Organized by Marisa Villani, senior assistant dean for undergraduate studies at the Gabelli School of Business; Tracyann F. Williams, Ph.D., assistant dean for student support and success at Fordham College at Lincoln Center; and Christie-Belle Garcia, Ph.D., assistant dean for student support and success at Fordham College at Rose Hill, the event included more than a dozen graduating seniors from Fordham’s new First Gen Network.

Seniors Leslie Ann Abreu and Qi Di Zhang kicked off the ceremony with a heartfelt thank-you to attendees—“the people who have formed networks of support for first-generation graduating students”—before introducing keynote speaker Adrienne Boykin, a 2009 Gabelli graduate and a member of Fordham’s Multicultural Organization Supporting Alumni Initiatives and Community (MOSAIC) affinity chapter.

“This is truly a moment to celebrate for both you and your families because we know, as first-generation college students, we are not only celebrating for ourselves, but we’re also celebrating on behalf of our families and our communities,” Boykin said.

Words of Wisdom from a Fordham Grad

After studying accounting at Fordham, Boykin earned an M.B.A. from Mount Saint Mary College. In 2014, she “came full circle” when she joined America Needs You, a nonprofit offering mentoring and career development support to first-generation college students. She’s currently the organization’s chief financial officer.

Boykin encouraged graduating seniors to celebrate their achievement and take a minute to reflect on their college journey, especially times when they may have felt impostor syndrome.

“With the support of your family, your friends, and the Fordham community, you remembered that you actually earned your spot at Fordham, that you belong, and that you are paving the way for not only yourself but for future generations to go to college and to graduate,” she said. “The perseverance and strength that you have [shown] all of these years led you to today.”

Boykin imparted three tidbits of wisdom: “Impostor syndrome will continue to present itself in your life; however, you can and will get through it. Mentorship matters. And keep an open mind during life’s journey.”

Following Boykin’s address, each student’s name was called, and they received a commemorative pin. The ceremony also included a champagne toast.

A Supportive Alumni Community

A handful of alumni were also in attendance. As first-generation grads themselves, they offered advice and shared tips they’ve picked up in the years since they graduated from Fordham.

Marcella T. Barry, FCRH ’92, GSE ’96, vice chair of the President’s Council— a group of successful professionals and philanthropists committed to mentoring Fordham’s future leaders—encouraged students to stay connected to Fordham after graduating, and to “wave their first-gen flag” whenever possible.

“You do belong here because you worked really hard,” said Barry, the chief people officer at Jitjatjo, a staffing marketplace and workforce management platform. “Embrace it, and don’t hide it. Talk about it. It defines who you are, and in life, it’s those stories that are really important to tell.”

Jason Caldwell, GABELLI ’10, ’17, GSAS ’11, a vice president at Goldman Sachs and another President’s Council member, had an informal chat with the soon-to-be graduates during the reception. He gave them his contact info—and urged them to use it.

“Because Fordham has been so generous to me, I feel like it’s my duty to do the same,” he said, sharing that every position he’s held since graduating has been due to his Fordham connections.

“If someone ever tells you that they’re willing to help you and to give them a call or reach out, take them up on it,” Caldwell said. “That’s the only way that you can get ahead and move forward more easily.”

A Family Role Model and Future Educator

Abreu, a psychology major whose family migrated to the Bronx from the Dominican Republic when she was 13, said she takes pride in being the first college graduate in her family, and in serving as a role model for her little sister and her whole family.

She’s enrolled in the Accelerated Master’s in Teaching Program at Fordham’s Graduate School of Education. After earning her bachelor’s degree this month, she’ll continue working toward a master’s degree specializing in bilingual childhood education.

More than providing her with an education, Fordham has helped Abreu come out of her shell. “When I first came over here, I thought I’d be able to manage without socializing,” she said. “I used to be very introverted, very closed off. It’s been a transitional four years. I was not expecting that I’d be able to really step out of my comfort zone and express all my ideas and perspectives.”

Keeping Your Options Open

Chantz Kouveras said that although his parents made clear their desire for him to attend college, he wasn’t always sold, instead contemplating some career paths that didn’t require a college degree. But ultimately, he was swayed.

