Some of Fordham’s top alumni shared their secrets to success with senior students and recent graduates at the President’s Council Kickoff Reception and Executive Leadership Series Mentoring Event at the Lincoln Center campus on Oct. 21. 

The annual event is an opportunity for seasoned alumni to mentor their younger counterparts—both recent grads and students. The mentees included graduating seniors from all three colleges, including Founder’s Scholars, student-athletes, and first-generation college students. 

This year’s reception was the first held in-person in two years due to the pandemic. Most of the mentors are members of the President’s Council, a select group of Fordham’s accomplished and committed alumni who fund key initiatives and provide mentorship and networking opportunities.

At the beginning of the evening, Joseph M. McShane, S.J, president of Fordham, thanked the alumni for mentoring their younger “sisters and brothers.” 

“When a Fordham student has a champion in a law firm or a corporation or anywhere who is a Fordham graduate, that is powerful, and they know it. On top of that, they learn from you in ways that you don’t even know. They will watch you for wise clues. How do you treat people? How do you live the values of the institution?” Father McShane said. “They will learn from you. They will emulate you.” 

In roundtable discussions paired with hors d’oeuvres and drinks in Lowenstein’s 12th-Floor Lounge, about two dozen alumni and parents shared career and life advice. They first considered their “cannonball moment”: a pivotal moment in their lives that shaped their professional journey. The phrase is taken from the life of St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, whose own leg was shattered by a cannonball in the Battle of Pamplona 500 years ago. In his contemplative period of recovery, he read about the life of Jesus and focused on a new path. 

For Mary Jane McCartney, TMC ’69, her cannonball moment came in the early ’70s, when she was a young graduate with a mathematics degree who worked for Royal Dutch Shell. She learned that Con Edison had a new job opening—a much bigger role than her previous position. But she wasn’t discouraged. In 1980, she became Con Edison’s first female director of fuel supply. 

“I was willing to put myself out there and try for a job that I never believed I would get,” said McCartney, who is a member of Fordham’s second graduating class of women. She added that that’s something women tend not to do, but should. “[Don’t think] ‘If there are 10 qualifications and I only have nine, I’m not going to apply.’ Nonsense.” 

Halfway through the evening, the table conversations switched to life after the pandemic. The alumni considered the future of their industries and how students—especially the graduating seniors next to them—could best prepare to enter the job market.

Mark Smith, FCRH ’04, senior vice president of investments at Wells Fargo, told students about how millions of employees in the U.S. are reevaluating their lives and quitting their jobs, in light of the pandemic. He urged students to know what they want and to advocate for their values during interviews with potential employers, particularly with direct questions. 

Another mentor seated at the table, Rob Boller, FCRH ’99, a lawyer who runs the New York office of Barnes & Thornburg LLP, a large national firm, added that current graduating seniors have a unique advantage in the job market.

“When you’re finishing up college, you just want to get your first job. You want to hear ‘yes.’ It is very important to get a job and start building up your resume, but to Mark’s point, businesses are in flux right now,” Boller said to the students. “Folks looking for jobs have a lot more leverage than they used to. I think you guys are in a better position than we were, coming out of college, in terms of negotiating.”

Pandemic or no pandemic, the graduating seniors have a long road ahead, said Smith. 

“The ugly word in networking is ‘work.’ You’ve got to do research on the people you want to network with. Try to get them on Zoom. Some of them aren’t going to answer. Some of them are going to say, ‘Call me in a month,’” Smith said. “It’s not easy, and it doesn’t get easier. Until you have a job, it’s a full-time job getting a job.” 

At the end of the night, the graduating seniors reflected on what they learned. Brigitte Gibbs, FCRH ’22, a psychology major in the CSTEP program, talked about some advice from an alumna and retiree from the corporate world.

