As a mentor, Guzzone, who majored in communication and media studies and minored in theater, has been paired with students interested in similar fields. This year’s application deadline is September 28, and in early October, the program team will pair undergraduates with alumni for one-on-one mentorship throughout the academic year.

“It’s been really awesome to give back, especially since I found my career path through my courses and my major at Fordham,” said Guzzone, now a senior development manager at the New York City-based Crime Victims Treatment Center. “I really enjoy being a part of that and … getting to work with students who are interested in either communications or maybe specifically nonprofit” organizations.

Alumni and students agree to a 24-hour time commitment, which includes events, surveys, and goal setting, in addition to their one-on-one interactions. The program is part of the Fordham Mentorship Network, which also provides alumni with opportunities to share advice with current students through a “flash mentoring” tool.

Last academic year, the network facilitated more than 1,300 alumni–student mentoring connections—something that may have helped Fordham earn a spot on Town & Country magazine’s list of colleges with the “best alumni networks.”

All NYC Has to Offer

Guzzone, who said she has been interested in theater, dance, and performing for as long as she can remember, didn’t think twice about applying to Fordham when an admissions counselor visited her high school in Washington Township, New Jersey. (In fact, she said, her mother had to force her to apply to any other schools just in case she didn’t earn admission to Fordham.)

“Being able to be in the neighborhood that Lincoln Center is in, to be so close to all of the theater and dance and … [to]have the opportunity to continue doing some shows as a student was just really, really attractive to me,” she said.

“I remember during our time, they would always say, ‘New York is my campus. Fordham is my school,’ and I think that was really apparent,” she said. Things like exploring the Upper West Side, catching a baseball game, or stopping by a farmers market “and really immersing ourselves in everything that the school was offering through the city was really awesome.”

Though the University has changed in many ways since she graduated, Guzzone said that serving as a mentor allows her to stay connected and abreast of what’s happening on campus.

“A lot of the professors that I had are not there anymore. … There are new buildings that didn’t exist, but it seems like, at the same time, the core Fordham values are very much still apparent, and the experiences are still pretty similar, which is cool.”

Remembering Casey Feldman

During her first year at Fordham, Guzzone met Kelsey Butler, Christina Halligan Asaro, Callie Fisher Hall, and Casey Feldman. The women lived together through their junior year, 2009, when Feldman was tragically killed in a car accident by a distracted driver. Guzzone said she and her roommates helped plan a memorial for Feldman at the time.

Today, Guzzone serves as a board member of the Casey Feldman Foundation, which Feldman’s parents established shortly after she died. “It’s really a gift, I think, that her parents have allowed us to continue to be involved and to really help her memory be carried on,” she said.

Fordham Five

What are you most passionate about?
I’m passionate about connection—whether it’s through mentorship or hosting a big dinner party for friends and family. Having the opportunity to connect with so many different people is the best part of working in fundraising, too, in my opinion. Meeting with donors, hearing why they’re passionate about our work [at the Crime Victims Treatment Center], collaborating with funders, building relationships: It all boils down to connecting with people on a personal level, and I love it!

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? 
Always be kind. You never know what someone else is going through, and a smile or nice gesture can go a long way.

What’s your favorite place in New York City? In the world?
It may be cliché, but my favorite place in New York City is Central Park. I have so many amazing memories from my Fordham years—picnicking in Sheep Meadow, waiting in line for free Shakespeare in the Park at the Delacorte, trying (and failing!) to ride my bike—and I still love to visit the park today with my dog or go for a run.

I’ll also always be a Jersey girl at heart, and nothing beats a beautiful summer day on the Jersey shore.

Name a book that has had a lasting influence on you.
I love to read, so it’s so hard to pick just one! Anything by Nora Ephron will always be top of the list. She’s such an iconic author and feminist and is a quintessential read. My guilty pleasure is also any mystery or thriller stories—I’ve been known to stay up way too late trying to find out the ending!

Who is the Fordham grad or professor you admire most? 
Brian Rose! He introduced me to the world of communications when I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to major in, and he really helped me set the course for what would become my career.

I still use lessons from the internship seminar he taught in my work today—and definitely pass his advice on to my mentees.

