Terry Begley, GABELLI ’86, the CEO of corporate banking at PNC Financial Services Group, kicked off the evening. He shared that as the new chair of the council, he’s excited to harness its passion for the University to help Fordham’s new president, Tania Tetlow, with “what she’s trying to accomplish.”

Fordham’s ‘Knights of the Round Table’

The reception served as the first official opportunity for Tetlow to meet the council, a group of successful professionals and philanthropists committed to mentoring Fordham’s future leaders, funding key initiatives, and raising the University’s profile.

“I am so excited to have my own council!” she told them at a reception prior to the mentoring event, which was held in the Lowenstein Center’s 12th-Floor Lounge. “I’ll think of you as Fordham’s Knights of the Round Table: You bring your wisdom, your contribution, your expertise—so much—to Fordham and our students.”

Tetlow said she loves hearing about the ways council members not only “help with the kind of donations that pay forward opportunity” but also engage with “our students quite directly—mentoring them, giving speeches, doing so much for the school.” She added that she’s “eager” to take in their advice and work with them to continue to enhance the Fordham experience for students.

Forge New Connections

Margot Reid, GABELLI ’21, special events and professional development chair of Fordham’s Young Alumni Committee, opened the roundtable discussion portion of the evening by welcoming alumni and parents “back here, back home, to Fordham.” She encouraged the students and recent graduates to really “make the most of this unique opportunity to connect with … the Fordham family” in the room, a group that included graduates from class years spanning five decades.

At 10 tables, each one featuring at least two mentors, attendees shared their stories—from what brought them to Fordham and who in the Fordham community has had the biggest impact on them to how to navigate the workforce while staying true to their values along the way. Guided by discussion prompts, they also delved into how Fordham’s global network of more than 200,000 alumni can help.

Garismar Ramirez, a Fordham College at Rose Hill senior studying neuroscience, asked the mentors at her table how they transitioned to the workforce after college, noting that she feels it would be a big jump to go from worrying about GPA and test scores to performing well every day on the job.

Thomas E. Kelly III, PAR ’11, ’13, said that he did it by learning to be comfortable with ambiguity and trusting in his ability to do a “good job.”

“Don’t be afraid. Don’t be anxious,” he said, adding they should aim to perform with as much excellence as they can.

Kelly, a member of the President’s Council, also encouraged students and recent graduates to use the resources Fordham offers, through the alumni relations office, the Career Center, and the Office of Counseling and Psychological Services, to help overcome any nervousness or anxiety they might have about interviewing and networking.

Trust the Process

Guthrie Garvin, FCRH ’99, a managing director at the real estate and investment firm JLL and member of the President’s Council, said that it’s important not to put too much pressure on yourself to find “the job” you’ll have for the rest of your life.

“I’ve been doing the same thing for 18 years, but it was a pretty circuitous path before that,” said Guthrie, who spent some time in education and sales before turning to real estate. “Find what you think you’re passionate about and jump in, but don’t be afraid to pivot if it turns out that there’s another path that seems more exciting. It’s part of the process.”

Speaking of process, Errol Pierre, GABELLI ’05, senior vice president of state programs at Healthfirst and member of the President’s Council, told the students that internships could help them determine what they’re most passionate about. Thanks to a series of three internships he completed as an undergraduate, he learned what he didn’t like. And “if you can align passion and profession, the sky’s the limit,” he said.

Remember You Belong

Halley Rodriguez, a Fordham College at Lincoln Center senior and a member of Fordham’s Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP), said she was curious about how to combat imposter syndrome.

In response, Garvin encouraged each of the students at the table to “be confident in yourself and where you should be,” to resist the temptation to “run from what’s a little uncomfortable,” and to remember always that they will bring value to the organization that hires them.

“Constantly tell yourself, ‘I’m supposed to be here,’” Pierre said. “The time it takes to be in your head [worrying]takes you away from performing.”

From tennis star Naomi Osaka’s willingness to say “it’s OK to not be OK” to the panic attack-prone title character of the T.V. show Ted Lasso, mental health in sports seems to be having its moment. But the professionalization of wellness in sports is still evolving and involves far more than having a psychologist on staff.  It’s about coordinating every aspect of a student-athlete’s well-being, psychologically, physically, emotionally and spiritually, said Djenane Paul.

In September, Paul was promoted to become Fordham’s Deputy Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Welfare and Competitive Excellence. She’s been working since 2016 to bring together the many parts of student-athlete wellness, including nutrition, sports medicine, strength and conditioning, and behavioral health. Her efforts have created an infrastructure on which a full-fledged student-athlete mental health program at Fordham could grow.

Centering Wellness on Cura Personalis

“Part of the goal was to normalize mental health and to build [the program]from a place where student-athlete wellness is rooted in cura personalis,” said Paul. “If we believe that we need to care for the whole unique individual, then we needed it to be consistent with every aspect of a student-athlete’s education, including athletics.”

According to an August 2021 statement on mental health challenges for athletes from the American College of Sports Medicine, approximately 30% of women and 25% of men who are student-athletes report having anxiety, and only 10% of all college athletes with known mental health conditions seek care from a mental health professional. Fortunately, Fordham Athletics had been building its wellness program well before the pandemic exacerbated the issue, said Paul.

