But when the 71,000-square-foot, four-story addition to the McGinley Center officially opens today, Feb. 1, it will introduce to the Fordham community a radically different sort of space, filled with places to relax, recharge, and connect.

Get Your Sweat On

One of the highlights of this new building addition will be the expanded fitness center, which at 20,000 square feet occupies the lower level of both the new building addition and the existing McGinley Center. The brand new, brightly lit space, which is illuminated by both overhead lighting and sunlight from ceiling windows facing the front of the building, is dedicated to 100 pieces of state-of-the-art weight-training equipment. The existing space will continue to be used for cardio equipment, assuring shorter wait times. One of the newest pieces of equipment is a climbing simulator known as a Jacob’s Ladder. (The fitness center is currently operating at reduced capacity due to COVID-19 regulations.)

Eagle-eyed visitors heading to a newly offered yoga session in one of the two new classrooms might notice that the arches of the original McGinley Center have been left as unfinished concrete, not painted white like the rest of the wall. It’s a small, subtle touch meant to acknowledge the past, said Larry Peifer, the lead designer for architecture firm HLW International LLP. A similar sensibility influenced the choice of the new addition’s Corinthian granite façade, which is the same material on the outside of the Rose Hill Gym next door.

“We’ve kind of remixed Fordham’s architectural palate. We took these materials you see elsewhere, whether its Corinthian granite, limestone terrazzo, oak, or bronze, sampled them, and used them in a new way,” he said.

A Home Away from Home

The first floor presents two distinctly different yet equally inviting common spaces: the student lounge and the gallery.

Boasting 17-foot ceilings, the lounge is an airy, semi-industrial space, with an unfinished concrete ceiling and exposed wiring above. The furnishings offer a mix of practicality and fun; sitting upon the terrazzo floor are tables, chairs, couches, a foosball table, and a pool table. Further on, a table large enough for a gathering of 16 is sectioned off by a dropdown ceiling; beyond that are private, glass-enclosed meeting rooms.

John P Gering, managing partner for HLW, said the goal for the 9,500-square-foot lounge has always been to make it feel like a place where resident and commuter students alike can mingle and relax.

“It feels less like a classroom environment. It’s very informal, there are lots of touchpoints for laptops and things of that nature,” he said.

The gallery, a multi-level glass-covered space linking together the addition with the existing McGinley Center, is open to the addition now. After the third phase of construction is complete, the walls will come down, and a newly refurbished

marketplace dining facility replacing the existing dining space will be seamlessly connected to the other spaces.

Its defining characteristic is natural light, which streams down over the two overhead walkways connecting the second floors of the new building addition and McGinley, past the 20-foot retractable movie screen hanging from the ceiling, and onto the floor and walls, where the stone engravings of the Stations of the Cross are embedded. At night, the engravings will be illuminated.

Career Services and Campus Ministry

The second floor is shared by the expanded offices of the Career Center, Campus Ministry, and the Center for Community Engaged Learning.

The new Career Center space features a lounge with a rough-hewn ceiling similar to the student lounge that’s bathed in light from windows in the front of the building. Also included in the suite are a pantry and 10 interview rooms outfitted with noise dampening panels and electronic glass walls that can be turned opaque with a light switch. Career services director Annette McLaughlin said in a 2020 interview that it’s her intention that the department is “a destination, not a checklist,” for students.

“I want to create a career center for cura personalis. This is all about mind, body, and spirit as it relates to how you find your pathway in the world,” she said.

Next door is a hub for students’ quest for deeper meaning in their lives. In addition to offices, the Campus Ministry and the Center for Community Engaged Learning feature two reflection rooms, a room with a widescreen suitable for conferences, and several smaller spaces available for gatherings.

John Cecero, S.J., vice president for mission integration and ministry, said he’s excited to bring together two departments within the division that had previously been in separate spaces.

“There’s much more common space for people to use, and I think that will foster collaboration both between these two departments and with others within the University. That is a major goal for us,” he said.

A New Vista for a New Era

Arguably the most breathtaking view is from the top floor, where the 28-foot ceiling is open to the sky like the gallery next to it. The 4,390-square-foot multipurpose space also reflects Fordham’s Catholic identity, with the Stations of the Cross occupying a central place on the back wall. The views from the top floor—the New York Botanical Garden to the north, Bahoshy Field to the west, and Hughes Hall and Edwards Parade to the south—give a new perspective to a familiar locale. Embedded in the wooden drop-down ceiling are acoustic panels, audiovisual equipment, and darkening shades that can be easily deployed for presentations.

Gering said the space, which can accommodate as many as 196 people in the main room and 147 in another, smaller room, is part of the firm’s dedication to the neo-Gothic aesthetic of the Rose Hill campus. Traditional gothic buildings are built with a portal entry and a main entry next to a tower that leads to a large aisle connecting to an altar, he said. This will be the case when a glass arcade between the new building addition and the Rose Hill Gym is completed in the second phase of construction.