For Luigi Fata, however, a keen focus on mentorship is not just for the new year; it’s business as usual.

“My fundamental belief is it’s always beneficial to you to help others—as much as it’s beneficial to them getting the help,” said Fata, a 1991 graduate of Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business.

He’s a firm believer in empowering people, whether he’s working as vice president of E.T. Browne Drug Company, which manufactures the Palmer’s brand of cocoa butter products, or participating in the Fordham Mentoring Program, which he said he’s done for about 10 years.

“I realized, now I have the ability to share my story with others and help them get through the process of what they want to be when they grow up,” he said. “It’s very important to find what makes people tick and what their passions are and, as a leader or a manager or a mentor, help them do more of that.”

Navigating Fordham as a First-Generation Student

Born in the Bronx to an Italian immigrant and a Yonkers native, Fata grew up just miles from Fordham’s Rose Hill campus, but he “had no real idea” or sense of the University until his older sister enrolled in an evening course.

“My mom was a high school student and my dad, being an immigrant, only went to third grade,” Fata said. “So, we never really knew what college was about until my sister went.”

Now, attending Fordham is a family affair: Fata met his wife, Maria Calicchia-Fata, FCRH ’92, at the University, and he and Maria are two-time Ram parents. Their son, Nicholas, is a junior at Fordham College at Rose Hill and their daughter, Marisa, majored in communication and culture, earning both a B.A. and M.A. after completing an accelerated master’s degree program through the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences last year.

Fata said that as soon he and his father drove onto campus to drop his sister off for class, he knew he’d apply to Fordham when the time came. He initially enrolled as a liberal arts major in hopes of becoming a teacher, but switched things up, ultimately earning a degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing and a minor in management.

Fata also played basketball at Fordham. As a standout player on his high school team, he had received athletics scholarship offers from some Division II schools, so he assumed it would be pretty easy to “walk on” to Fordham’s Division I team. He quickly learned just how wrong he was when he arrived “as a scrawny little freshman,” he said, and discovered how much “bigger, stronger, and faster” the team was.

But it wasn’t a total bust: Fata ended up captaining the junior varsity basketball team and meeting “most of my good friends to this day.” And he credits his tryout woes with teaching him new ways to approach—and ultimately solve—problems.

“Those experiences really help define you,” he said. “That’s why playing basketball was one of the best things I did at Fordham: learning how to fight for something like that is a lifelong skill. Never give up on an idea, and find your way through a problem.”

Teaching It Forward

That drive and appetite for problem-solving has served him well in his sales career, he said. Starting with his first sales job with Duracell fresh out of college—an opportunity he discovered when he attended a Fordham career fair—Fata has worked in sales and marketing for various consumer products, from batteries and razors to makeup and skin care.

“I started as a sales rep, where I’d go into the store, and I would literally do things like clean the shelves, straighten up the product on shelves, dust off the product, make it look good, and then jump in my car, go to the next store, and do the same thing,” Fata said. “It was real grunt work at the time, but it was all about learning.”

Fata’s desire to teach never left him, and in 1992 he decided to pursue an M.B.A. to be better positioned to teach as an adjunct professor down the line. He graduated from Long Island University’s satellite campus at Mercy College in Westchester County, New York, in 1996. Degree in hand, Fata has taught at a community college in Westchester “as part of my giving back, as part of me feeling like I could scratch that itch of being a teacher while being in the business world.”

In that vein, Fata got involved in the Fordham Mentoring Program. “It’s partially teaching” and “partially helping people understand their opportunities,” he said.

In May, he participated in the University’s First-Generation Celebration, a virtual event featuring alumni speakers and mentors familiar with the challenges associated with being the first in your family to attend college.

His participation in that celebration and his service as a mentor have created a “virtuous circle” of sorts. At the kickoff event for the 2021–2022 Fordham Mentoring Program, Fata shared a story about one of his mentees, Marie Lynch, FCRH ’18, and his daughter. When Marisa was a first-year student at Fordham, Lynch helped her secure an internship in the athletics department. Now Lynch is officially a mentor herself, having joined the Fordham Mentoring Program last fall.