Fordham Athletic Director Ed Kull said many aspects of health—including mental health, wellness, and nutrition—are top priorities for Fordham athletics under the University’s $350 million fundraising campaign, Cura Personalis | For Every Fordham Student, which seeks to reinvest in all aspects of the student experience. Other priorities include support for students’ academic efforts and personal, leadership, and career development.

“Our Rams are high-achieving individuals and we are continually identifying new ways to care for their whole person–both in and out of competition,” Kull said.

Paul initially sought guidance from Counseling and Psychological Services Director Jeffrey Ng, Psy. D.; sports performance psychologist Jonathan Fader, Ph.D., and his firm SportStrata; and the students themselves, like Sydney Canessa, GABELLI ’17. Canessa was a senior playing softball when she helped Paul design, distribute, and analyze data from a survey for the then-nascent athlete mental health program.

The anonymous survey asked student-athletes if they or their teammates have ever struggled with mental health, whether they would consider seeing a sports psychologist, and whether they wanted the department to have a therapist on staff. Paul said that she was not surprised to learn that student-athletes were not only open to discussing mental health, but they were also open to seeing a mental health professional. The survey spurred Canessa to work with teammates and Paul to form T.E.A.M. Fordham (Together Everyone Achieves More), which seeks to help student-athletes mentally prepare for their post-athletic careers.

“I personally saw teammates struggle and I thought it would make a huge difference if all athletes could help each other,” said Canessa, adding that her peers didn’t view seeing a therapist as a weakness.

Canessa said that for most student-athletes, graduation often means breaking away from a life-long passion which is the very reason that T.E.A.M Fordham was created—to ensure that student-athletes were prepared for their life after Fordham.

“The majority of us would not become professional athletes once we graduated, so we wanted to make sure that once college was over we didn’t have an identity crisis,” said Canessa.

In 2020, as one athletic season after another was canceled due to the pandemic and discussions around social unrest continued, student-athletes once again pulled together with Paul and Associate Athletic Director for Compliance and Student-Athlete Development Jamilah Ali-Shaffer. With their advisers, along with the Fordham Athletics Social Justice Task Force, they formed a student-athlete-led group called Fordham Connect. Its mission is to create a safe space where student-athletes can engage in open conversations about issues affecting them and foster a healthier environment within Fordham Athletics.  While T.E.A.M. Fordham honed its focus on helping student-athletes prepare for a post-academic life and developing the whole person, the Fordham Connect aims to erase the stigma around vulnerability and mental health in sports.

Kickstarting a Wellness Program with NCAA Support

But back in 2017, Paul was still just getting the ball rolling. She took the survey findings to then-Athletic Director David Roach, who backed her plan to further explore formalizing a mental health and wellness program. It’s a position Kull continues to prioritize and support.

At the time Roach was athletic director, the NCAA distributed a one-time grant to assist college athletic departments in promoting health and well-being. The monies were allocated toward mental health and sports psychology, allowing the athletic department to retain SportsStrata as consultants for six years. The funding is now in its fifth year.

Fortuitously, Paul was then approached by Lauren Shute, GSS ’20. Shute, a former student-athlete and sports journalist, was getting her Master of Social Work degree at Fordham. She was interested in the intersection of sports wellness and social work, a field that’s still developing. She asked Paul if she could do her required field placement at Fordham Athletics to help design a program that includes a social worker.

Shute said social workers are trained at helping clients navigate the many existing services already available to them.

“With college athletics, you’re communicating with a lot of systems: a strength and conditioning coach, a dietitian, an academic coach, psychological services, professors,” she said.

She added that coordinating care also must factor in a student-athlete’s background and home life alongside the “macro level factors,” something that social workers are trained to do.

One way to introduce student-athletes to various services, Shute said, is to bring all the players and support staff together to discuss a particular topic, such as body image. Shute and Paul did just that in 2019.

“We facilitated the discussion and teammates did open up,” she said.

It was the first of many discussions organized with coaches, team members, a nurse practitioner from Health Services, the institution’s dietitian, and a psychologist from Counseling and Psychological Services. Other topics included were anxiety, depression, family discord, and transitioning out of sport.

Program Continuity is Key

With every new partnership that Paul fosters, she makes sure that it’s not a one-shot deal. She accepted Shute as an intern provided the GSS partnership continued after she graduated. This year another GSS student was assigned a field placement in Athletics, the second since Shute’s placement. By the end of Shute’s tenure the discussion groups succeeded in getting the word out that a social worker was on hand to help. Coaches and teammates now regularly refer athletes to them.

“My experience was fantastic and what was interesting to me is that a lot of the kids at Fordham are not looking for a career in sports; they’re really there to get an education, they were so trusting and so open and willing to talk about different issues and that’s why the program works so well,” said Shute

In addition to the GSS field placements, Paul helped foster other new partnerships that will continue into the foreseeable future, including partnerships with Boston University, which has sent several sports psychologist interns to Fordham and the consulting partnership with SportStrata has grown to include a contracted mental performance coach who is a licensed mental health counselor.

Coaches at the Center

Paul said aspects of her new role aren’t really all that new. Rather it’s a formalization of support structure that already existed organically.

“We wanted to make sure there was a reporting structure for the coaches and that they were aware of all of the mental health resources available to their student-athletes,” she said. “We then make sure that psychological services, health services, and sports medicine get involved, but the first line of defense will always be the coaches.”