“As you enter the building, you enter next to a tower, which is a beacon on campus. Then you walk through the arcade, which is similar to the aisle in Gothic architecture, and rather than walking to an altar or chapel, you proceed up to the next level, which is this grand board room and multifunction room,” he said.

“This is shifting the heart of the campus. The idea is that it is truly a campus center that brings everyone together with amenities, gathering places, and wellness programs and spaces that respond to that. It’ll be the new landmark of the university.”

The new building addition is the first of three phases that the center will undergo as part of a radical transformation that will culminate in 2025. When finished, the entire project will reflect Fordham’s history while giving visitors a modern space to convene and relax.

“If it’s going to be a building that really feels like the University and is taking the University someplace new—but not someplace that it doesn’t recognize—it has to have a certain spirit and a poetic weight that feels contemporary,” Gering said.

“Fordham has such a strong history and rich personality; we didn’t want anything to feel like it was foreign.”

In 2001, after years working in television marketing, Genevieve Piturro, FCRH ’83, listened to her “heart voice” and went all-in on her newfound purpose: She founded Pajama Program, a national nonprofit that provides children with books and pajamas to promote a bedtime routine and healthy sleep hygiene, all in hopes of offering kids a bit of comfort at night and helping them thrive.

One of four kids in an Italian American family with limited finances but “a lot of love,” Piturro grew up loving bedtime for its cozy, comfortable routine; it was so ingrained that she took for granted that everyone had access to the same stable, dream-time sendoff. She learned the harsh truth years later while volunteering at a children’s shelter. One young girl’s question—“What are pajamas?”—changed everything.

Now, Piturro is a speaker and consultant, helping others listen to their own “heart voice.” During an event with students and alumni at Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus on November 18, she used the acronym PAJAMAS to describe her seven-step plan for finding and following your true purpose. She also shared highlights from her book, Purpose, Passion, and Pajamas: How to Transform Your Life, Embrace the Human Connection, and Lead with Meaning (River Grove Books, 2020).

POSSIBILITIES: Listen to your heart. There are so many possibilities.

ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS: Ask yourself what you love to do, what makes your heart sing.

JUMP OR SLIDE: A jump is what I did; I’m wired that way. But you can slide. There are ways to do that. If you slide into whatever your purpose is, even for an hour a week, it will change you.

ACTION: Take the first steps.

MAKE THE DECISION AND COMMIT: Sometimes you just have to do it afraid. Feel the fear and do it anyway. When you make your decision and you commit, it might be scary, and that’s OK.

ALWAYS BELIEVE IN YOURSELF—AND THE UNIVERSE: When you are on purpose—when you’re doing what you’re supposed to do and there’s no friction between what your head and heart are telling you—the craziest things will happen. The universe will align, people will show up, and you’ll get what you need.

SPEAK TO EVERYONE: It might be somebody great who’s going to call you up and help you, it might be someone down the street who you didn’t know could help you, but if you talk to everyone, you will be amazed at how people will rally to support you.

Learn more about alumni career support at forever.fordham.edu/career.

“Even though they’re not open and doing live performances, they are hiring people from the business world to evaluate ticket sales and people from data science, as well as people from within the theater to plan for the future, and that’s something you might not have thought of,” she said.

Theater is just one example of an industry that is hiring—and hiring for brand-new positions– despite the massive disruption caused by the pandemic. Some of the new career opportunities may seem obvious, such as jobs in technology, cybersecurity, health care, and digital media. Other fields that might not immediately come to mind, McLaughlin said, include compliance, risk management, and supply-chain data analytics.

Still, there’s no denying these are rough times for internship seekers and job searchers. But McLaughlin said Fordham students, whether they’re from in the Theatre program or majoring in economics, are well prepared for what she calls the “new now,” as opposed to the new normal.

“Nothing about the COVID-19 pandemic is normal,” she said, noting that there will be many adjustments, including, most immediately, delayed start dates and restructuring of summer internships. “But we think our students are very well-equipped for the changing landscape.”

And for those who are struggling, her office is prepared to help. While many university career service offices have moved away from counseling and shifted their focus to career advising for various industries, Fordham has maintained a blend of the two.

“A lot of our counselors have a master’s in mental health counseling,” she said, adding that they have the empathy and skills that allow them to identify students who are having a hard time in the current climate. Several counselors are equipped to identify potential issues that could make job hunting tough, and in some cases may refer students to Counseling and Psychological Services. for additional help.

Dennis Grant, senior director of the Gabelli School of Business’ Career Development Center concurred with McLaughlin that Fordham students will be ready for the changing environment, though he expects they will need to be a bit nimbler in their expectations.