“I wasn’t necessarily seeing the opportunities that college would open up,” said Kouveras, who will earn a bachelor’s degree in political science and classical civilization, and will serve in the National Guard after graduation. “Looking back, I’m grateful because when you’re 18, you have no clue how many doors you’re going to be closing to yourself if you don’t take certain opportunities.”

One of the most surprising things about college, Kouveras said, was how much he had to figure out for himself, such as housing registration; luckily his friends and the Fordham community helped him navigate it all.

“There’s a lot that’s just kind of left to you,” he said. “To me, that’s just the college experience: figuring what you have to figure out on your own and building a network to help you out with that stuff.”

Preparing for a Career, Not Just a Job

Qi Di Zhang, a Long Island native who studied business administration with concentrations in marketing and consulting and a minor in economics, credits Fordham with teaching her balance.

“Being first-gen, I had to figure out how to balance schoolwork, getting a job, socializing, and having time to take care of myself,” she said.

Growing up, Zhang said that attending college was considered “a no-brainer” in her home. Her parents “came to America with the notion that you’re here to have better opportunities, and the first step of that is to get a better education.”

“My mom didn’t finish middle school, and my dad didn’t finish high school. My parents have jobs,” she said, “but they want me to have a career.”

Founded by students last fall, the First Gen Network connects and supports students who are the first in their families to pursue college degrees. Allies of first-generation graduates are welcome.

But to get there, Toor, a first-year student at Fordham College at Lincoln Center, needs to master calculus. So, when she realized in January that she needed a little help this semester, she turned to an app on her smartphone that was unveiled to Fordham undergraduates this fall.

The app is similar to those that allow customers to summon a ride with Uber or Lyft. Students seeking a tutor for a class they’re taking put in a request for a specific time and place, and if a student tutor who has completed the class finds that the request fits their schedule, they accept the request.

Any student can become a tutor provided they have received at least a B+ in that class and have been trained on how to instruct others. Tutors are paid $15 an hour with funds from the offices of the deans of the Fordham College at Rose Hill and Fordham College at Lincoln Center. (The app will be available to Gabelli School students in September.)

Toor, a native from Farmington, Connecticut, heard about the app from one of her professors, and after downloading it to her phone and putting in a request, she met with Arina Medvedeva, a sophomore majoring in neuroscience and visual arts. The two have met for both in-person and Zoom meetings eight times this semester, including a two-hour cram session before her midterms.

“She’s amazing. … I’m doing a lot better than I would have without a tutor,” she said.

Quick, Easy, and Free

Toor said she’s found it helpful to work primarily with Medvedeva but has also used the app to book other tutors.
“I’ve had SAT tutoring before, and for one session, I felt like I didn’t learn anything, and it was also so much money for an hour,” she said.

But the fact that I can just send out a request and in five minutes, I’ll get a tutor, and Fordham will pay for it? I think that’s amazing. I’m glad I’m taking advantage of it.”

Earning Money on Their Own Schedule

Medvedeva is also a fan. This semester, she has been tutoring three other students in Applied Calculus on Friday afternoons and evenings, and one more with whom she meets occasionally to review statistics. In addition to working 10 hours a week on campus as part of work-study, Medvedeva, a commuter student who lives near the Lincoln Center campus, tutors for at least five hours a week.

“I love helping people, and I think I have a talent for explaining things,” she said.

“It’s also an opportunity to refresh my memory. Right now, I’m taking chemistry, and there’s a lot of math. I understand better what’s going on because I’m also tutoring.”

Charlotta Lebedenko, a senior at Fordham College at Rose Hill majoring in chemistry and philosophy, has responded to requests on the app for tutoring in organic chemistry and biochemistry.

“What I like about it is … we get to choose what and when we want to tutor, so I know I’m always going to be prepared for the sessions,” she said.

“The app is nice, I like how it’s formatted, the payments come in super quickly. The online virtual platform is really nice.”

A Flexible, Peer-to-Peer Model

The move to an app-based tutoring system was spearheaded by Tracyann Williams, Ph.D., assistant dean for student support and success at Fordham College at Lincoln Center, and Christie-Belle Garcia, Ph.D., former assistant dean for student support and success at Fordham College at Rose Hill.

Williams said the program, which both she and Garcia discovered independently, is not meant to replace all tutoring happening at Fordham, but to augment it. It’s an example of the University being flexible in how it offers services to students.

