Last year, Fordham joined the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s first Inclusive Excellence 3 Learning (IE3) Community. The goal of the initiative is to improve STEM teaching and learning for first-generation college students, transfer students, and students from underrepresented backgrounds.

When it was accepted into the inaugural cohort, the University was assigned to one of seven clusters, each of which is comprised of 15 institutions. The cluster that Fordham joined has been tasked with the narrower goal of making introductory STEM course content more inclusive. This fall, the schools in the cluster were collectively awarded $8.6 million from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and decided as a group to allocate approximately the same amount to each school.

J.D. Lewis, Ph.D., a biological sciences professor, is leading the Fordham team, along with Dean of Fordham College at Lincoln Center Laura Auricchio, Dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill Maura Mast, Associate Professor of Chemistry Robert Beer, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences Patricio Meneses, and CSTEP Director Michael Molina.

Lewis said that the collaborative nature of the project is what makes it most exciting.

“So much funding is based on, ‘We’re going to be the first to do something,’” they said.

“But one of the things that’s nice about this is that we are able to move forward faster because we collectively are working together. We’re not saying, ‘Oh my goodness, you made a mistake.’ We’re saying, ‘Oh, that didn’t work, what can we do better this time?’”

At Fordham, the grant funding, which is spread over six years, will be allocated toward faculty development, student engagement, and curricular improvements.

At Fordham, Lewis said, that could take many forms. One idea might be hosting webinars or guest speakers who can talk about some of the issues related to reimagining the introductory STEM experience. Another might be setting up listening sessions between faculty and student-led pre-health profession clubs. The group will also aim to build on previous successes with mentoring and early research experiences, such as Project TRUE, the ASPIRES Scholars program, the Calder Summer Undergraduate Research Program, and Fordham’s Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program, and share those experiences with colleagues in the cluster.

When it comes to curriculum, Lewis noted that the biology department had already recently reimagined its course sequencing. In the past, Intro to Biology 1 was only offered in the fall semester, and Intro to Biology 2 was only offered in the spring semester of undergraduates’ first year; both are required courses for STEM majors and are notoriously tough courses that “weed out” those who can’t complete the course load. But that meant new students had to take Intro to Bio 1 their very first semester of college, which was problematic for students who might not have had a rigorous science background in high school. So last year, the department began offering both courses in the fall and the spring. The new schedule provided flexibility without compromising the rigor of the courses.

That’s the kind of success the department wants to build on with the help of other experts.

“It’s talking with a sociologist or a psychologist and bringing in folks who have had experience in how to ease students’ stress and anxiety around the introductory STEM sequence simply by changing how the material is presented, even if it’s the same material,” Lewis said.

Molina agreed that small changes like that can have a big effect on a student who has shown great promise academically, but who is entering college after attending a high school that did not have a full-time, fully licensed biology teacher. Through no fault of their own, that student will have a steeper learning curve when they begin college-level studies.

“Part of the challenge of keeping all students, but particularly under-represented students, engaged in STEM course work is to make sure every student is able to meet the challenge of “gateway” courses in the physical and natural sciences on their terms,” he said, adding that the flexibility also gives them the chance to learn new study habits.

“If you’re able to bridge that gap of how you study from high school to how you study in college, it makes all the difference in how successful you’ll be, and how confident you’ll be going forward.”

When it comes to the future, Molina said he’s excited to be a part of efforts to bring incoming students onto campus and into science labs as soon as possible and to make the student-professor relationship less hierarchical and more collegial. The grant will make it possible to undertake these sorts of initiatives.

“We want to create a more collegiate relationship between faculty and students, where students feel comfortable coming to faculty, and talking with them inside the classroom and outside the classroom. It’s that kind of culture that breeds success,” he said.

“You have achieved great things, and in the heart of the pandemic, you have managed to keep this community alive,” Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, said to the CSTEP students and staff. “This is a program that is a community. You all watch out for one another—and you inspire us.”

Fordham CSTEP is a statewide program that supports minority and economically disadvantaged students through mentorship and academic and career-oriented resources. The program prepares students for professions in areas where they are underrepresented, including STEM, health, and other licensed fields, and provides a “transformational, educational experience to future professionals and leaders,” said Renaldo D. Alba, associate director of the CSTEP and STEP programs. 

This spring, 73 CSTEP students will receive their diplomas, said Alba. After graduation, they will pursue different opportunities across the country. Among them are four students heading to dental, medical, or law school; one student attending a Ph.D. psychology program; 12 students pursuing master’s degrees in various disciplines; and one student participating in the City Year program, he said. 