An impromptu interview with a member of the football team on the Rose Hill Gymnasium steps confirmed as much. Fordham College at Rose Hill junior Jeff Ciccio plays tight end on the football team. He said that if he has an issue, he has no problem going to Head Coach Joe Conlin because the coach talks about mental health in team meetings.

“He is very strong with that and likes to talk about it in team meetings and lets us know that he’s always there for us,” said Ciccio. “And another one of my coaches helps me a lot, he likes to check in on me because I’ve gone through some stuff early in my life and he went through something very similar to what I went through.”

Student-athletes usually exhibit the same mental health concerns as the general student population, from relationship concerns to family issues and academic struggles, Melissa Gluck, Ph.D., the therapist dedicated to helping student-athletes from Counseling and Psychological Services.

“The most important thing to remember when serving the athletic community is that these student-athletes are people first and you have to treat the person before the ‘athlete,’” said Gluck. “It’s really easy to think that because they are athletes their problems will be vastly different than other students but that is just not the case.”

However, one key difference is that student-athletes are working two full-time jobs as Fordham students and as athletes, she said. She added that in treatment it’s important to consider team dynamics and what their coaches expect from them.

Fordham coaches believe that having strong mental health is part of the strategy for success, said Paul.

For his part, Ciccio credits Coach Conlin as “the best coach around to keep us mentally strong.”

“We’re only as strong as our weakest link. We got to make sure that everyone is as mentally strong as each other, because not everyone is going to be as physically strong as the next guy in the weight room, so it all comes down to mental. And I think here at Fordham we are very strong mentally.”

To inquire about supporting athletics or another area of the University, please contact Michael Boyd, senior associate vice president for development and university relations, at 212-636-6525 or [email protected]. Learn more about Cura Personalis | For Every Fordham Student, our campaign to reinvest in every aspect of the Fordham student experience.

For more information on giving in support of Fordham athletics, contact Kara Field at [email protected]. Learn more about Cura Personalis | For Every Fordham Student, a $350 million fundraising campaign to reinvest in all  aspect of the Fordham experience.  

Though her last post was focused on residential students, she said she has always attempted to break down perceived and literal walls that separated commuter students from residents.

“We want to make sure students feel a part of the fabric of the University and Lincoln Center in particular, so we have engaged in more commuter-friendly timelines for activities,” she said. She’s also made a concerted effort to develop a “commuter affiliates program” that allows commuter students to visit their residential friends during certain hours with relative ease. There will, of course, continue to be events that cater to the residential community as well.

Campbell said that recent renovations and ongoing plans for physical spaces in and around the Lincoln Center campus have created opportunities for the student community to mix and grow organically, not just through events and clubs. Now chance encounters occur at Argo Café, the lounge areas of the sixth-floor hallway, and in the study space at Quinn Library, to name just a few spots.

Diversity as an Asset to be Maintained

Lincoln Center’s diverse student body is one of its great strengths, she said, not just for that campus but for the entire University. Campbell continues to work closely with the Office of Multicultural Affairs to train her staff and student leadership on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

“We are very intentional about making certain that students have the toolkits available so they can have those conversations,” she said.

Student mentors and resident assistants go through a series of modules including diversity, equity, and inclusion two weeks prior to the start of the semester and then continue similar training throughout the entire school year, she said.

Campbell’s office has also made an intentional effort to recruit students of color to become residential assistants and first-year mentors. She noted that she often draws from the diverse group of commuter students for these posts. Most commuter students weren’t aware of these because they simply couldn’t afford to live on campus, she said. However, stipends and scholarships have provided a pathway for them to move into the residence halls and become resident assistants. And they can be residential or commuter student mentors regardless of where they live.

“We now have an increased number of student leaders of color that reside on campus to make certain that students from all communities that live here feel supported,” she said.

She noted that diversity isn’t just about race; students also hold a diversity of interests, which can be tapped into in the variety of clubs and activities on offer at the college. She said she also stays in constant communication with departments that mirror her own department’s diverse community-building programs, such as Campus Ministry.

“One of my former resident assistants identified as a Muslim and he got involved through Campus Ministry to go on a retreat, and it changed his life,” she said. “He was able to understand Catholicism and Judaism and what that meant to who he was as a Muslim.”

Bouncing Back From Time Apart

Campbell said that without question, the pandemic presented steep challenges to fostering community, even though about two-thirds of Fordham’s residential students chose to return when the halls reopened.

“In the coming year, I think our goal will be to reach out to those students who were here and those who were not, because regardless they’ve experienced a lot of trauma and we need to provide a level of support to get them engaged and offer counseling if they need it,” she said.

For that effort she’s been working closely with Counseling and Psychological Services.

“This year it’ll be about getting accustomed to each other because they’ve been away from each other for so long.”

Personal Experience of Fordham Community

Campbell is preparing for the new semester by reading history books and vacationing with family in Maryland. She’s spent a bulk of her academic career in that region; she earned her bachelor’s at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where she majored in business and sociology, and later got her master’s in counseling at Trinity Washington University. It was there that she began to think of a career in academia.

“I believe that you bring into existence the things in your life that you want to have happened,” she said. “I was living in D.C. in 1990 and was talking to a colleague and friend, Tom Ellett, who was talking about the cohort experience of getting his doctorate at Fordham. And I thought, ‘Oh, I’m going to do that one day.”