“If we have other tutoring systems and resources, that’s awesome, because that means we’re serving students on multiple levels and multiple capacities. That’s a very exciting prospect,” she said.

“I’m very interested in this peer-to-peer model because students get experience working with each other and building connections with each other. They’re building cross-campus connections at a time when students are suffering and are saying it’s hard to meet people.”

There are currently 180 courses that are covered through the system. Math is the most popular, along with other STEM disciplines and philosophy. A handful of departments have not opted in, but most have, said Williams.
Maura Mast, Ph.D., dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill, said that in the summer of 2020, the college piloted online tutoring for summer courses, and expanded them in the next academic year. That experience led her to consider this system.

“Tutoring needs to be supported with strong training and oversight. This offers all of this, plus the flexibility for students to arrange for tutoring when and where it works best for them,” she said.
“I’m delighted with the strong growth in utilization over the past six months.”

Laura Auricchio, Ph.D., the dean of Fordham College at Lincoln Center, called the app a “game-changer.”

“Instead of expecting students to work around schedules set by the university, it allows them to decide when, where, how, and with whom they want to learn. It’s an important step in our collective efforts to rethink our systems and structures with an eye to ensuring that student needs are always at the center of our policies and practices,” she said.

A QR code in a plastic holder sat in a prominent position on their table; visitors who scanned it were directed to an Instagram account for their group.

Their goal? Recruit Fordham students, faculty, and administrators to join First Gen Network, a group formed this semester to support students who are the first in their families to attend college. Since 2017, Nov. 8 has been celebrated as National First Generation Day.

“When I had to choose a college, it was during the pandemic, and it was so difficult because my parents didn’t really know much. It was a daunting process—picking schedules, learning about loans, and things like that,” said Stegmuller, a second-year Fordham College at Lincoln Center student.

The tabling event, which was also held at Rose Hill, was part of a kickoff for the group, which was convened in September by Tracyann Williams, Christie-Belle Garcia, and Marisa Villani, the assistant deans for student support and success at Fordham College at Lincoln Center, Fordham College at Rose Hill, and the Gabelli School of Business, respectively.

Stegmuller and Chen, a senior at the Gabelli School of Business, said they were attracted to the group, which is planning to hold a panel discussion in the spring because it offered connections to members of the community who they otherwise would never meet. Neither knew each other before joining the group.

Stegmuller said one of the things she’s come to appreciate is how many first-generation students have to overcome an inclination to do everything themselves.

“We’re just so used to doing everything on our own, so it’s good to have a group where we can reach out and learn to ask for help. When people are like ‘Oh, just go to office hours, or ask the dean for help,’ to us, it’s like, ‘No, I can do that myself,’” she said.

Nicole Varela, a first-year FCLC student, was one of the students who signed up to join the group. Her parents both attended college in El Salvador but never finished. She benefitted from the fact that her older brother went through the process two years before her.

“SATs, ACTs, college essays—I feel like people who know a lot more about that have an advantage, but we talked to people who knew the process, and they helped my brother through it.
“In this group, there are going to be a lot of different people with different experiences, but we all have one thing in common, so that’s nice.”

Students weren’t the only ones the group attracted.

Elizabeth Stone, Ph.D., professor of English, joined because, she said, it’s important to provide a model for what’s possible for students, particularly those who, like her, were both the first to attend college and the first to become a professor.

“I think it’s important for people who may be interested in going into academia to realize there are people who came from the backgrounds that they came from who walked that road, and they can walk it too if they want to.”
First Gen is welcoming members of the Fordham community who are both first-generation students and those who want to support them. For more information, visit here or email [email protected].

First-year students from Fordham College at Rose Hill and Fordham College at Lincoln Center read The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, who is the 2021 Mary Higgins Clark Chair at Fordham. The novel tells the story of a Black teenage girl trying to navigate the divide between her poor neighborhood and the fancy prep school she attends. When her unarmed friend is killed at the hands of the police, she is thrust into the spotlight.

“[Thomas’] text invites students to discuss the role of youth activism, belonging, race and many other relevant topics,” said Christie-Belle Garcia, assistant dean for student support and success at Rose Hill.