“The pandemic has certainly knocked students off their strides in terms of where the world was and what career opportunities will emerge to consider. In this environment, much of our coaching is aimed at life skills: stay resilient, stay positive, think long term,” said Grant. “Students will need to be more versatile, open to a broader set of career paths and geographic locations.”

Platforms Provide Purpose

McLaughlin said the Career Service’s portal, Fordham Handshake, recently launched a dashboard summarizing the shift in job strengths so students can see exactly how many jobs exist in a specific industry. This past week Morgan Stanley posted several internships in compliance and JP Morgan Chase will be hosting “spotlights” where the firm maps out a checklist of requirements for software engineer openings, she said.

“As of now we have over 5,000 jobs that have been posted within the last 90 days,” she said. “They are on the Fordham-specific website.”

She noted that in education, K through 12 has seen a 23% increase of new jobs posted in 2020. And, not surprisingly, health care is up 28% from last year. Every day, she said, Career Services staff speaks with employers who are continuing to recruit remotely.

The future of work is McLaughlin’s area of expertise, and that perspective proved to be helpful in preparing for a more virtual hiring environment.

“This past fall most of our employers were using an online platform called HireVue, where our students had already adapted to being interviewed virtually,” she said. “Our office and the world of work have been virtual for a while. Our resources are 24/7. “

“We invested in another online platform, Big Interview, where students can interview themselves, record the interview, and then play it back. They can then meet with a counselor and get tips.”

Staying Engaged

Grant said that while the summer will remain a time of uncertainty for job seekers and employers alike, graduates should remain engaged in a healthy dose of networking.

“Don’t shy away from reaching out to alumni to request an informational meeting,” he said. “It’s as simple as asking, ‘I’m a marketing student, can I spend 20 minutes with you understanding your industry, your firm, and  the impact of the pandemic might be having on your business and the hiring landscape.’ Alumni are being even more generous with their time to help Gabelli students in this crisis.”

He suggested that students use LinkedIn and the alumni directory on Forever Fordham to be proactive to connect with alumni. Students should follow guidelines from the Gabelli Career Development Center about how to reach out to alumni in these sensitive times.

The Career Development Center is also working with students to provide alternatives to classic internships, many of which have been canceled or shortened. Many faculty have provided research opportunities that match student’s areas of career interest. Another trend emerging is micro-internships, which are on-demand short term project work coming from companies across various industry sectors.

“Even if summer work is self-directed, the important thing is for students to have an experience that demonstrates a passion, is skill-enhancing, is resume building, and can be leveraged for future career pursuits,” said Grant. “For example, a finance student could work on a project that involves the utilization of financial models.”

Virtual Events: Prompting the Pivot to the Post-COVID Work World

There are also several virtual events planned, said McLaughlin. This Thursday, May 21, from 12 to 3 p.m., the Career Services office will hold a Virtual STEM Fair where students will be able to connect with employers and graduate school representatives. To attend, students must register on Handshake as soon as possible, she said.

Employers at the fair will include Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Biosafety & Biocontainment Training Program, New York State Department of Civil Service, the Peace Corps, U.S. Department of State, Northwestern Mutual, and Weill Cornell Medicine—among many others.

Student-athletes can attend a session called “You Got This,” an athlete-specific workshop to be held on May 26 at 2 p.m. Participants will explore how the on-the-field experiences that require grit, determination, resilience, dedication, and teamwork can help propel them in the post-COVID-19 era of work. McLaughlin will be joined by one of her team members and former college athlete, Lindsey Worker,  PCS ’19, as they discuss how to make connections and gain experience.

Other upcoming events include a Cognizant Virtual Career Fair for Women in Technology and Digital Engineering, Career Resources for Job Searching in the Age of COVID-19, Jobs & Meaningful Work During COVID-19 hosted by the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, Wealth Advisory Group Virtual Career Day, and Publishing 101 with Michelle Herrera Mulligan, senior editor at ATRIA Books. Mulligan was to be the keynote speaker for this year’s Global Diversity and Inclusivity Summit that was canceled due to the pandemic. All events are listed on Handshake.

Values that Transcend Media

McLaughlin said that the skills needed to get through this challenging period—verbal and written communication, problem-solving, teamwork, and leadership—are all skills that Fordham students possessed before the pandemic.

“We are humanists. And this pandemic is affecting every human,” she said. “So, the liberal arts background in the core curriculum has positioned all of our students to be successful in the pandemic and post-pandemic era.”

The same holds true for Gabelli students said Grant, whose education is also steeped in the liberal arts core courses.

“Core courses develop critical thinking skills that can be used in a broad set of circumstances throughout their careers, particularly in periods of crisis,” he said. “Students are not graduating from Gabelli School of Business with a vocational degree, they have a liberal arts foundation overlaid with specific business courses to provide domain knowledge for careers in marketing, finance, and accounting, among others.”