It was fortuitous, she said, that she moved back near her hometown of Newark, New Jersey, in 2003, which eventually led to a job offer at Fordham in 2007. She later earned her Ed.D. at Fordham’s Graduate School of Education. She also got to be close to home at a difficult time.

“God put me in this area for a reason, because two years [after moving back to Newark]I found out that my mom had lung cancer,” she said. Campbell lost her mother in 2009, and within a year and a half, she also lost her grandmother and her aunt. Losing the three most significant women in her life while she navigated her new job at Fordham made her realize that Fordham didn’t just talk the talk of community.

“I can’t tell you how I felt when I saw those Fordham vans show up with my colleagues and students to support me at my mother’s funeral just two years into my time here. They could have sent flowers or a card,” she said.

She wiped a tear and continued.

“From that experience, I really do embrace the fact that care for the whole person really does happen here,” she said.

“I think that part was the most painful for her. When I think about it, it’s really painful for me to think that something had happened to somebody I love, and nobody would stand up,” said Park-Taylor, an associate professor of counseling psychology and a director of training in the Graduate School of Education.

Park-Taylor shared this story as a part of a virtual community convening on anti-Asian violence and racism on March 24, which brought together more than 200 members of the Fordham community. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-Asian bias, attacks, and harassment have been on the rise. Stop AAPI Hate, a nonprofit, documented almost 3,800 hate incidents against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders from March 2020 to February 2021. Most recently, six Asian American women were murdered in Atlanta.

Members of the Fordham community, including Park-Taylor; Mary Balingit, associate director for diversity initiatives in the Office of Admissions; Arthur Liu, a Fordham College at Rose Hill sophomore and president of Fordham’s Asian Cultural Exchange; and Stephen Hong Sohn, Ph.D., professor and Thomas F.X. and Theresa Mullarkey Chair in Literature, along with moderator Rafael Zapata, chief diversity officer and special assistant to the president for diversity, reflected on the impact of anti-Asian violence. They discussed ways to build community and heal, and talked about possibilities for interracial solidarity.

“I think what’s a little bit different about this moment is just the level of fear that I’ve heard communicated,” Sohn said. “It’s been higher than I’ve ever anecdotally seen before, and the circumstances coming out of COVID make the experience slightly unique as well.. But I think it’s important for us to realize this is part of a longer historical genealogy of anti-Asian sentiments that has reemerged in light of these circumstances.”

Liu, who is originally from Hong Kong, said that he “thinks fondly of the United States,” but that he had to convince his friends back home that many Americans weren’t like the political leaders who were making anti-Asian remarks.

“The political rhetoric surrounding COVID-19 and what Donald Trump has said—what he said was incredibly hurtful,” Liu said.

He also said he had friends ask him if he was considering taking martial arts classes to learn how to defend himself in case he was attacked.

“You shouldn’t have to feel the need to know how to defend yourself in a civil society,” he said. “And so I was taken aback by that initially, but honestly, I’m kind of buying into the idea, because I just feel a heightened sense of awareness and being scared.”

That sense of awareness is something that Park-Taylor said she has personally grappled with.

“When I think about the experiences of racism I’ve gone through throughout my life, I can think of it as this duality—sometimes I feel really invisible. I feel like I’m not seen at all, I’m not heard and silenced,” she said. “But then there are times when I feel hyper visible. There were (times when) I’m the only Asian person in a classroom. Or instances where I’m particularly targeted because I’m an Asian woman and [because of]the stereotypes about Asian women.”

Balingit said those negative stereotypes, which have been perpetuated throughout history, were on display when the Asian women were killed in Atlanta.

“That shared experience of being an Asian woman—the negative stereotypes that say that we’re docile, and that we’re quiet, we’re apolitical, and that we are weak—I think that played into that, and to what happened last week in Atlanta,” she said.

Park-Taylor said that she hoped people now have a better understanding of microaggressions and intersectionality.

“There’s a unique positionality that an Asian woman occupies in this place and space,” she said.

Balingit said that solidarity between minority communities is essential to combating these acts and other types of racism and white supremacy.

“I think what’s important is look at the history—we have to look at the history of our solidarity first, and to Rafael (Zapata’s) point is how everything is rooted mainly in white supremacy and how this perpetuates the pitting of minorities against each other,” she said. “Let’s not let this divide us even more, especially at a time like now where we’re also very isolated already.”

Zapata also stressed the importance of bystander intervention, and noted there are trainings on the topic, such as the one offered through Hollaback!, a global movement to end harassment.

“We had been working on a panel on this issue just as the murders in Atlanta took place, which was especially devastating, and made clear for all to see what far too many AAPI people in the U.S. had been experiencing at higher rates since the beginning of the pandemic,” Zapata said. “It also made participating in the panel more of a challenge, because of the emotional toll it could take on participants. I’m so grateful to the panelists for all they shared.”

For students, staff, and faculty, who might be struggling to handle anti-Asian hate and violence, Fordham’s Counseling and Psychological Services put together a resource sheet.

Jeffrey Ng, Psy. D, director of Fordham’s Counseling and Psychological Services and a licensed clinical psychologist, encouraged those in attendance to be there for their friends, families, and colleagues who might be dealing with acts of discrimination and racism.

