To earn a master’s degree in medieval studies, Grissom, who uses they/them pronouns, devoted their master’s thesis to exploring the lives of anchorites, members of a Christian Monastic tradition primarily practiced by women from the 11th to the 16th century.

Anchorites voluntarily confined themselves to a tiny, windowless room attached to a church for the rest of their lives. The community supplied them with sustenance through one or two small windows, but their only source of interaction was daily Mass that they observed through a window looking into the church. Before they entered the room, they were declared “dead to the world.”

For their thesis, “‘Mi bodi henge wið þi bodi’: Dying with Christ in the Anchorhold,” Grissom’s analyzed two medival anchorite texts, Ancrene Wisse, and Þe Wohunge of ure Lauerd that served as sort of instructional texts.

Senses and Sin

“I was wondering, ‘What in that restrictive process makes it so useful for their spiritual work, and how are their instructional texts helping them imagine their bodies differently in order to do that work?” said Grissom, who will graduate with a Master of Arts from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) in May.

“In my research, I ended up thinking a lot about the senses because some medieval theologians and philosophers thought that women’s bodies were more connected with the senses, and through the senses, with sin.”

What stood out most in their analysis of the documents was that for an Anchorite, declaring themselves dead and embracing sensory deprivation was not the end of the story. By cutting off their traditional senses, the Anchorite was in fact awakening their “spiritual senses,” and growing closer to God.

“I was really surprised to see that there is this recuperation of the senses in spiritual work. Rather than just this straightforward narrative that medieval men are always suspicious of medieval women’s bodies and their senses, it’s a lot more complicated and nuanced,” they said.

Grissom was drawn to medieval studies because it offers the same sort of interdisciplinary scholarship that they enjoyed as an undergraduate majoring in English and history at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. There, they found themselves studying humanities at a science-heavy institution; and the experience gave them a greater appreciation for the interplay and blend of different disciplines.

Linguistics and Medieval Literature

Another draw for Grissom was the opportunity to delve deep into linguistics.

“A really big turning point for me was taking a history of the English language course. It was one of the coolest things I had ever done, getting to see how language changed over time,” they said. “It provided so many insights into the ways that we as people and societies change as well.”

In March, Grissom tied for second place in the GSAS three-minute thesis competition, an annual gathering where graduate students boil down their research projects for the general public.

Last year, they were the recipient of a GSAS Student Support Grant, a Mary Magdalen Impact Fellowship, which supported a research trip they took to Prague last summer, and a Fordham Jewish Studies Fellowship. In 2021, Grissom was also awarded a Loyola Fellowship, an award established by the Jesuits of Fordham that allowed them to develop digital humanities projects, run and attend language reading groups, co-organize a symposium, and develop and submit abstracts for conferences.

New Medievalists: Establishing the Diversity of the Past

In the fall, Grissom will be pursuing a Ph.D. in English at Rutgers University and plans to combat the misappropriation of medieval history by groups such as white supremacists who use Nordic runes to symbolize white supremacy.

“By showing that these are inaccurate uses of the past and that the past was a lot more diverse, a lot of us newer medievalists are trying to establish a historic precedent for the diversity of the present,” they said.

Andrew Albin, Ph.D., an associate professor of English who directed Grissom’s Fordham thesis, said their work illustrates a creative use of the few surviving materials to tell the story of the lived lives of people in the past.

“It humanizes people from the past who might feel really alien to us. The idea of choosing to wall yourself up inside a six-by-six cell for the rest of your life just so that you can pray feels kind of outlandish,” he said.

“It is a kind of practice that we don’t really have an imaginative space for anymore inside our culture. Rather than exoticize it and play up the kind of strangeness of it, [Grissom] tries to get inside the experience.”

Album said Grissom has also shown a knack for building community, reaching out to graduate students in the English Program and moderating panels at a conference for a New York area consortium of Medievalist scholars this month. He called them a natural-born teacher.

Equally important, he said, is Grissom’s commitment to addressing issues of race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, and disability.

“They have a really remarkable way of finding connections between those political commitments and the work that they do, and of making sure that there’s always a conversation between the kinds of questions that we care about today and how that impacts the kind of work that they take on,” he said.

“I was looking for a degree in Christian spirituality. I started with the certificate program in spiritual direction, and then I ran out of classes and I was still interested,” he said with a smile.

He pursued a master’s degree at GRE, still not planning on going for a doctorate. But the opportunity to dive deeper into areas such as practical theology and spiritual direction was appealing to him.

“I was able to explore interests I had without feeling too constrained,” he said. “The great surprise for me was all the work we did around the field of practical theology.”

A ‘Transformative’ Practical Theology Class

Suriano said that the practical theology class he took, taught by religion professor Thomas Beaudoin, Ph.D., was transformational.

“He, in his own gentle and persistent way, got all of us to think differently about our ministry,” he said. “I can’t really say enough about how that semester changed my ministry here at the church and my ideas around it.”

Beaudoin said he teaches students to use practical theology to examine and understand their own lives and spiritualities.