McLaughlin added that when push comes to shove, businesses still need to operate, and they need good employees.

“It doesn’t matter your field. You know what, banks are still hiring. They may not be hiring for mergers and acquisitions or new deals, but they’re going to be restructuring. They will need people for distressed debt, restructuring, and bankruptcy,” she said “The same thing from legal and across all industries.”

“We’re seeing huge amounts of creativity and innovation from our art students, our business students, and English majors; that creativity and innovation shows they can rise to the occasion. The Fordham community is resilient and we will get through this together,” she said.

When he was only 3 years old, a military coup forced Osman and his family to flee their native Sudan. After short stints in several Middle Eastern countries, the family joined Osman’s uncles in the United States and settled in the Bronx, where they had to start over again financially.

“We were fortunate, but we were also pretty humble while I was growing up, and it gave me a different perspective on many things,” Osman says. It also meant that being accepted to Fordham College at Rose Hill with financial aid and support from the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) was a huge relief to him and his family.

Entering college undecided about his major, he stumbled onto economics while fulfilling a core curriculum requirement.

“I was always good at math, but I wasn’t necessarily a fan of it, because I questioned the need for all the formulas. This class gave me a reason to apply those formulas and logic,” he says. “Economics included politics. It included math. It was everything I loved.”

Now an associate and global alternatives product specialist at JPMorgan Asset Management, Osman traces his professional success back to that Jesuit curriculum and to his first work-study job in Walsh Library, part of his financial aid package. “I had jobs before,” he says, “in fields like retail, education, and politics. But that was really my first office type of experience. And that eventually helped lead me to the Office of Career Services, where I really learned what I wanted to do and where I wanted to be.”

After several internships, he landed a position in a two-year rotational program at JPMorgan right after graduating in 2014.

“I owe a lot to Fordham, and that’s why I give back however I can. There’s a kid in my shoes out there, a kid from the Bronx who isn’t afforded the luxury of being able to pay for college, and that sucks,” Osman says. “We should be able to help them out.”

Osman has helped by contributing to scholarship funds at Fordham, sponsoring receptions for Fordham alumni who work at JPMorgan, and participating in events run by MOSAIC, Fordham’s multicultural alumni affinity chapter.

In 2016, he joined the advisory board of the newly formed Fordham University Alumni Association (FUAA). The thing he’s most proud of is helping launch the Alumni Career Fair with fellow members the FUAA’s networking and engagement task force. It’s an opportunity for alumni to network with each other and with the University’s employer partners.

“We were lucky to go to an institution that focuses on job placement, on interview training … and that takes a true career-oriented approach,” he says.

Osman is committed to enhancing that support by creating opportunities for Fordham alumni who have not yet found the right path, or for those ready to take the next step. The third annual Alumni Career Fair will take place at the Lincoln Center campus on March 4. More than 100 alumni of all levels of experience have already signed up for this year’s event, and more than 25 employers across industries—some of which will be sending Fordham alumni as representatives—are set to attend.

“It’s amazing to see this event materialize, to help arrange this forum for alumni relationships,” he says.

Fordham Five

What are you most passionate about?
I would say philanthropy, honestly. Just giving back in general. It’s always been a pillar of mine. Not only does it help other people who are less fortunate in whatever situation, but I think it’s a good reminder of what you’re afforded in life, to be grateful for what I have and understand that there are others without these opportunities. 

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
One of the first memories I have is from when I was 3 years old and we were leaving Sudan. It was the first time I had been on a plane. I was with my father and I said, “Oh wow, I get to go on a plane!” My dad looked at me and said, “You know, yeah. Enjoy it. Experience it. But also be grateful for it.” At the time, I was so young that it kind of went over my head. But I’ve realized that the idea has grown with me. I think my dad wanted me to enjoy the moment while also being mindful that it was a privilege to experience something like that, especially considering other folks’ less fortunate circumstances (regardless of how unfortunate our own circumstances may have seemed). Now that’s become part of my normal thinking. Aim for the best, listen and be present in it, and enjoy what you have. It’s a way to see through that bubble, that privilege bubble, that everyone has in some way.

What’s your favorite place in New York City? In the world?
Would it be cheating if I said Fordham’s Rose Hill campus is my favorite place in New York City? I don’t want to be cheesy, but honest to God, I was awed during my first visit to campus. I grew up in the Bronx, in a very urban environment, and to walk onto that campus and see this beautiful place with unbelievable landscaping and immaculate Gothic architecture … I was like, wow. And every time I’m there, I have to take photos. I love it. Especially that walk from Dealy Hall toward the library, with that view of Martyrs’ Lawn and Walsh and Duane. You couldn’t get more picture perfect. That’s the image I think of when I picture campus. And the fact that it’s in the Bronx just makes it much sweeter for me.