“The immediate thought that comes to my mind is just to take the time to listen is so important, to try to be present and to be attuned to what your POC students or colleagues or peers might be sharing with you,” said Ng, who will be moderating a second community convening on March 29. “The validation and the affirmation is so critical for the healing process.”

“Navigating the independence and autonomy that comes with being away at school can be difficult,” says Jeffrey Ng, Psy.D., director of counseling and psychological services (CPS) at Fordham. “There’s a whole set of stressors students might experience, such as homesickness, academic pressure, financial demands, and anxiety related to developing new relationships and fitting in.”

Simply put, being a college student today isn’t easy—and there are statistics to back it up: A 2018 American College Health Association study revealed that more than 87% of college students surveyed felt overwhelmed by all they have to do. And more than 40% reported that they were so stressed, it was difficult to function.

“Increasingly, more students arriving on campus have a tendency toward perfectionism,” Ng says. “We have to deconstruct that. It is part of the human experience to err and be fallible. The idea of letting go of perfectionism is really important.”

In addition, Ng adds, overly involved parenting and the pervasiveness of social media and technology are contributing to the rise in anxiety and depression on college campuses nationwide.

So what can parents do to help their children make a smooth, healthy transition and thrive in college?

Talk about what to expect.

Fordham’s orientation programs are designed to help students (and parents) as they make the adjustment to college and a more independent life. But you can also help your student imagine ways they might cope with some of the typical stresses of their first year by talking to them even before they get on campus, Father Marcotte says. These might be practical chats about doing their own laundry or keeping their room or suite clean, or deeper conversations about emotional vulnerabilities like feeling lonely or being disappointed about a test grade.

“We want them to feel that they are the agent of this process and that they are ready to face what’s going to come down the road,” he says. Discuss the fact that it’s normal to feel vulnerable at different times in life and that it’s healthy to seek out support, Ng adds. “Parents can help students identify what resources are available and how to access them if they should ever need help working through an issue.”

Encourage your student to get involved.

One of the most common challenges first-year students face is finding new peer groups and making friends. They also might get so wrapped up in academics that they forget the importance of human connection, play, and downtime.

“Studies show that students who become engaged on campus are usually more successful than those who don’t,” Ng says. So whether your child is into sports, music, journalism, or something else, encourage them to seek out clubs and activities where they can do what they enjoy while building a new social network. An easy way to do this is at the club fairs at the beginning of each semester, so remind them to attend.

Advise them to put social media in its place.

The overuse of technology and social media has been linked to mental health issues, Ng says. It interferes with essential human relationships and can foster low self-esteem by exposing young people to curated versions of other people’s lives.

“They are constantly comparing themselves,” Ng says. “We encourage our students to be more intentional, thoughtful, and discerning about how they perceive and relate to social media,” he adds, something parents should cultivate, too.

Remind them to be kind to themselves.

When students encounter the pitfalls and unexpected obstacles everyone experiences in adulthood, help them adopt a “growth mindset,” Father Marcotte says.

“The best way to build resilience is to see everything from a growth perspective. Even failures, disappointments, and losses hold within them important lessons that teach us how to go forward in a better way,” he adds. Encourage your student to focus on what they can learn from difficult experiences. Practicing generosity and meditation, Father Marcotte says, are other ways to build inner strength and “enlarge the soul.”

Finally, Ng emphasizes the importance of self-compassion and self-care, advising students to remember the basics: exercise, nutrition, and sleep. Fordham’s on-campus fitness centers and registered dietitians can help them get what they need.

Let go and trust them.

By the time your student arrives at college, they already have a moral compass that you have helped build over the years. “We have to trust that,” Ng says. “I know it’s hard to do, but it’s part of letting go.”

Father Marcotte agrees. “Parents need to see that their work is to help their children into ‘interdependence,’ where they remain connected, but the child has the ability to act on his or her own and become a full adult. This is the season for that to begin.”

—Claire Curry

Fordham’s deans of students are always available to talk to parents. If you need advice or would like to schedule a private meeting about any concerns, please reach out to them.

For more information about on-campus resources for students, check out the Quick Links for Parents section of the Fordham website.

More than 63 percent of college students reported experiencing overwhelming anxiety within the last year, according to the American College Health Association’s 2018 National College Health Assessment. And almost 42 percent of surveyed students said they felt so depressed that it was difficult to function.

“Anxiety and depression are the most common presenting problems in our office as well,” said Jeffrey Ng, Psy.D., director of counseling and psychological services (CPS) at Fordham. “Student utilization of on-campus mental health services has been trending upwards for the past 10 years nationally, including at Fordham.”

But there are many different ways to combat anxiety and depression, both on one’s own and with help from loved ones and professionals. Ng offered some suggestions for students struggling with their mental and emotional health and those who care about them:

Practice self-compassion. “Students often have perfectionistic and unrealistic demands and standards for themselves—standards that they likely wouldn’t apply to others,” Ng said. “We encourage our students to try to be as kind to themselves as they would to someone you love or care about.”

Exercise. “Engage in physical activity or exercise,” Ng said. “Physical activity and exercise are incredibly effective for reducing mild to moderate anxiety and depression.”