Jary Jerome Tolentino, an incoming first-year student at Fordham College at Rose Hill, said that the book provided an honest look at the challenges Black people and other people of color face.

“The Hate U Give encapsulated the reality the Black community faces—it didn’t sugarcoat it,” said Tolentino, who plans to study math and computer science. “It showed a lot of racial injustices and even microaggressions, stories of the Black community, and it could even be applied to the people of color for that matter.”

This is the second year of the joint program, which aims to welcome students to the University and help them get to know students from both campuses, said Garcia and Tracyann Williams, the assistant dean for student support and success at Lincoln Center.

Olivia Reyes, an incoming first-year student at Fordham College at Lincoln Center who is planning to major in journalism, said that she was really captivated by how the main character Starr unintentionally became the center of a movement.

“She was simply trying to drive with her friend when she witnessed the most disturbing thing a human can—the murder of a loved one,” Reyes said, noting that Starr became the focus of news stories and a criminal trial. “She underestimates the power of her own voice … until she is able to grow into her new role and see that people will listen to her if she has the courage to speak out and share her own truth.”

Reyes said that the book, along with the events of 2020, inspired her to find her own voice and speak out against injustice.

“[Starr’s boyfriend] becomes actively anti-racist when he speaks out, when he fights side-by side with Starr and shows action. That’s something I think a lot of white people can relate to, including me—trying to find my place in the greater movement and recognizing my silence is complicity,” Reyes said.

Tolentino said that the character of Hailey Grant stuck with him, as she starts out by being one of Starr’s closest friends, but their relationship dissolves after Hailey commits multiple microaggressions and racist acts against Starr.

“Something that really stuck with me was how we all have a Hailey that manifests in our lives one way or another,” he said. “You don’t have to be explicitly racist to be considered racist, even with the small actions that we do, we have to be really mindful of them, and we have to reflect on how they could impact other people.”

Going Beyond the Book

After reading the book, the students had the opportunity to participate in three Zoom sessions, which explored different aspects of the book.

“Engaging with the text is an intimate experience,” said Williams. “Through literature, the intellectual and interpersonal conversation can begin well before the first day of classes for our students.”

Mark Naison, Ph.D., professor of history and African and African American Studies led the first session, which discussed the role of hip hop and political activism. The second session featured Lisa Gill, Ph.D., senior dean for Fordham College at Rose Hill and Renaldo Alba, Ph.D., associate director of CSTEP/STEP exploring how students connected with the themes in the book.

“The most powerful takeaway was from one student who shared that they had never been a part of a discussion like the one we had, and they were excited about coming to Fordham for that exact reason,” Garcia said. “This sentiment really captures one of the main reasons I love the read—students are excited about college and a liberal arts education can provide that space for creativity.”

Confronting Identity Conflicts

Juan Carlos Matos, assistant vice president for student affairs for diversity and inclusion. and Jenifer Campbell, Ed.D., dean of students at Lincoln Center, led the final discussion, where students explored how they related to different characters and themes.

Matos talked about how he struggled for a while with his own identity as a gay Afro-Dominican male.

“I, for a long time, never felt complete—I never felt authentic in either space, so when I was in a group of LGBTQ-identified students, I was one of very few people of color,” he said, adding that the converse was also true: In groups for students of color, he was often one of the few out LGBTQ students.

Tiziana Capizzi, a transfer student attending Lincoln Center in the fall, said she related to Starr and Matos, as a person of mixed heritage—Panamanian and Italian.

“Growing up in Panama, I asked myself, “I’m Latinx enough?” “[Am I] really European at all?” she said. “At the end of the day, just like Starr, I learned that it’s all about remaining open and understanding that both worlds play roles in what makes me unique.”

Engaging with Others

Elliott Lehman, an incoming first-year student at Fordham College at Lincoln Center, said that the discussion made him excited to attend Fordham and continue having deeper, engaging conversations around important issues like racial justice and grassroots community organizing.

“I truly had no idea what to expect from my first academic introduction to Fordham, and I was really rather blown away by not only the [staff members]but the other students,” he said. “Back in high school, a lot of the discussions were very predictable in the sense that, I think, they all just tended to miss the bigger picture.”

Administrators said that they were impressed the students were so willing to share their personal experiences and stories with the group throughout the three sessions.