As for my favorite place in the world, this might be mainstream, but it’s Paris. I’ve been four times total, twice for work in the past year. I can’t speak a lick of French, but I love it. It’s a romantic city, and it’s truly beautiful. There’s so much history behind it, so many sites to see, intricate neighborhoods … it reminds me of New York because it has its own little districts that are each their unique environments, and you can find something interesting in each one.

Name a book that has had a lasting influence on you.
So, I have two, and they’re both a bit controversial.

The first is The Autobiography of Malcolm X. And the second is The Art of the Deal by Donald Trump. I know, big contrast.

What’s important about Malcolm X … I wasn’t born here, my family hasn’t been in America for hundreds of years. We’re from Africa directly. But I grew up in New York, and I still connected with many of the experiences in the book. His logic for a lot of things, obviously, was a little too extreme. But in the latter part of his life, he was much more welcoming. It taught me about perspective, and how when you’re given new insight you can vastly change your initial perspective. In the beginning of his conversion to Islam, for example, he had a much more conservative position. And then he started to travel and interact with more folks and realized that’s not all this religion is about. He evolved. He actually visited Sudan, and that was one of the reasons I decided to read his book back when I was 12. And I’ve read it every five years since then.

And then for Art of the Deal, I don’t necessarily agree with his political views, but I just think business is always impressive to me. It’s very hard to make it, to be a very successful businessperson. And when someone does it, even if they started with money, it’s impressive. I first read that when I was 14, I think. It really taught me about the passion you have to have, the kind of work ethic you have to have, the things you have to think about, or the kinds of decisions you have to make to progress. From a career or networking perspective or just from a personal development perspective, it’s important to understand how to make your argument, how to weigh your options. I’ll be frank: A lot of the book is self-promotion. But there are some key things in there, and those left a lasting impression on me.

Who is the Fordham grad or professor you admire most?
This might be another mainstream answer, but Denzel Washington. For me, the fact that this guy, a New York guy from Mount Vernon who went to Fordham, found his calling and his craft, and followed through with that and became the success he is today, and also remains a good family man, that means a lot to me. Not that I’m anywhere near the guy, but that’s a good person to look up to and aspire to be like. That’s my favorite Ram.

A recent career workshop at the Lincoln Center campus aimed to answer that question for Graduate School of Education (GSE) students in the mental health counseling program.

“A lot of our classmates were curious around what different career paths they may have after graduation,” said Raya Abat-Robinson, GSE ’20. “This [workshop]helps us understand the different pathways that are possible.” 

On Nov. 21, a group of graduate students gathered in a Lowenstein classroom and listened to two people who once stood in their shoes: Fordham career counselors Bizu Solomon, GSE ’15, who studied counseling at Fordham, and Jorimel Zaldivar, who obtained his master’s in counseling in mental health and wellness from New York University and, as a graduate student, interned with Fordham career services. The event, which coincides with National Career Development Month, was spearheaded by Fordham’s Student Association for Mental Health Counseling (SAM). 

The mental health counseling program has been one of the school’s most popular programs for many years, said Joseph Ponterotto, Ph.D., a GSE professor who coordinates the master’s degree program, at the beginning of the event. About 140 people apply each year for 30 to 35 spots. 

“For 13 years, we’ve been a thriving, robust, program,” he said. “It’s still, though, a pretty new field, relative to social work and psychology … That’s why a presentation like this, in terms of careers and the way to go and what you can do with the cognitive skills and the license that you’ll have, is so important.” 

Fordham graduates have gone on to work at a variety of places, from LGBT support and counseling centers to Google to Mt. Sinai Medical School, Ponterotto said. 

In a PowerPoint presentation, Solomon and Zaldivar showed attendees some of their career options. They could become crisis intervention therapists who work with victims and survivors in emergency rooms or disaster relief centers. They could conduct mediation with couples who are close to the end of their relationships. They could also work as health educators in corporate wellness programs, which are gaining popularity, said Solomon. 

“So, for clarity, mental health counselors could, in theory, be financial aid counselors?” asked a student sitting in the audience. 

“You can apply those same skill sets. If you think about it, the students that they meet with are under a lot of stress and anxiety. Those types of skills that you’re bringing in would be invaluable,” Zaldivar replied. 

The November presentation was among career workshops that are given to other programs not only at GSE but also at the whole University. It was helpful for many students, including Jamez Anderson, a first-year mental health counseling student who wants to work with adolescents after she graduates in May 2021. 

“I want to work one-on-one and be a therapist,” Anderson said. “So it was really eye-opening to see that there are so many other jobs and positions that you can have with just this degree.”

More than 350 at-risk teens from two Bronx middle schools and four high schools take part annually in the program operated at Fordham through the Graduate School of Social Service (GSS) and managed under the leadership of Program Director Diane Ode, GSS ’11. Over 30 Fordham undergraduate and graduate volunteers work alongside the teens both at the Rose Hill campus and in their respective schools. In addition to their volunteers, the program recruits MSW candidates to provide individual and group counseling to the teens during the school day.