“As Fordham alumni, we always will put out a hand,” Fata said. “It’s a question of whether you choose, as a Fordham student, to take that hand and run with it. At some point [after you graduate, you reach your hand out, too], like Marie did. She reached her hand out to my daughter, and it came full circle.”

Fordham Five (Plus One)

What are you most passionate about? People!

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? Be uniquely, genuinely, honestly you!

What’s your favorite place in New York City? Grand Central Station. In the world? Fontana di Trevi in Rome.

Name a book that has had a lasting influence on you? The Catcher in the Rye

Who is the Fordham grad or professor you admire most? My wife—teacher and best mom ever!

What are you optimistic about? Life in general.

Cunningham, who graduated from Fordham College at Rose Hill in 2013 with a B.A. in English, has been with the North Carolina-based Hunt Institute—a nonprofit dedicated to improving education policy—since 2018, after she earned a Master of Education degree from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. But it’s not the career she always envisioned for herself.

Finding Her Right Place

Cunningham grew up in Cazenovia, a small town outside of Syracuse, New York, and played competitive ice hockey. She hoped her dedication to the sport would eventually earn her an athletic scholarship to attend college. One weekend, after meeting with a coach in Manhattan and not feeling the “the right vibe,” Cunningham and her father visited Fordham. Cunningham had heard of the school, and she wanted the long drive to have not been a total loss. It wasn’t. “We drove on campus and immediately both of us were like, ‘Oh, this is it. This is the place,’” Cunningham said. “And it immediately became my first choice.”

Once at Fordham, Cunningham planned to follow her dream of going into children’s book publishing. “That’s really what I wanted to do,” she said. But junior year, while tutoring third graders with a Fordham roommate at an afterschool program in Harlem, Cunningham remembered how much she loved being around kids. “I hadn’t done that in a really long time and I forgot how much I liked it,” she said. From there she sought out more service opportunities, including an internship with the nonprofit Change for Kids.

During her senior year, Cunningham applied to Teach for America (TFA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to training and placing teachers in public schools serving low-income students. “Being from a rural place in New York, I kind of wanted to go back to a rural place for teaching,” she said. She ended up teaching children at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, home of the Oglala Lakota Nation. She credits TFA with helping her figure out that “yes, education was something that I wanted to spend my life in.”

Uniting Policy and Education to Strengthen the Community

She spent four years in South Dakota working for TFA, teaching middle school writing. At Pine Ridge, Cunningham came to see that “Native challenges really need a lot more attention throughout the country than they get.” While immersed in a small town, she witnessed “how rural community development is so impacted by the health of the school and vice versa,” prompting her to study education policy at Harvard. She worked to give rural education a seat at the table, hoping to make it, if not a priority, then at least “just part of the discussion.”

Cunningham’s time as a middle school teacher, combined with her graduate studies in policy, really drove home the reality that education and community well-being are so intertwined in small towns. “Often the school is the center of the community and the health of the community,” she said, emphasizing that “the physical health of the people in the community is so dependent on the strength of the school and the services that the school is able to offer.”

That’s why she’s currently pursuing a master’s degree in public health at the University of North Carolina. “I really want to find a position, or maybe even create a position for myself, where I’m really working with rural leaders to figure out what assets their community already brings to the table—because they all do—and figuring out how to leverage those assets to make a really strong, whole community system to strengthen themselves and then help make that applicable in other places, too,” she said.

Forever Connected to the Fordham Ramily

Cunningham stays connected to Fordham by participating in the Fordham Mentoring Program and unofficially mentoring members of the Hot Notes a cappella group, which she helped found as a student. While COVID-19 has made it difficult to connect with friends, family, and colleagues in person, for some people, Cunningham included, digital and Zoom gatherings have leveled the playing field. She said she occasionally felt a bit of FOMO (or fear of missing out) whenever her friends in or near the New York area would meet on campus for reunions or other events, but now it’s a bit easier for her to stay connected.

“I feel like I have been able to get involved with some mentoring a little bit more than I might have otherwise, because they might have had people who would be able to meet with mentees in person,” she said, adding that she’s “reconnected pretty closely with a lot of Fordham friends” and no longer feels left out.