“It is so powerful to see students connect with the text, each other, and faculty, administrators, and staff participating in the read,” Garcia said. “We want to encourage students to come up to the Bronx or head down to Lincoln Center and to really embrace the “New York City” is my campus motto.”

“There’s a shared collective experience that they’ve had of having lost a lot this spring. They experienced high school endings that are very different than what they probably imagined. And whether or not they are directly impacted by issues of racism or police brutality, they have been witnessing them,” said Tracyann Williams, Ph.D., assistant dean for student support and success at the Lincoln Center campus. “One way to deal with trauma is to come together in meaningful ways, and I believe that literature has the power to bring people together.”

This year, the incoming class is reading The Colossus of New York by Colson Whitehead, the first fiction writer to win the Pulitzer Prize for back-to-back novels. In the third week of July, first-year students received free electronic copies of the book. Over the next few weeks, students will be able to join four hour-long, open-ended discussions about the book with juniors and seniors, faculty, staff, and alumni from both campuses over Zoom; opting in to as many as they like. The first session will be held on July 29, followed by three more in August. 

Whitehead’s 2004 book explores the many ways people experience New York City, from the moment of their arrival to the classic morning commute. 

“Navigating a chapter is a bit like walking through six blocks of Midtown at lunchtime: everything conspires to slow you down, but you will have taken in more sensations than you could reasonably expect from such a distance anywhere else,” read a book review from The New York Times. The Colossus of New York also gives readers a chance to dream, said Williams. 

“It really tried to articulate the feeling of loss, uncertainty, renewal, beauty, love for the city, and sadness, and have a collective experience,” Williams said. “It’s presented in a bunch of vignettes that you can dip into and dip out of, but it also allows you the opportunity to dream yourself.” 

The summer reading tradition started at the Lincoln Center campus is not new. In 2018, first-year students at Fordham College at Lincoln Center read The Magicians by Lev Grossman, a novel that inspired a television series on the SyFy network and explored the practice of “magic” in the real world. The following year, first-year students read a collection of essays by New York Times and T Magazine columnist Ligaya Mishan. 

While reading The Colossus of New York, students should consider the classic Fordham phrase “New York is my campus, Fordham is my school” and think about the lived experiences that belong to them and their peers, said Christie-Belle Garcia, Ph.D., assistant dean for student support and success at the Lincoln Center campus.

“I grew up in New York, but if you ask me, I’m looking for the 1 train. What happens if you get above 168th?” said Garcia, who grew up in the Bronx. “It’s different for all of our students who are coming with different dreams and aspirations.” 

This year, Garcia and Williams are spearheading the summer engagement program, which has two websites for Fordham College at Rose Hill and Fordham College at Lincoln Center students. 

“We want to sit and chat about our human experience—our lived experience,” said Garcia.

Perhaps more importantly, they want to introduce incoming students to a network of Fordham individuals who will be there for them when they arrive, and facilitate conversations where they can share their concerns and stories, said Garcia. 

She said students have talked about COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as the experiences of Black and other Fordham students of color that have been published on social media, and the reality is that there’s been a rupture in the community.

“We can’t pretend our incoming freshmen aren’t reading about it, right?” said Garcia. “Fordham is not perfect. It has a long way to go. But there are people at Fordham who want to be a part of working to make our experience there together better.”

This fall, undergraduate classes will begin on August 26 in a flexible hybrid learning environment. But if the pandemic resurges in New York and students are no longer able to study on campus, said Williams, the city will await their return. 

“New York is still here. We’re all here,” she said. “The New York they were hoping for, the New York that was going to remake them … It’s still going to be here, waiting for them.”

“Programs like ASPIRES are game changers,” said Maura Mast, Ph.D., dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill. “Through this type of support, women—and others who are underrepresented in STEM—see themselves as belonging, see themselves as mathematicians and scientists, and see themselves as successful.”

Through the NSF-funded University program, first-year students receive annual scholarships, which range from $1,000 to $10,000, for their four years at Fordham; guidance in and out of the lab; and funding for their undergraduate research. Scholarships for their first year of study are funded by NSF; the remaining three years, the scholarships are funded by Fordham. In total, the grant will sponsor four student cohorts. The first will serve as mentors to incoming scholars. 