“The ultimate curriculum is the student’s life, and so theology matters in part because we need to learn how to reckon with our lives—our lives individually and our lives together,” he said.

Beaudoin said that as a part of the program, Suriano was able to reckon with his unique spiritual background. He came to Fordham after decades in church ministry, which started when he was ordained a Catholic priest before he joined the United Church of Christ in 1993.

“He was interested from the beginning in using the language of Christian spirituality, to hold together his Protestant and his Catholic heritage and commitments,” Beaudoin said.

A Queer Vocation

Beaudoin said that one way Suriano did this was through his study of queer theology and his eventual thesis, “A Queer Vocation: Growing into Power.”

Suriano said that studying queer theology helped him develop a sense of “how I as a queer person have a voice in the church, that I may speak to the church in a way that is powerful and meaningful,” he said.

He called his thesis a “great intersection between some personal work and also some work about the church itself, including the congregation I serve.”

“I began to explore, just briefly, in my thesis about how for queer people in the church there is this connection with Christian spirituality and how to find our place in the church that isn’t centered around the debate over whether or if we should be there,” he said, but instead centered around some of the unique gifts that queer people can bring.

Past, Present, and Future

Beaudoin said when Suriano was able to “engage wholeheartedly in queer theories and queer spirituality,” it “really opened him up to a new horizon.”

“There was something noble and challenging and nourishing about this idea of queer vocation, and he really claimed that in three ways: as a way to make sense of his heritage; and then queer vocation as a way to understand what he’s about intellectually and spiritually now; but then also as a hopeful path to and through retirement in ministry.”

Beaudoin said that it was rewarding to see Suriano, who had already accomplished so much before coming to the program, “say an even deeper yes” to his life, vocation, and intellectual project.

“He’s so thoughtful, and he’s so reflective,” he said. “Also it’s humbling—it puts me in the role of perpetual student to be in the presence of students like that. I get to learn from his example as he goes deeper.”

“Rather than just reading and learning from theory, I want to practice it,” said Ahmed, 27, who will earn her master’s degree from the School of Professional and Continuing Studies this May. 

Enabling Telemedicine with Free Software for Developing Countries

Ahmed was born and raised in Karachi, the largest city in Pakistan. In 2014, she moved to the United Kingdom. She earned her bachelor’s degree in nutrition and health from the University of Roehampton. Initially, she wanted to pursue her master’s degree in dietetics and become a dietician. But when her son was born, it became difficult for her to pursue her original goal.

Instead, she entered the inaugural cohort of Fordham’s master’s program in applied health informatics. The program, which welcomed its first class in 2022, teaches students how to create cost-effective information systems for hospitals and health care providers. 

“What we teach in the program is how to make effectively free software for health records. Without these electronic health records, it’s very difficult to do telemedicine, which can significantly help to deliver health care in developing countries,” said the program’s director, John Chelsom, Ph.D.

Helping an African Orphanage with Electronic Records

For Ahmed’s capstone project, Chelsom connected her with international relief organization Humanity First, which put her in touch with an African orphanage that wanted to convert its health records from paper into electronic files. 

“An electronic health record is an online record of a patient’s personal information and medical history data that can be updated over their lifetime. Whenever a child enters the orphanage or is adopted, they need to fill out forms and submit them to the government. The orphanage wanted to make those forms electronic so they’re more safe, secure, and easily shareable, and all the data is in one place,” Ahmed said. “To actually install the program on their computers, we [Chelsom and I] will need to visit the orphanage … and I’m planning to continue working with them after graduation.” 

Balancing School with Motherhood, Thanks to an Online Program

At Fordham, Ahmed developed her information and technology, artificial intelligence, and programming skills. Although she never had a permanent physical campus, she participated in two Fordham-hosted residential workshops at St. Edmund Hall, the oldest residence at the University of Oxford, where she met some of her American classmates in person for the first time, as well as other professionals from around the world. And thanks to her online coursework, she was able to care for her family while pursuing her education. 

“I did my household chores in the morning, put my baby to sleep in the afternoon, and attended lectures from 2 to 5 p.m. Sometimes my son woke up in the middle, but it was possible for me to continue my studies because I was at home, where it’s easier for me to manage him,” said Ahmed, who lives in London with her husband, their 2-year-old son, and her mother-in-law. “For people like me who have children or dependents to look after, studying or working online is a great opportunity.” 

This spring, she will travel to Fordham’s main campus for the first time with her family for Commencement. She plans to use her new degree in a field related to data management, where she hopes to make a difference. 

“I want to create something that will help people in the real world,” Ahmed said. 

“I rang every single doorbell and said, ‘It’s me!’ I ended up getting five babysitting jobs,” van Weringh said. “I always wanted to work and pay for my own things.” 

Hard Work and an Immersive Commitment 

Through high school, she ran her own digital marketing business and worked as a grocery store cashier. Then she landed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as an au pair for an American family with two young boys and homes in New York, Massachusetts, and California. The position led her from the Netherlands to the States and ultimately, to Fordham, where she will graduate with a B.S. in finance from the Gabelli School of Business this May. 