More than just exposing her to opportunities that would guide her choice of career or blessing her with a network of support, Cunningham said Fordham broadened her worldview and opened her eyes to a lot of societal injustices.

“I think that’s a lot of the reason that I’ve decided to work in this equity, education, health care, community development, and advocacy sphere for my whole career,” she said. “I didn’t expect to end up here.”

Fordham Five (Plus One)

What are you most passionate about?
Rural community development. I think that rural communities across the country have so much to teach us about how to serve the whole person, and I think that we focus too much on the deficits of rural communities as opposed to their assets. If we partner with rural communities and think about the diverse perspectives that they bring to the table, I believe that not only can we create innovative, scalable solutions that are relevant and applicable, but we can also discover new methods of community development in suburban and urban communities as well.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
I have had to tattoo this one on my heart, and I’m still working on getting better at it: “You can’t help others until your own cup is full.” As someone once phrased it to me, if your own cup is full, if you are happy and fulfilled and at peace with yourself, you can use your overflow to give to others. But if your cup is dry or low, not only can you not give what you need to those you love, but you are so starved and thirsty that you will take whatever respite comes your way, whether it is healthy or not. You need to prioritize yourself and your own well-being so that you can truly be there for those who need you the most, and so that you aren’t tempted to give your attention to those who will use it wrongly.

What’s your favorite place in New York City? In the world?
For New York, I have to say the sidewalk outside of 30 Rock, but let me explain why! My freshman year was the last year that Hughes Hall was a residence hall, and I lived on the fifth floor with three roommates who I’m still incredibly close with to this day—in fact, I sent them the picture used in this article ahead of time to make sure they approved. We made it an annual tradition to camp out outside 30 Rock one night a year to get tickets to Saturday Night Live. While of course it was a ton of fun to see SNL, I honestly barely remember all the specifics about the shows themselves. I more so remember sitting out in the freezing cold with my best friends, making friends with the people in line, using the nearby McDonald’s to go to the bathroom, and falling asleep for six hours when we got back to our dorm and then barely making it back to the city on time to get into the show.

As for the world, Crystal Beach, Ontario. My great-grandfather built a cottage there almost 80 years ago that we still use, and I’ve been there every summer of my life—with the pandemic summer being the only exception. It feels like home.  

Name a book that has had a lasting influence on you.
When I was first preparing to move to South Dakota, someone recommended to me the book Lakota Woman by Mary Crow Dog. It is a memoir of a woman growing up on the Rosebud Indian Reservation (about 50 miles from the Pine Ridge Reservation, where I lived), and I found it to be one of the most honest, realistic depictions of what Lakota women experience on a daily basis.

Who is the Fordham grad or professor you admire most?
I met Rob Minotti, director of campus ministry for liturgical music, on probably one of my first days on campus at Fordham, and I spent probably almost every day with him until I graduated four years later. I have met very few people in my life who are as dedicated to their craft as Rob, and I admire him endlessly for all that he does for Fordham’s students.

What are you optimistic about?
I have found it incredibly difficult to be optimistic over the last year, but in my work in education, one thing that I’ve seen a lot is that people do not want to go back to the norm. I think that the events of the last year have opened many people’s eyes to the systemic inequities and racism that exist in our country’s framework, and are doing what they can to rectify these egregious injustices. I am optimistic that the many, many crises of the last year will force us to come to terms with our past mistakes and ignorance and finally work to create systems that are actually attempting, at the very least, to be equitable for all.

What are some of the reasons why you decided to attend Fordham?
When applying to schools, I was unsure whether or not I wanted to pursue a pre-med track or a business degree. Fordham boasted excellent programs with regard to both paths, along with a gorgeous campus placed in New York City. It quickly became my top choice.

What do you think you got at Fordham that you couldn’t have gotten elsewhere?
Through the Gabelli School of Business, I was taught the importance of networking and taking advantage of internship opportunities early on. Networking events helped me to land multiple internship roles and gain a better understanding of which profession I wanted to pursue after graduation.

Did you take any courses or have any experiences that helped put you on your current path?
My experience with the Fordham Mentoring Program helped to prepare me for interviews and expand my professional network. Connections I made through this program were pivotal in aligning me with the job I have today. Shout-out to my mentor Tom Hartigan for all his help!