Practice digital and social media literacy. “Social media constantly exposes and bombards us with airbrushed or curated versions of people’s lives. When we compare ourselves to what we see on social media, we may get the sense that ‘we’re not good enough or doing enough.’ This can contribute to lower self-esteem, which can increase our vulnerability to mental health problems,” he said. “We encourage our students to try to be more intentional, thoughtful, and discerning about how they perceive and relate to social media.”

Don’t forget the essentials. “Attend to basic needs like sleeping, eating, and playing,” Ng said. “Having social relationships and social interactions—those are basic needs as well.”

Remember that there are multiple routes to healing. “It’s important for students to remember that there are many, many different pathways or routes for healing and feeling better. Acceptance from our parents (as in Govindan’s case) is just one of those paths,” Ng said. “Unconditional acceptance is obviously very important for our mental and emotional health, but for some students, they may unfortunately never experience that level of acceptance from their parents. So it’s especially important for them to recognize that there are multiple pathways and possibilities for healing.”

Normalize vulnerability. “One of the most important things we can do to support our students is to normalize vulnerability, imperfection, and struggle as part of the human experience,” Ng said.

Seeking help. One local resource is Fordham’s Counseling and Psychological Services Center, with offices on the Rose Hill, Lincoln Center, and Westchester campuses. To make an appointment, students can call or simply stop by. During non-business hours, students can reach out to public safety or residential life staff for emergencies.

Off-campus, 24/7 resources include the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-TALK (8255) and, for those who would rather type than talk, the Crisis Text Line.

“It’s important for our students to recognize that help-seeking is a sign of strength and maturity rather than weakness,” said Ng.

Now, a donation from a Fordham family will help address these issues within the University’s expanding Chinese student community.

The $50,000 gift will go toward hiring a part-time bilingual psychologist to help with issues that are unique—and a few that are not so unique—to Chinese students transitioning to life in New York City. The Lincoln Center-based therapist will be familiar with Chinese culture and provide mental health outreach and clinical services.

The gift was made by family members of a Fordham College at Lincoln Center freshman. The family members, Howie Wang and Toshi Chan, both live in New York City, and understand the challenges facing young Asians in America. Chan, whose parents emigrated from China, grew up on the West coast.

“I’m born here and even I had a difficult transition,” he said. “That experience of trying to fit in has served me well now, but it was pretty difficult at the time.”

Examining Cultural Nuances

Jeffrey Ng, Psy.D., director of Counseling and Psychological Services, said that understanding the nuances of a culture can go a long way in helping students.

“There are many different world views and perspectives on mental health, and lots of variety in the way folks experience and handle emotional distress,” said Ng. “It’s very culturally specific, so it’s helpful to have counselors who have familiarly with the culture and the language.”

Chan was born in a Catholic hospital, went to Catholic grade school, and attended a Jesuit high school. He said that he liked the way Jesuits shared “good ethics” without proselytizing. It’s a quality he thinks will attract Asian students generally.

“They teach modern values without sounding like a preacher,” he said.

When Wang and Chan expressed interest in making a donation, they were given a host of options developed to help Fordham’s growing Chinese community, from interpreting services to cultural training for Fordham staff or an endowed chair in Chinese studies. But the program providing support services attracted them most.

“Asian people tend to keep their problems to themselves and this will be very helpful, because when you’re in a different country you’re even less likely to seek help,” said Chan. “I think it’s great that they’re bilingual because there is a real need.”

Chan, who describes himself as “DACA before there was DACA,” said that the United States still holds a strong attraction for many Chinese students, especially when it comes to education. He said that whether students choose to stay on in the states or whether they return home, the good that will be fostered through studying here lasts a lifetime.

“My family came here for the American Dream and that’s very much alive,” said Chan. “And whether students stay or go back home to do business in China, the more cross-pollinization we have the better it is for both countries.”

The two-day event will feature more than 100 presenters and performers taking a collective stand against sexual violence of all kinds, including dating violence, campus sexual assault, child sexual abuse, domestic violence, and trafficking.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for us to sponsor another effort toward prevention of and education about sexual violence,” said Michele Burris, associate vice president of student affairs.

“Hosting the summit is also recognition from Take Back The Night of the strong work we’re doing in the area of sexual assault and misconduct.”

The aim of the summit—which will convene organizations and leaders in fields including education, business, counseling, healthcare, military, politics, and entertainment—is to unite diverse perspectives and backgrounds to address the problem, starting with developing a common vocabulary and understanding of sexual violence.

Keynote speakers include Margaret Huang, executive director of Amnesty International; Katie Koestner, founder of Take Back The Night, who appeared on the cover of TIME Magazine 25 years ago as the first college student to speak out as a the victim of date rape; and Scott Berkowitz, president and founder of the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN).

Participants will learn the laws and policies related to sexual violence, social media techniques for campaigns and fundraising, how to mobilize communities, and how to host vigils, speak-outs, and other events to support survivors. A “Going NOISY Celebrity SoundOff” in Fordham Prep’s Leonard Theatre will feature performances by musicians, actors, and other artists.

In addition, more than a dozen trauma-informed yoga instructors will kick off the second day of the summit with “Yoga for Strength and Healing” on Edwards Parade.

Fordham’s Stand Against Sexual Violence

The collaboration between Fordham and Take Back The Night Foundation has grown out of the University’s ongoing work to combat sexual misconduct, Burris said. Last year, Fordham was selected as one of 10 Points of Light around the country during the national observance of Take Back The Night—an event featuring survivor stories, candlelight vigils, and other effort to raise awareness about sexual assault.