Despite her struggles with the English language, van Weringh managed her way through the college application process, including the written essay—the first she ever wrote in English. She committed to Fordham without stepping foot on campus, moved into her dorm herself with two suitcases in tow, and paid her way through her freshman year with her earnings.

From day one, van Weringh immersed herself in campus life. She’s been a resident assistant, freshman advising mentor, and teaching assistant for the Gabelli School’s Ground Floor class.

Smart Woman Securities: ‘We All Want Each Other to Succeed’ 

She also joined Fordham’s Smart Woman Securities (SWS) chapter, serving as an equity research analyst and then as chief investment officer on the executive board, training analysts and managing a $500,000 virtual portfolio. Van Weringh said she found her place in SWS. 

“We all want each other to succeed. It’s not a competitive environment. We know we can all succeed at the same time. That’s something I don’t think you see at other business schools.”

Van Weringh is among 25 finance majors selected to oversee Fordham’s $2.1 million Student Managed Fund and she now serves as one of three managing directors. In the honors thesis program, she is one of 20 students chosen to undertake an alternative investment research project. 

About her many extracurricular activities, the soon-to-be graduate said, “I wanted to take advantage of every single thing Fordham had to offer. And I did that.”

One of the ‘Best and Brightest’ Business Majors

Her hard work and determination have earned her several scholarships and awards, including the Faber Award, Woolworth Award, Alpha Sigma Nu, Boyle Society, and Dean’s List with First Honors. This year, Poets&Quants named her one of the best and brightest business majors in the Class of 2023. 

Soon, van Weringh will join Credit Suisse as an investment banking capital markets and advisory analyst. The full-time job offer came after she showcased her talents in a selective 10-week summer internship at the firm. “I look back on a great summer and I’m excited to go back full time,” she said. 

As her college years come to a close, the senior said it is bittersweet: She is sad to leave but ready to start her next chapter. She is grateful for the opportunities she’s had to learn and grow at the Gabelli School and for the support she’s received along the way. 

“The professors really care about us,” van Weringh said. “They go out of their way to help. They just want the best for you.”

—Written by Claire Curry for Fordham Business Magazine

Education is a rare privilege in his hometown, and many students quit because it’s too challenging to get to school, but Zongo persisted because he believes knowledge is a potent tool, he said.

From Burkina Faso to Manhattan: A Long Journey for Higher Education

“School for me is like a vessel of knowledge,” Zongo said. “School is something that I always look up to, to have a place where people can better themselves and learn and grow and even possibly learn about the world and different things in life.”

Zongo was accepted to the University of Ouagadougou, in Burkina Faso’s capital, but couldn’t start the program because of a lack of funding and study materials. In 2013, he came to the U.S. on a Diversity Immigrant Visa—a lottery-selected program available to people from countries with low U.S. immigration rates. Looking back now, Zongo says his journey to Fordham feels like a dream.

When he arrived in the U.S., Zongo spoke three languages—French and two local languages, Moore and Dioula—but not English. After struggling to find enough work, he enrolled in remedial English at John Jay College, where he eventually earned his bachelor’s degree in International Criminal Justice, graduating cum laude in 2018.

Understanding Vulnerable Communities

Zongo’s background and experiences prepared him well to become a social worker, and left him with an intrinsic desire to help others and to give back, said Linda White-Ryan, associate dean of GSS. 

“It gave him an in-depth understanding of many of the vulnerable communities, the people that social workers assist,” White-Ryan said. 

While at John Jay, Zongo also received the prestigious DAAD scholarship to study at the Berlin School of Economics and Law. He now speaks five languages, adding German and English to his repertoire.

After graduating, he worked in various community organizations helping vulnerable New Yorkers access services and health care. In 2021, he received the Mayor’s Graduate Scholarship—which encourages full-time NYC government employees to pursue higher education—and enrolled in Fordham’s MSW program.

Working with Undocumented and Unhoused New Yorkers

The program’s helped him hone his skills and passion for helping the city’s underserved communities. While at Fordham, Zongo worked full-time as a Community Health Worker at Bellevue Hospital, an outgrowth of the contact tracing work he did through the Public Health Corps early in the pandemic. His job is to help social workers and doctors make sure they’re offering complete services to patients.

“As a CHW, my role is to effectively interact with undocumented and homeless people and to identify complex barriers to primary care,” Zongo said. “My second role is to provide formal, trauma-informed care tailored to the patient-oriented care goals while addressing substance use, mental health, housing progression, and chronic disease.”

At Fordham, Zongo’s particularly enjoyed the humanitarian and mental health classes he’s taken, including his Integrated Behavioral Health, Health Care Policy and Advocacy, and Suicide Assessment and Treatment classes, because they’ve bolstered his cultural understanding and prepared him to better serve people he works with in the future.

“He’s developed a very strong skill base and developed social work competency at a really superior level,” White-Ryan said. “We are proud he’s a graduate of Fordham…he’s a shining example of this program.”

After graduation, Zongo will continue in his Community Health Worker position and study toward a Master of Public Health degree at Columbia University this fall. He plans to spend his life making sure overlooked and underserved populations have access to good health care.

—Meredith Lawrence