In addition to recognizing graduating seniors, the ceremony celebrated other CSTEP scholars, including more than 100 students who achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher and about 50 students who served as tutors and peer counselors in the pre-college STEP Program for middle and high schoolers. 

Rafael Zapata, chief diversity officer, special assistant to the president for diversity, and associate vice president for academic affairs, was recognized with CSTEP’s Outstanding Service Award, which is presented to faculty, administrators, and partners who have provided exceptional service to CSTEP students. In his acceptance speech, Zapata lauded Michael A. Molina, director of the CSTEP and STEP programs, for leading the program over the past 35 years. (Molina was unable to physically attend the event because he is recovering from a medical procedure, but he joined via Zoom.) 

“No other office at Fordham better serves the needs of first-generation college students, low-income students, and students of color, with more dignity, understanding, love, support—and challenge—than CSTEP,” Zapata said. 

Zapata, a native New Yorker who grew up in public housing and became the first in his family to graduate from college, said he wished he had a community like CSTEP when he was younger. 

“I had a lot of loving and caring teachers. But I never had anyone who I could talk to about my life … I didn’t have this community. I wish I did,” Zapata said. “There’s so much pressure on you to sound differently, to act differently, to even walk differently. And for that, I’m grateful to remind you that I can be [myself], and you can be [yourself here].” 

In heartfelt speeches, students described their own experiences in the program. 

“CSTEP has been the best part of my undergrad experience and it has helped me grow socially, personally, and academically,” said Anusha Imran, FCLC ’22, a first-generation college student and aspiring physician who will receive CSTEP’s highest award at Fordham College at Lincoln Center’s award ceremony for graduating seniors. “I found a tight-knit community and met students who have similar stories, which only made me and them more resilient and fierce in the advocacy of our own education.”

In his keynote speech, CSTEP alumnus Braulio Carrero, FCRH ’04, senior counsel at Cityblock Health—a company that provides medical services to marginalized populations—congratulated the seniors and offered them advice for life after graduation.

“In my 20s, my purpose was trying to find my purpose,” Carrero said. “Some of you are very determined in the path that you want, and others aren’t. But at the end of the day … always remember what matters and why you’re doing what you’re doing.” 

(Vincent Harris, FCRH ’22, who was scheduled to receive CSTEP’s highest award at Encaenia—Fordham College at Rose Hill’s award ceremony for graduating seniors—died suddenly on May 10. The University published an obituary and held a memorial Mass for Harris at the University Church at Rose Hill on May 13.)

“Everyone brings something important to the table, regardless of the level of education you have,” said J.D. Lewis, Ph.D., a biological sciences professor who is leading the Fordham team in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Inclusive Excellence 3 Learning (IE3) Community. “Through this collaborative effort, we want to figure out how to teach STEM in a way that is accessible, relevant, and interesting to all our students.” 

Fordham is among more than 100 institutions involved in the IE3 Community. The goal of the initiative is to improve STEM teaching and learning in higher education, especially for first-generation college students, transfer students, and students from underrepresented backgrounds. 

More Inclusive Intro STEM Classes

After applying to be part of the initiative in 2019, Fordham was accepted into the inaugural cohort in 2021. The institutions were grouped into seven clusters, each with an assigned goal. The goal of Fordham’s cluster is to make introductory STEM course content more inclusive. Ultimately, Fordham wants students who better reflect the racial and intersectional diversity of the Bronx community to enter STEM disciplines and graduate at rates comparable to those of majority students, said Lewis. 

Lewis leads Fordham’s IE3 leadership team, which is currently planning the details of the project. They are joined by Dean of Fordham College at Lincoln Center Laura Auricchio, Dean of Fordham College at Rose Hill Maura Mast, Associate Professor of Chemistry Robert Beer, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences Patricio Meneses, and CSTEP Director Michael Molina.

One of the team’s goals is to build on the University’s previous successes with mentoring and early research experiences, especially Project TRUE, the ASPIRES Scholars program, the Calder Summer Undergraduate Research Program, and Fordham’s Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program, said Lewis. For example, they are currently working with CSTEP to include more CSTEP students in research opportunities earlier on in their time at Fordham, said Lewis. 

The team will also assess the University’s data on students taking STEM classes, starting with the biology department. They are planning on studying student outcomes, including the DFW rate—the number of students who earn D’s or F’s or withdraw from the course, said Lewis. They may also interview introductory biology instructors and students to understand the support they might need, said Lewis. 