Who is the Fordham professor or person you admire the most, and why?
The Fordham professor that I admire most is Jackie Jung. I took her ethics of business class [at the Fordham]London [campus], and she not only taught the class extremely valuable information for the workplace but also taught various life lessons. She also used her wide array of professional experience, such as working for the United Nations, to connect a few of my colleagues with very experienced professionals.

Can you paint us a picture of your current responsibilities? What do you hope to accomplish, personally or professionally?
Currently, I am in Pittsburgh, working for PNC. I am in the process of completing a three-year development program that will place me on track to be either an underwriter or assistant relationship manager for the bank. I have just completed my introductory credit training with the bank and will soon begin my first rotation within the Diversified Industries Group (DIG), where I will be refining my credit knowledge and learning how to underwrite for the bank. After working with DIG, I will work with a separate lending vertical in Pittsburgh. Then, I will have the opportunity to relocate with the bank for my relationship management training. At the end of this program, I hope to become an effective relationship manager for PNC, [providing]businesses with loans and capital allocation strategies that help [them]succeed through all economic cycles.

What are you optimistic about?
I am optimistic about my opportunity to continue learning after completing my formal education. PNC has continuously provided me with the resources to expand my knowledge base and personal and professional network while on the job. I think one the best things that anyone can do for themselves is to keep learning, and I feel I am in a situation that will encourage my continued education as my career develops.

Anything else we should know about you, your plans, or your Fordham connection?
The friends I’ve made through Fordham are something that I wouldn’t trade for the world, and even though I moved outside of the tristate area, I have been able to stay in close contact with so many of them. However, I would love to move back to New York City later in my career to reconnect with my Fordham friends in my day-to-day life.

What are some of the reasons why you decided to attend Fordham?
Two major reasons why I decided to attend Fordham University were the location of both campuses and the reputation of the University. When I was doing research on schools, I was intrigued by Fordham’s selective admissions, notable alumni, small class sizes, and its access to an abundance of research and resources.

What do you think you got at Fordham that you couldn’t have gotten elsewhere?
The opportunity to connect with alumni through the Fordham Mentoring Program. Being a Fordham mentee helped me get my foot through the door and into the professional world. I [took part in]the mentoring program in my junior and senior years and was matched both times with amazing people who were able to help me grow and develop my skills and career mindset.

Did you take any courses or have any experiences that helped put you on your current path? What were they, and how did they prepare you for what you’re doing now?
I had little to no experience in the office setting before I was placed in the Office of Alumni Relations for work-study. Through the staff’s guidance and instruction, I was able to learn and develop important skills such as data management, efficient communication, and organizational skills that serve as the core of my professional abilities. As a human resources intern, I was able to learn more about the functions of a human resources department and how HR supports a company or organization. The department is the backbone of an organization and plays an integral role in its success.

Who is the Fordham professor or person you admire the most, and why?
Professor Karen Siedlecki in the psychology department! I had her for most of my required classes in the psychology major and learned so much. I love how she breaks down detailed scientific concepts into topics that are easy to learn and easy to remember. She is always willing to help students and is always available to talk about research, psychology topics, or life.

What are you doing now? Can you paint us a picture of your current responsibilities? What do you hope to accomplish, personally or professionally?
Right now, I am the human resources administrative assistant at University Settlement/The Door/Broome Street Academy, a family of organizations that give back to immigrant and low-income communities and provide youth services for New York City’s disconnected youth. I am involved in onboarding new hires, data management and compliance, and maintaining the human resources information systems. I hope to gain enough experience to become a knowledgeable and skillful HR practitioner and one day lead my own team of HR professionals.

What are you optimistic about?
The end of the coronavirus pandemic! I am excited about travelling the world and trying out different cuisines, and I hope to be able to do that safely soon.

Is there anything else we should know about you, your plans, or your Fordham connection?
I am thankful to be a Fordham graduate and proud of where I am today as a first-generation college student who graduated magna cum laude in three-and-a-half years. I would not have made it here without the amazing faculty and staff members of Fordham, especially those in the Office of Alumni Relations, the psychology department, and the Mandarin Chinese department.