Take Frances Berko, for example. A pioneer in the disability rights movement, she earned a Fordham Law degree in 1944. By 1949, Berko, who had ataxic cerebral palsy, helped start United Cerebral Palsy. She later served as New York state’s advocate for the disabled.

“I’ve had much success,” she told a panel of legislators in 1981. “But the one achievement which I held most precious—for which I’ve most constantly striven—I’ve never been able to attain completely: that is, the full rights of a citizen of this country and this state.”

That achievement came in 1990 with the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In 1994, two years before Berko died, Fordham awarded her an honorary doctorate, and Janet Reno, then U.S. attorney general, called her “a symbol to me of what you can do and how you can do it magnificently.”

Today at Fordham, Berko’s spirit is evident in the work of senior Abigail Dziura, who has focused her research on improving the New York City subway system, where only 27% of all stations are considered fully accessible to people with disabilities.

In April, she earned a prestigious Harry S. Truman Scholarship, which recognizes college students dedicated to public service. “One of the hardest parts of advocacy work is knowing that you don’t always get to see the end result,” she told Fordham News. “Sometimes you’re setting things up for future generations because something can’t be completed for another 20 years. … But someday, I’d love to see a fully accessible New York subway system.”

The ever-striving, regenerative spirit that links Berko to Dziura and beyond is just one example of Fordham people working to build stronger communities. You’ll find more in our latest “20 in Their 20s” series.

An American studies major and a member of the Rose Hill Honors Program, Dziura aims to raise awareness about the experiences of underrepresented and marginalized people, particularly those with disabilities.

Read more about Dziura in a Fordham News story published last month and watch Fordham’s president, Tania Tetlow—a 1991 Truman Scholar herself—surprise Dziura with the good news in the video below.

“I’m particularly happy to be here with you, for those of you who are first-year students, so that we can go through this together—this moving to this cold place with strange food,” joked Tetlow, a longtime New Orleans resident who officially joined the Fordham community on July 1.

The students got an opportunity to mingle not only with each other and the new president but also with Armando Nuñez Jr., GABELLI ’82, chair-elect of Fordham’s Board of Trustees, and some prominent alumni from their native island, including Fordham trustee Gualberto J. Rodríguez-Feliciano, FCRH ’95, and Mario Porrata-Nieva, FCRH ’91.

John Buckley, GSE ’89, vice president for enrollment, said that in recent years, the number of first-year students from Puerto Rico has been steadily increasing. This fall, Fordham welcomed a “record-breaking” 17 students from the island. He credited the alumni for helping to spread the word about the value of a Fordham education and the difference it has made in their lives.

Finding a ‘Community of People Who Understand’ You

Cristina Flores, a Fordham junior from Dorado, a town on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, said she initially enrolled at a college in Philadelphia with her twin sister. After a year and a half, however, she didn’t feel at home there, so she transferred to Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business as a sophomore last spring.

“When I came here, I feel like I was able to find those people who do their thing, and I do mine, but at the same time have that community of people who understand me as a person,” said Flores, who is majoring in global business, with a concentration in global marketing with consumer insights.

She added that, while she misses “her other half,” she is glad she decided to transfer. And she isn’t without family in New York: On Sundays, she goes to church with her older sister, who also lives in the city. On campus, she’s involved with the FCLC Yoga and Mindfulness Club and is hoping to start a new club for students like her.

“We’re still trying to find people who want to join, but we want to be able to have that community for people who transfer from other colleges or are international students like myself,” she said.

Javier Méndez Lacomba, a first-year student from San Juan studying business administration with a double concentration in business economics and global business, said he was attracted by the University’s strong extracurriculars, including El Grito de Lares.

Founded more than 50 years ago, the student club successfully advocated for changes to the Fordham curriculum to reflect the growing diversity of students on campus in the late 1960s. The University launched a Puerto Rican studies program in fall 1970, one year after launching what would become the Department of African and African American Studies. In the mid-1990s, the Puerto Rican studies program expanded and changed its name to the Latin American and Latino Studies Institute. Today, El Grito de Lares offers Hispanic students a safe place to discuss their heritage and shared experiences.

Even with that, Lacomba said the transition to college life is not without its challenges, such as trying to connect with people who “perhaps don’t share the same interests or are from different social and political backgrounds.” While it doesn’t always go as fluidly as he would like, he said Fordham’s faculty and administration offer “the best resources” to help him and others connect with their fellow students.

Community, Connection, and Resilience

The idea of taking advantage of Fordham’s resources for academic and social support was one echoed by Rodríguez-Feliciano, an entrepreneur and co-founder of Nutriendo PR. During an emotional speech, the Fordham trustee recalled his days as an undergraduate in the 1990s and encouraged students prioritize their mental health and ask for help if they need it.

“I remember how strange it was: the temperature, the smells, the faces, the sounds, the sunsets, the mornings, the food, the music, the culture—so different,” he said, recalling what it felt like to move from Puerto Rico to New York City. “This institution cares about you specifically: you, your name. Let the system know, let people know that you’re having a hard time, and you’re going to get a beautiful response.

“I had that experience in sophomore year, when I was against the wall, and my theology professor was there for me,” said Rodríguez-Feliciano, who earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from Fordham in 1995 and received a prestigious Harry S. Truman Scholarship, which he used to get an M.B.A. from Yale University. “I didn’t know I was being supported the whole time [at Fordham], but if I don’t open up, they can’t respond.”

During the event, Tetlow also spoke about the sense of resilience and community that she feels she shares with people from Puerto Rico, touching on the devastation Hurricane Fiona wrought in September.

“I lived through [Hurricane]  Katrina where my friends died, where I had to rescue my family with a friend on a boat, where [I had]  that sense of wondering if anyone cares … and months that turned into years of anguish and rebuilding and slogging effort only to face it again,” she said. “I say that not to remind you of that pain but to [let you]  know … that this experience that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy is also a fundamental part of who I am.”

“I see that strength in you,” she added. “So, I hope that I’ll see you on campus, that we’ll give each other that look that we know each other, and that we will learn this city together.”