“For many of these students it’s their first time on a college campus,” said Ode. “We collaborate with different Fordham departments such as The Center for Community Engaged Learning, Career Services, and various student-led organizations. It’s amazing work when you start to see the students begin to understand the opportunities that they can have.”

Ode said that the program is one of the many areas where education and social services overlap. She said the reason she and other social workers are drawn to the program is that it tackles the challenges facing at-risk youth through “holistic service that  promotes student’s academic success, as well as their social and emotional well being.” In promoting academic success volunteers help students with homework, prepare for standardized exams, and fill out college applications. To promote social well-being the teens go on campus tours together, take enrichment trips to Broadway shows, and attend STEM conferences. For emotional well-being, the program also provides a series of interventions that include individual and group counseling.

“This program really shows how the Graduate School of Social Service can bring together all our Fordham communities to affect the change,” said faculty adviser Janna Heyman, Ph.D., professor of social work and the Henry C. Ravazzin Chair.

Ode started as a MSW intern in the program in 2010 and continued on as a summer program coordinator when she graduated in 2011. She steadily rose through the ranks to become an assistant director in 2012 and then program director in 2015. Bronx-born and raised in New Jersey, Ode still has family near campus. As a young 8-year-old girl, Fordham was the first college campus she ever saw during her frequent visits with her family to the Fordham Road shopping district. She said that she feels a strong kinship with the students and their families because of her own upbringing in the Tremont section of the Bronx.

“Resources at many New York City schools are overwhelmed; a guidance counselor can serve up to 100 students,” she said. “That’s where we come in with the extra support.”

The teens in the program face a variety of risk factors that often stem from problems at home, which can cause high absenteeism and deter motivation. She noted that many of the program’s volunteers are not from the Bronx and that their initial exposure to these young people, as well as the public schools themselves, can in itself be a learning experience.

“I think it opens up their eyes and they learn about the social and economic disadvantages that Bronx students are facing every day,” she said. “Many of the volunteers are shocked when they have to go through a metal detector or see that there are six schools in one building. It’s a huge culture shock.”

To prepare them, she said, the program provides an orientation and ongoing volunteer meetings to support volunteers’ work with at-risk youth, and the culture of service at the University advocates listening to the community.

“We do our best to have discussions to help them understand that, ‘Yes, you’re giving back to the community by teaching students how to better improve their grades and be motivated to pursue their education, but this is a mutual transaction and you’ll also get something back,’” she said.

Feeling Like a Part of the Bronx

Katrina Cullen is a junior at Rose Hill majoring in history. She started volunteering with the Liberty program more than a year ago. Though she said she was very involved with other student groups, she said she didn’t feel like she was part of the Bronx, even though the campus sits in the heart of the borough.

“It is completely transformative to have a purpose and have kids depend on you to help you with their school work or to know they have a test coming up and they’re counting on you,” she said.

Cullen, who grew up in Putnam County, New York said she was initially nervous about whether the kids would accept her into their community, but soon realized they had more in common than not. She said once she started building relationships, a few of the Latino students found out she was studying Spanish. From that point forward, they would speak to her in Spanish to help her prepare for her classes.

“When I started there were definitely a lot of cultural differences, but they’re so patient with me,” she said. “They’re just normal kids who are extremely accepting and a great time to be around. It makes you feel really good that you build relationships bigger than yourself.”

Gutierrez made the remarks at the Women in Cybersecurity Career Summit on April 16, which was sponsored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Fordham Center for Cybersecurity, the Computer Science Society and Fintech Network.

Her sentiments highlighted the reason several women from the FBI’s Cyber Branch and from the private sector came to the Rose Hill campus to encourage young women to join their ranks.

Special Agent Kelly Cunningham, FCRH ’14, said that she would never have found her computer science talents had it not been for a fellow classmate showing her how to code.

“He was in the computer science program and he just showed me how to code one day and I was like, ‘This is awesome,’ but before then I had never heard of this or seen it before,” she said.

She said that the only computer science class she had in high school was keyboarding. Lena Loewenstine, a federal contractor who works with the Cyber Branch of the FBI in New York, said she had a similar experience.

“It never even crossed my mind when I was in high school and college to think about the possibility of a computer science degree or engineering. I loved math, it would have been a perfect fit,” she said.

“It wasn’t until I was on the job when I was learning about it and picking up the skills that I ended up in the career I love.”

Both agreed that there should be a push for young women in middle and high schools to be exposed to computer programming and STEM fields more generally. Several on the panel and in the audience gave a shout out to Girls Who Code, a nonprofit that exposes middle school students to computer coding.

And there are plenty of jobs out there for women who code, said Richard T. Jacobs, assistant special agent in charge at the FBI’s Cyber Branch in New York.