Last fall, the University was awarded $1 million to be granted over five years for ASPIRES, which stands for Achievement in STEM through a Program of Immersive Research Experience and Support. Awarded by the NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Program, the grant is intended to help increase the number of college students pursuing careers in STEM, especially those who come from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in the field.

“In the analysis that was done for the grant, a disproportionate number of Fordham STEM majors or students intending to pursue a STEM major leave STEM or don’t go on to STEM fields,” said Robert H. Beer, Ph.D., associate dean for STEM and pre-health education at Fordham College at Rose Hill. “The idea behind the grant was that if we put this program in place freshman year, students that might be at the risk of leaving a STEM field or major would stay.” 

To qualify for the program, students must indicate an interest in a STEM major on their college applications, demonstrate strong academic performance in high school, and show financial need. 

“This is really early exposure and access to faculty, research, and the idea of research,” said Christie-Belle Garcia, assistant dean for student support and success. “The way the program is set up is to give them an upper hand in being able to access these [resources].” 

Early Exposure to Lab Life

ASPIRES not only pays for part of students’ tuition, but also funds their future research projects, offers a year-long research seminar that shows students how to create their own research projects, and hosts a six-day Summer Bridge Program that introduces students to the campus before the semester starts. 

From Aug. 18 to 23, this year’s ASPIRES students explored the Rose Hill campus and toured the chemistry, biology, and physics departments. They saw several lab experiments performed by professors and student research assistants, ranging in subject from crystals to cell mitosis to electrons. The students were also treated to meals in Manhattan and the Bronx, as well as activities like zip lining at the Bronx Zoo and navigating an escape room in the city. 

“In the first week of the students being here, they were exposed to faculty in a small group setting,” Garcia said. “Throughout the course of the year, the goal is to provide them with the necessary skills to be able to participate in research by the end of their first year of college.” 

The First Cohort

Twelve undergraduates were selected from approximately 400 candidates, said Beer. 

One student, Sonola Burjja, is originally from Europe. As a high school student in Albania, she said she placed among the top three students in several biology state olympiads. But it wasn’t until she moved to the U.S. in her senior year of high school that she was able to conduct complex science experiments in her classes. 

“In Albania, we didn’t have much research or opportunity,” said Burrja, a biology major on the pre-med track. “[At Fordham] I’ve already scheduled an appointment with one of the deans involved in research to talk about different opportunities. I’d like to do something that is related to people’s lives … to the medical field.” 

Most of the ASPIRES students live on campus. But a few students commute from the Bronx, like Dogunhe Trawally, who rides the Bx15 to the Rose Hill campus several times a week. He said he’s taking five courses this semester: one in English composition, one in Islamic history, one in sociology, and two in computer science. 

“Technology is this evolving theme that’s part of our lives,” said Trawally, a computer science major. “So I thought, what other way to make a change in the world than to do something that people are already into, that has changed so many lives?” 

Another ASPIRES student, Ora Kalaj, said she’s fascinated by the chemical makeup of cosmetic products. Last summer, she interned at a French skincare company called Biologique Recherche, where she not only learned about the marketing side of the business but also the technical side. 

“There was a seminar where the executives of the company came to talk to the estheticians-in-training about the chemical makeup of the products,” said Kalaj, adding that the experience helped narrow her interest in the field of chemistry. 

In the future, she said she envisions herself as a chemist or chemical engineer. But for now, Kalaj—a chemistry major from Eastchester, New York—is concentrating on the next four years. 

“I’m really excited to participate in scientific research because I never did anything like that in high school,” she said. “I’m excited to work with people who are as passionate as I am.” 

“We give birth to the world and we feed the world,” McDonald said. “What can’t we do?”

McDonald’s anecdote was among the many shared at the second annual Women at Fordham Luncheon on March 13, which hosted a panel of four Fordham faculty, staff, and administrators who spoke about their lived experiences as women. The event, held in honor of Women’s History Month, was a collaboration between Fordham’s Office of Multicultural Affairs, the chief diversity officer, career services, the Women’s Herstory Month committee, and the Fordham Advocates Cultural Enrichment Series committee.