“She said, ‘If you don’t have it figured out right now, it’s OK. You’ll figure it out eventually.’ That was something that really stuck with me,” Gibbs said. “I want to go to medical school, and that’s a straightforward plan, for the most part. But I’ve wondered, am I cut out for this? When she said that, I was like, OK … Everything’s going to work itself out.” 

*At this event, guests were eating and drinking. The University requires all members of the campus community to wear masks while indoors. The only exceptions to masking requirements are for individuals alone in a room, or in their residence hall apartment or bedroom, and while eating or drinking. 

At Fordham’s Oct. 12 Executive Leadership Series, co-hosted by the President’s Council and the Office of Alumni Relations, several Fordham students and young alumni got a chance to sit with successful Fordham graduates, parents, and volunteer executives to hash out popular themes in today’s business world.

On tap: Harnessing the Power of Narrative, Divining the Alchemy of an Argument, and Changing the World of Innovation.

“At each table there were years of experience that was being shared with us younger alumni,” said Nick Sawicki, FCRH ’16. “That’s really invaluable when you’re starting your career.”

But students and recent graduates weren’t the only ones seeking mentorship. At a reception held for alumni mentors just before the participants arrived, many of the volunteers said that they still seek out mentors.

“I have a mentor right now,” said Anne Williams-Isom, FCLC ’86, CEO of Harlem Children’s Zone. “We all need mentors throughout our career.”

Williams-Isom said that her current mentor is Geoffrey Canada, who preceded her as CEO at the prestigious charter schools. She said that before her current position she worked in government and sought out mentors from that sector. She takes her role as a Fordham mentor seriously, particularly as an African-American woman.

“I don’t know how many young people of color are going to be here tonight, but I’ll guarantee that they will come in and look at me they’ll feel a little better,” she said.

Regina Gonzalez, FCLC ’15, was one of them. She said after she walked in and surveyed the diversity of the room, she felt reassured.

“There’s a very diverse group of women of all ages from different cultures, and that makes me feel confident to come to this event,” she said.

The event attracted 33 alumni mentors for about double the number of students and recent graduates. Needless to say, a room full of well dressed, confident, and successful New York City executives could be nerve-wracking, but Jeff Coltin, FCLC ’15, did not find it intimidating.

“The organizers eased our fears beforehand and told us that they are here to help Fordham, so that definitely made me feel more comfortable,” he said.

Most of the mentors understood that the dark-suited and professional environment might seem somewhat new to student participants.

“Events like this are practice for the real world and it’s a place for students to be able to stumble and make mistakes,” said Williams-Isom .

“The students learn how to make the small talk with people they don’t know,” said Maura Mast, Ph.D., dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill. “This also introduces them to alumni who have had the same majors that they’ve had, and yet have gone in directions that they couldn’t have even imagined.”

Mast was in conversation with Francis J. Conroy, GABELLI ’79, who recently stepped down from his position as COO of the hedge fund group KKR. He said that as he gained more experience, he began to realize that people tend to reach out to mentors more often when they hit a rough patch—which is probably less efficient.

“If I’d been bright enough to stay ahead of the curve and reach out to mentors sooner, it probably would’ve served me better,” he said.

Rather than depending on just one mentor, Conroy suggested the young professionals seek out the opinion of several people they trust.

“Lawyers call it ‘opinion shopping,’” he said. “What usually works for me is something that’s in between a couple of opinions that I’ve heard. Everybody’s got to steer their own course, but it’s great to be able to bounce a few ideas.”

Conroy, who said he’s open to a second career, was on the lookout for mentors of his own. He mentioned returning to the financial services, perhaps the tech sector, or maybe even a nonprofit.

On hearing that CEO of the nonprofit Harlem Children’s Zone was in the room, he quickly scanned the crowd.

“I will definitely talk to her,” he said.

As students and young alumni prepare to enter the corporate world, they often find that there is more to contend with than just conducting good business—for instance, the collision of their personal value systems with workforce norms may lead to ethical predicaments.