“The era of being a white male dominated agency is long gone,” said Jacobs. “There are clear reasons why we can’t be: We need to be representative of the population.”

Cohen said that only 11 percent of positions in the cybersecurity field filled by women, and that both the government and private sectors are making a big push to fill open positions with women and minorities.

“We are fully aware of what the benefits of diversity are, whether it’s women or minorities, there’s different perspectives and backgrounds to gain,” he said, noting that women who speak Arabic, Chinese, or Russian would be important hires for the department.

“We’re either doing something wrong in the recruitment phase or there’s something—some misperception or otherwise—that women don’t like the field, but we are making a tremendous effort to fix that,” he said.

For her part, Loewenstine said the government sector has been a very good fit for her.

“I can tell you from personal experience, I worked in three different government agencies now, and the ‘bro’ culture you hear about in Silicon Valley, well I’ve never experienced it,” she said. “In the government, there’s not that same mentality.”

Madeline Lobosco, intelligence analyst in the Cyber Branch of the FBI, said she had always thought of herself as an academic stereotype, leaning toward English, history, and foreign languages.

“One of my great regrets as an undergrad was not taking advantage of all the opportunities to float around and explore all the different resources you have,” said Lobosco.

She encouraged students to branch out beyond their comfort zone and study math and science, as well as the liberal arts.

“I wish that young girls could see more people like us,” she said.

Indeed, many of the participants at the conference, which included students, business executives, and government leaders, sought to continue that correction by expanding the definition of diversity to go beyond race and ethnicity in what Father McShane called a “very conflicted” nation.

“I reflect with you on the day that we have this gathering, because when we look back and listen with fresh hearts and ears to what he said, we touch base with his dream, which is the American dream corrected,” said Father McShane. “This is an inflection moment in our history once again,” he said.

Expanding the Definition of Diversity

Martha Jackson, assistant commissioner at the New York City Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, stressed the importance of making students aware of their role in effecting positive change.

“The students are our future and if we have any chance of getting it right, it’s with them,” she said. “They’re going to be the ones who create the change in the systems and make diversity first in everybody’s mind.”

Maria Aponte, assistant director of global diversity and inclusion at Fordham, said the conference was organized to help students become aware of companies that offer major diversity programing. NBC sent six members from their diversity team, while several representatives from Bronx arts and community organizations, including Niño de la Caridad, En Foco, and The Point, served as panelists.

“We need to develop skills to care for each other and that has to go to the workforce,” said Aponte.

Stephen J. Casey, a managing director at BNP Paribas in North America, noted that diversity isn’t always easily perceived. He said diversity includes people who have disabilities that are “invisible,” like those on the autism spectrum.

“You have people dealing with mental health issues and it’s not always apparent,” he said.

He added that the unemployment rate for people with disabilities in the New York area stands at an “appalling” 77 percent.

“Something needs to be done,” he said. “People with disabilities have amazing talents and a number of firms are actively seeking them out.”

Inclusion as a Business Strategy

Anthony Carter, FCRH ’76, a member of the President’s Council, agreed that diversity makes good business sense. Carter, a retired chief diversity officer at Johnson & Johnson, sits on the University’s Task Force on Diversity. He called diversity “the gorgeous mosaic of different cultures and backgrounds, sexual orientation, geographies, and religion.”

“Diversity is who we are and inclusion is how we work together,” he said. “Diversity is a business imperative. But, to get the brightest and the best you have to invest.”

As such, he said that any major organization, such as a university, needs to create an environment that “celebrates differences and similarities,” adding that just as in business, investment at Fordham is key to reaching the University’s goals and objectives.

“If the university is looking at diverse students who they can potentially bring to this organization, it requires an investment,” he said. “When we look at the Faith and Hope campaign for example, we’ll need to look at how that scholarship money will be disbursed so we can capture all elements of that gorgeous mosaic.”

Liying Wei, a first-year student from New Jersey, was one of more than 175 students attending the event. She said her family moved to the U.S. from China when she was four years old. The main reason she came to Fordham was to live in New York City where “there’s people from all over the world.”

“Even though Fordham can seem to be its own little bubble inside the Bronx, I was really surprised to see how many different cultures and international students we have here,” she said. “We need to continue opening up scholarship opportunities for people from all sorts of backgrounds, especially for the disadvantaged.”

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.”

After graduation, Ambrosino, a philosophy major and bioethics minor, is taking almost two years off before beginning medical school in the fall of 2019. She’ll spend part of that time interning at Cook for Your LIFE, a nonprofit that offers cooking classes and nutrition information for cancer patients and survivors.

Jeremie Langlois, FCRH ’16, has been interning in Jordan since he graduated, and is looking forward to returning to school. He and Ambrosino are among a wave of college seniors who have decided to take a gap year before continuing their graduate studies.