The previous year, Fordham hosted a conference on campus sexual misconduct policies to train both Fordham and non-Fordham educators on how to deal with sexual misconduct.

“We are constantly working to educate students as well as faculty and staff when it comes to preventing sexual assault, reporting violence, and what to do when you see something or you yourself experience something like this,” Burris said.

A key aspect of this work, said Burris, is to regularly update the University’s policies and procedures to comply with evolving state and federal laws. As part of this structure, Campus Ministry and Counseling and Psychological Services serve as confidential reporting centers for anyone who experiences violence of any kind. The Health Center has several trained sexual assault nurse examiners (SANE) on staff to offer medical support and resources to victims of assault.

Most importantly, Burris said, an administrative support person is assigned to every reported case of sexual misconduct. The point persons—one for the victim and one for the accuser—help guide each party involved through the process.

“The day the person says something, there is an administrator assigned to them to help them understand how the process works and how to report it, to go with them to every meeting, to connect them with counseling and health services, and to work with the academic deans in case they need to miss classes,” Burris said.

“There is a team of people in place to help the student get through this. That’s the number one thing—the student needs to feel supported throughout.”

For more information and to register for the International Summit to End Sexual Violence, visit the official website.

“It goes without saying that Elliott’s family and loved ones will be in our prayers this week,” said Joseph M. McShane, SJ, president of Fordham. “They have sustained a terrible loss, and our hearts are broken for them, and for Elliott. I ask that you be especially kind to one another, and to yourselves, this week, as we come together as a community to mourn our losses.”

A memorial service in Copeland’s honor will be held at Our Lady’s Chapel (University Church lower level) on the Rose Hill campus on June 23 at 6:30 p.m.

“We will support Elliott’s family as best we can in their we can in their grief, and will likewise do everything in our power to help his friends and loved ones at Fordham cope with his loss,” Father McShane said.

A native of Raleigh, North Carolina, Copeland was a 2013 graduate of Ravenscroft School. At Fordham he was majoring in business administration with a concentration in finance. He was active in several organizations on campus, including the Fordham Finance Society and Alternative Investments Club.

“We are deeply saddened by this tragic event. Every Gabelli School student is truly one of our own—a member of our school family,” said Donna Rapaccioli, PhD, dean of the business school. “Elliott, his family members, and his friends, at Fordham and elsewhere, are in our thoughts and prayers.”

Copeland was an avid rugby player and was a captain for Fordham’s rugby football club. In an outpouring of grief on social media, his teammates described his “pure joy for life” and his generous presence to friends and acquaintances.

“He was always so, so genuinely nice to me whenever our paths crossed,” said Kyle Morton, a rising junior at Fordham College at Rose Hill and a fellow Raleigh native. “It’s abundantly clear tonight how many lives he touched both in Raleigh and at Fordham.”

Copeland aspired to work in the financial industry, possibly in corporate finance. He was an intern at Tapad, a New York-based marketing technology firm, and held previous internships at deVere Group, Campbell Alliance, and Empire Wealth Strategies.

In addition to achieving much both in the classroom and on the rugby field, Copeland volunteered regularly. He spent four years as a volunteer with the Special Olympics, and for three consecutive years he joined Reach Mission Trips, a nonprofit organization that ran annual, weeklong service trips to low-income communities around the United States.

“We were simply devastated to hear the news this weekend, and have joined Elliott’s coaches and teammates on the rugby team in mourning his passing,” said Christopher Rodgers, dean of students at Rose Hill.

“He was clearly much loved by the men on the squad, and our staff will be reaching out to them and others who knew Elliott to offer support and our prayers.”

His funeral service will be held Friday, June 24, at 2 p.m.  
St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, 1520 Canterbury Road, Raleigh, NC 27608.
A reception will follow at North Ridge Country Club in Raleigh.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Ravenscroft Scholarship Funds or the Susan G. Komen fund. 

Staff from Counseling and Psychological Services, Campus Ministry, and the Dean of Students Office will be standing by this week to help all who are grappling with Copeland’s loss.

The Counseling Center can be reached directly at:

Lincoln Center: (212) 636-6225
Rose Hill: (718) 817-3725 

Campus Ministry can be reached at:

Lincoln Center: (212) 636-6267
Rose Hill: (718) 817-4500

Students may also contact a resident assistant or resident director at any time to request assistance or to talk.

Or, in a crisis, can contact Public Safety at:
Rose Hill – 718-817-2222
Lincoln Center – 212-636-6076
Westchester – 914-367-3333Evan Nasky, a National Merit Scholar and a promising actor, was 21 years old when he committed suicide. The tragedy came as a shock to his loved ones, who said they had not even known that Evan was depressed.

Laurie Boncimino, a college student in Michigan with a passion for social service, was 20 when she committed suicide. Joshua Anderson, just 17, never made it to his freshman year.

Their stories were among hundreds featured in a traveling suicide prevention exhibit that stopped at Fordham’s Rose Hill Campus on March 30. More than 1,100 empty backpacks—many of them bearing photos and stories donated by deceased students’ families—were scattered across Edwards Parade as a powerful illustration of the number of college students who die each year by suicide.

