. Sarwar and Di Giorgio will receive engraved awards ahead of the virtual reception, which will also feature a sweepstakes open to all attendees.

Visit Forever Fordham to learn more and register to attend the January 21 event.

“I’m not coming from a background where my entire family is doing finance,” he said. But some of the other students, he noticed, had been exposed to the fields of corporate banking and hedge funds because of their families’ experience in the field.

So Li, an international student originally from Shanghai, decided to learn everything he could from his classmates—from etiquette to insight into how financial markets work. Many of them, he said, began interning as early as freshman year.

“They had their part-time career, part-time jobs—and I was kind of jealous, honestly,” he said. “So that really pressured me a little bit, but at the same time, it encouraged me to do a better job.”

He continued applying throughout sophomore year, and landed an internship at Aflac. Around that time, he also began working with Jennifer O’Neil, associate director of career advising in the Gabelli School’s’s Personal and Professional Development office, who helped him improve his resume and tell his own story better.

“Before he even came to see me, he had gotten his first internship at Aflac and he did a great job of [not just]taking…an internship but leveraging his foreign language skills and coming up with an idea to penetrate the Chinese business community for [Aflac’s] products,” O’Neil said. “He’s just always thinking outside the box.”

This thinking allowed him not just to add an internship to his resume, O’Neil said, but “add value to Aflac in a way that another intern couldn’t.”

O’Neil said that her biggest role was helping Li take the skills he had acquired from Aflac, his work in school, and other hobbies and showcase them on his resume to highlight his unique interests, which extended beyond finance and academics. His first year on campus, he auditioned for the Fordham University Choir.

“When I went to the audition, I did not expect that it would be for this formal University choir,” he said with a laugh. “I thought it was a club, somewhere that could give you some kind of lesson—Justin Bieber, Justin Timberlake, Eminem, something like that.”

Li said that he was the only one who hadn’t been singing since high school or middle school, but after the director took a chance on him, he decided to stick with it for all four years.

“I learn very quickly. I think that’s one of the things the director [saw in]me” he said.

It’s that dedication that helped him land a summer internship his junior year with Bank of America as a fulfillment, service, and operations analyst.

“I was lucky enough to get a return offer from them,” he said.

After Li graduates, he’ll be starting as a full-time corporate banking analyst at their headquarters in Shanghai.

“I will be covering multinational corporations’ subsidiaries that are operating in Asia, in China, who have a revenue of $2 billion and above as well as some local corporations,” he said.

O’Neil said, often international students have to work hard to overcome some of the challenges they face, such as language barriers or lack of familiarity with the country. Li was a great example of how that hard work can pay off, she said.

“I tell a lot of the international students—get on the treadmill next to your American counterparts and put the incline on 10 and put the speed about two miles per hour faster than them, because that’s how much harder you’re going to have to work,” she said. “And he did it.”

Li said that he was grateful for the support from Fordham faculty and staff, like O’Neil, as well as the unique education Fordham offers.

“Studying in the city at Fordham Gabelli, you’re able to talk to people from all over the world; being able to emerge from such an environment has definitely broadened my horizons and given me more insight from different people of different backgrounds.”