Ambrosino said taking time off to work in the field, with people living with life-threatening illnesses, will complement her education in a way going directly to medical school could not.

A Calling to Do More

“I think it will make me a better medical student to have that perspective. I just felt called to do more before entering,” she said. Ambrosino, whose father and aunt died of cancer, has studied at the Natural Gourmet Institute and has volunteered with Cook for Your LIFE previously, doing everything from preparing meals to ordering aprons to cleaning up food scraps.

She’s not the chef, but she’s learning cooking and knife skills and how much more there is to treating patients than just examining them and prescribing medication. “I’m learning from doctors, chefs, and nutritionists about chronic symptoms, disease management, cooking meals that are appropriate for different illness,” she said of the experience, which will include doing research at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health on dietary and lifestyle interventions for breast cancer survivors.

“It’s not about curing people, but making sure that people are comfortable.” She ultimately wants to study psychiatry and plans to enter a master’s program in bioethics for a semester as well. “I really want to focus on medical ethics and nutrition together,” she said, combining her love of cooking with her desire to do something about cancer, which has touched her life in such formative ways.

Following a Passion

Jeremie Langlois, FCRH ’16, attended high school in Cairo, and was in Egypt during the 2011 Arab Spring uprising. He said it “sparked my passion for the region.”

Since he graduated, Langlois, who grew up in a bilingual household (English and French), has spent his time interning at the Amman Center for Human Rights Studies, while also taking classes in modern standard Arabic at the Qasid Arabic Institute. He has been accepted to the University of Texas at Austin to do a double degree in law and graduate-level Middle Eastern studies, but is putting it off for a second gap year to work and prepare for the LSAT. “As someone with a broad range of interests in both the Middle East and domestic politics, the dual degree will allow me to keep my options open for future career paths,” he said. But he’s also staying open to change that may come from the remaining gap year, he said. “This process is still very much in progress.”

Students like Ambrosino and Langlois take gap years for a variety of reasons, said Jorimel Zaldivar, a counselor in the Office of Career Services.

“Usually the intention is to step outside and perhaps take a breather from the commitment to extend their education,” he said. “It may also be a time for seniors to regroup a bit, reaffirm some goals they have placed for themselves, and use this time to outline an action plan in meeting these goals.”

–Julie Bourbon

“I was out of a job twice, and so I experienced what it’s like to be in transition as a job seeker. One of them was in 2008, which was a very scary time,” Mitrakis says, remembering the Great Recession. “I know how frustrating some of the job search services can be. So the second time I was out of a job, in 2015, I decided to do something about it.”

Born in Germany to Greek parents, Mitrakis came to the United States for college. As a freshman at Fordham, he went from company to company asking for an unpaid internship until he got one. “And over time, they started paying me, first in lunches,” Mitrakis says.

His persistence paid off. After graduation, he landed a full-time job with Siemens in New York City. Over the years, he also worked in Dallas and London. Now he’s back in New York, where he is the corporate controller for the U.S. and Latin America at WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff, an engineering consulting firm. But it’s the times in between that inspired Project: Job Search.

In Mitrakis’ experience “most places help you with your resume and then help you with interviewing,” he says. “But what happens in between?”

The program is aimed at career professionals, and is informed not only by Mitrakis’ experiences as a job seeker, an executive, and a recruiter, but also by interviews he conducted with HR professionals and others.

Michael Elliot was six months into his job search and feeling frustrated when he started Project: Job Search. Two months later, he accepted a position he loves. “The recommendations are very practical and action-oriented, and provided me with the real tools and additional confidence I needed to close the deal,” Elliot says.

The 10 short video chapters lead participants through the entire job search process, from building your job search tool kit to signing the final contract. Matching worksheets customize the topics to each individual, and users can go through the program at their own speed and even skip around.

These videos offer more than advice on typical job search topics, such as resumes and cover letters. Project: Job Search also has chapters on target companies and inside contacts, negotiating and probation periods, and unposted jobs.

According to Mitrakis, several recent studies suggest that a full 80 percent of jobs are unposted. “The higher you go in an organization, the more likely it is that you will land your job through networking versus a job board. So how do you get to the unposted jobs?”

Mitrakis is coming to campus to answer questions like these on January 4, 2017, but the program is already available free for Fordham alumni. He sees his program as a complement to Fordham’s other career offerings.

He hopes to expand Project: Job Search to include new chapters on topics like emotional well-being and managing your money during a job search. Eventually, Mitrakis would like to create a college version for students looking for internships or their first jobs, as well as an international version for other markets in other languages.

Though the basic 10-chapter program is complete, Mitrakis believes Project: Job Search should always “be a work in progress, always improving, always enhancing,” to stay relevant and help more people. “It feels great that I took my experiences and turned them into something useful that people can use. Hopefully it will help them during a difficult part of their life.”