Mental health awareness

The daylong exhibit was a prelude to Fordham’s Mental Health Awareness Week. Beginning April 7, the week will feature events such as music therapy and a Fordham TED Talk in an effort to raise campus-wide awareness about the importance of cultivating mental health as well as seeking help for mental illness.

“There is a misconception that people are entirely responsible for their own psychological and emotional struggles. Many people wrongly believe that someone suffering from a mental illness can just snap out of it,” said Jeffrey Ng, PsyD, director of Counseling and Psychological Services.

“The goal of this awareness week is to show that we all have a role to play in optimizing our students’ wellness and mental health.”

Hand-painted signs lining Edwards Parade told sobering facts about mental illness among 18- to 24-year-olds—for instance, that suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students and that as many as 44 percent of students report having felt so depressed in the past year that it was difficult to function.

Combating stigma and silence

Send Silence Packing is an initiative by the national mental health awareness organization Active Minds, a nonprofit founded in 2003 by then-college student Alison Malmon after losing her 22-year-old brother to suicide. Since its launch in 2008, the exhibit has traveled to more than 85 cities nationwide to shed light on college student suicide and to promote healthy dialogue about mental health.

Fordham College at Rose Hill juniors Gloria Siclari and Catarina Araujo established the first Active Minds chapter at Fordham, joining more than 400 other student-led chapters across the country. The duo managed to secure Fordham as the first stop on the Send Silence Packing spring 2015 tour, which will visit colleges and universities throughout the northeast from March 30 to May 1.

“You can’t ignore this display,” said Siclari, who has lost several family members to suicide. “I think it’s amazing we’ve had this ability to touch so many students on campus today. It’s not easy to talk about these issues, but we have to.”

“In so many of these stories, families said that they didn’t see the signs,” said Rose Hill junior Vanessa Agovida as she wandered through the rows of backpacks. “It makes me wonder about the people around me who might be hurting and are hiding it really well.”

Mental Health Awareness Week kicks off this afternoon with a tabling event at the McGinley Center, which will be followed by a “stress buster” training at the CPS office.

“I want students to know and understand that they’re not alone in their struggle—that there’s help, resources, and support available,” Ng said. “There’s no shame or weakness in reaching out. It’s a sign of strength and maturity to ask for help when we need it.”

For a complete list of Awareness Week events, visit the Facebook page.

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“I’m homesick.”

“I just feel blue.”

More than 87 percent of Fordham students reported feeling overwhelmed by all of the demands and challenges they faced last year, according to an annual benchmarking survey conducted by Fordham’s Office of Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS). That’s why Fordham counselors work in sometimes surprising ways to help enhance the overall mental health and wellness of the University community.

“We know that mental health and wellness are foundational for learning,” says Jeffrey Ng, PsyD, director of CPS. “The college years can be challenging for many students. It’s a transitional period that can include many academic, social, developmental, and economic stressors. Additionally, certain mental illnesses are more likely to manifest in the 18-to-25 age range. All of this speaks to the importance of supporting and promoting mental health on campus.”

Efforts to promote psychological health and wellness at Fordham incorporate varied aspects of the mind, body, and spirit. At CPS, students can receive services that include one-on-one clinical counseling, group counseling, crisis intervention, and referrals to local agencies and practitioners. But there are also meditation workshops and lessons on how to manage stress and anxiety, tips on how to beat the winter blues with yoga, and one-on-one nutritional counseling in conjunction with dining services to help inspire healthy eating choices on campus.

In all, nearly 1,400 students took advantage of CPS’s services last year, says Ng, whose staff of 12 full- and part-time counselors and more than 15 doctoral-level trainees and psychiatric residents are on hand to support students’ needs.

Greg Pappas, assistant vice president for student affairs, says CPS’s work is integral to Fordham’s mission as a Jesuit university. “We care for every single individual. There is a restlessness on our part to make sure we are doing everything we can,” he says, “[to let]students know there is a holistic concern for them.”

To supplement their wide-ranging efforts, this past October, CPS received a three-year, $300,000 federal grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Among other initiatives, the grant has allowed the University to hire Jill Lederman, LMSW, as a full-time outreach specialist to engage and train the campus community on mental health promotion and suicide prevention.

Lederman recently began teaching a four-week Koru Mindfulness meditation workshop to students at Rose Hill. Koru is a stress-management program created specifically for college students and young adults to address the changes and stresses that they uniquely feel.

“I think it’s been really eye-opening for us all,” Lederman says. “The students really seem to enjoy it, and they are learning stress-coping and resiliency tools that they can use for a lifetime.”

Fordham faculty and staff can contribute to optimizing mental health and wellness on campus, says Ng “by keeping their eyes and ears open, so they can recognize, approach, and refer students who are struggling to appropriate campus resources, such as CPS.”

Parents, too, can play an important part in promoting health and wellness at Fordham by “de-stigmatizing and lowering the threshold for help-seeking,” Ng says. “I would encourage parents and families to frame help-seeking as a sign of strength and maturity rather than a sign of weakness.”

Another important thing parents can do is stay involved, says Pappas. “We have an open door for parents to come and talk to us about their child and to have a general dialog,” he says. “They can reach out to us at any time.”

Learn more about the Office of Counseling and Psychological Services.

—Maja Tarateta