The two-hour program began with a short video starring Fordham students who spoke on-camera about the women who inspire them the most, from a mother who battled cancer to Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The video segued into a live conversation among the four panelists—McDonald, assistant professor of military science in Fordham’s Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program; Christie-Belle Garcia, assistant dean for student support and success; Maria Aponte, assistant director of diversity and global inclusion; and Carol Gibney, associate director of campus ministry for spiritual and pastoral ministries and Rose Hill director of spiritual life and leadership—about whom they admire most.

For the four women, it was a unanimous answer—their mothers.

Odes to Their Mothers

The women who raised the panelists came from varied backgrounds and experiences: a foster parent who cared for 21 children, an orphan who became the first in her family to attend college, a woman without a high school diploma who helped found the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, and a Puerto Rican factory worker who gave her daughter a valuable lesson before she died.

“I only had my mom in my life until I was 16 years old,” Aponte said. “I didn’t get dolls when I was a little girl—I got books. She always used to sign them for me: ‘To my daughter, Maria. From your mother, Rosa Maria.’”

“When she knew she was going to die, she wanted to plant as much as she could in my brain as a kid,” Aponte recalled. “She’s the reason why I have an education today.”

Garcia said her mother taught her that homemaking and childrearing are not the sole responsibilities of women—and told her to find a partner who knew that, too. The elder Garcia divided the household chores equally among her children. Her daughters and her son had to sweep the floor, set the table, and wash the dishes.

“So much of the culture has been that we just give, give, give until our cup is empty. How do we create a new conversation … a new narrative around that?” Garcia asked.

Reflecting on Their Lived Experiences: Life in the ’60s, Loneliness, and Discrimination

Gibney grew up in the Bronx in the 1960s—back when the Berlin Wall was being built, when black men and women were fighting for equal rights, when women were still struggling to forge identities of their own.

“Growing up as a woman, I was still holding on to that illusion that television tried to portray: a stay-at-home [mom],” Gibney said.

She watched those walls break down in real time. In her thirties, she went back to school for formal education. But although women have made significant strides since then, Gibney said, there are still disparities in pay and power—something McDonald could relate to.

McDonald, a captain in the U.S. Army who has served in three continents, recalled the day a male colleague insulted her in front of their unit. They were at a staff meeting in Germany, where McDonald had a specific seat. When she reached her chair, a sergeant major told her not to sit there. Instead, he asked her to get another man.

“What do you mean, go get this man, when I’m in charge here?” McDonald recalled thinking. She also remembered her rage.

“I’m here and I’m not leaving,” McDonald told him. “If you don’t like it, you can leave. But I’m here.”

A Circle of Women

The four Fordham women also spoke about the power of female friendship. Six months ago, Gibney’s daughter died. In the days following her death, the women in Gibney’s life—the “real housewives of Yonkers,” she called them—stayed by her side.

The day of the luncheon, Gibney said, was actually her daughter’s birthday.

“[This morning], I went to—ironically and serendipitously—the woman who brought her into the world, my GYN,” Gibney said. “We held hands, and we cried and laughed.”

“This woman doesn’t only deliver babies. She delivers a lot more that.”

It was a sentiment that Aponte understood. For a few minutes, she relived the 20 years she had worked on the clerical side of the corporate world.

“I was always the token, light-skinned, black Latina woman that made the office look pretty,” Aponte said. “I was good enough to unpack the xerox machine boxes, put the supplies in the closet, answer the phone, and be dismissed.” An executive she once worked for thought the same thing.

“He had the nerve to say, ‘Wow, you’re black and you’re intelligent and you’re so smart for a woman,’” Aponte said. But she swallowed her anger. She had bills to pay.

What kept her sane were her friends who also worked as secretaries. They’d unwind over drinks at Houlihan’s and trade stories about their work woes, Aponte said.

Today, many of those women are college-educated, married, and have grandchildren of their own. Some of them have passed on. But a few of them have remained her closest friends for over 30 years.

“That’s the power of what Carol was saying,” said Aponte, who is now an award-winning author, community arts activist, and founder of a non-profit organization. “Having a circle of women that reinforce for you what you need.”

But at the end of the day, said Gibney, each and every woman is extraordinary.

“We have much more power than we give ourselves credit for,” Gibney said. “Every one of us is powerful beyond our wildest imaginations.”