“From them, we can get a sense of what’s working, what isn’t, what they’re struggling with, what they’re concerned about, and where and why they may not feel included,” Lewis said.  

Earlier Research Opportunities Built Into the Curriculum

In addition, the team is working on integrating student-directed research earlier in the STEM major. Upperclassmen typically conduct their own research in labs on campus, said Lewis, but their team is revising the curriculum so that they can introduce research to students as early as their first year of college. For example, the biology department recently introduced “research modules,” a new component in an introductory biology lab that gives students more creative freedom, said Lewis. 

“Instead of students simply following a manual type of lab activity, they are doing research where we don’t know the answer beforehand. They are experiencing those eureka moments, while still learning biology skills,” Lewis said. “Instead of waiting to work in a lab as a junior, they’re doing research that is yielding an unknown result—now, as a second-semester first-year student.” 

This fall, Fordham will finalize its project plan in collaboration with 14 other universities. Over the next six years, they will work together to achieve their goal through nearly $8 million in shared funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, a science philanthropy organization founded by aviator and industrialist Howard R. Hughes. 

“We want all Fordham students and prospective students to see and feel that they can be successful in a STEM major and career,” Lewis said. “I hope that our data will lead us to what that should look like.”

Fordham’s Collegiate Science Technology and Entry Program (CSTEP), a program that prepares minority and economically disadvantaged students for careers in fields in which they are underrepresented, has helped her find an academic and social home on campus.

So when administrators asked her to participate in early February in a meeting with New York state legislators who will determine how much funding the program receives from the state, she jumped at the chance.

“Anything they need, I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it,’” said Rosario, a psychology major who commutes to campus from the Riverdale neighborhood in the Bronx.

“I feel like I owe them everything.”

Rosario described Fordham’s CSTEP office as a locus of serendipity, part of her daily routine, where she connects with students she might not otherwise meet and chats with them about internships and research opportunities, among other topics.

“In a cliché way, we are like a community. We’re there for each other, no questions asked,” she said.

An Annual New York State Tradition

Fordham has participated in Advocacy Day, an annual event held over two days in Albany, for the better part of two decades, said Lesley Massiah-Arthur, associate vice president and special assistant to the president for government relations. In the past, that meant busing 40 or so students to the capital; since 2021, however, the meetings have been held via Zoom. On Feb 1 and 2, 60 Fordham students took part in 45 meetings, including one attended by New York State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins.

This year, Fordham requested an increase of $1.4 million for student aid and academic pipeline programs. For Fordham CSTEP, this would increase state funding to $17.3 million; for STEP, which serves junior high and high school students, it would increase state funding to $22.8 million. Fordham is currently home to 300 CSTEP students enrolled at Rose Hill, and 590 STEP students are enrolled at both the Rose Hill and Lincoln Center campuses.

The request also includes funding for the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP), the Liberty Partnership Program (LLP), Direct Institutional Aid (Bundy Aid), and the Enhancing Supports and Services for Students with Disabilities for Postsecondary Success Program (SWDPS). Students and staff from HEOP and LLP also participated in the meetings. There are 394 HEOP students attending the Lincoln Center and Rose Hill Campus programs.

Massiah-Arthur said students are a crucial part of the funding process.

“When students are involved, there’s an entirely new energy that goes into the advocacy process. It’s one thing for me or the program director to talk about the importance of these programs. It’s another thing when students and parents participate, and elected officials can hear firsthand the importance of state funding,” she said.

In years past, they’ve had to make a case against cuts to STEP and CSTEP, which receive 40% of their funding from Fordham, but Massiah-Arthur said the good news is that lawmakers now understand the value of programs such as CSTEP, so they’re no longer routinely put on the chopping block. The decision on funding levels will be revealed in the final state budget in April.

“The objective now is to get legislators and the governor’s office to understand that it’s not just sufficient to hold the level, because with rising costs, staying at the same level is the equivalent of a cut,” she said.

“Unfortunately, what has not changed is the perception that private universities are institutions with wealthier students or higher endowments, and as a result of that, the need to invest in our sector is not weighed as important as investments in the state and city university systems.”

Promoting Civic Engagement

Advocacy Day is more than just an annual exercise in asking for financial support, said Fordham CSTEP and STEP director Michael Molina. It introduces students to a broader effort involving the Association of Professional Administrators of CSTEP and STEP (which Molina serves as president), and the New York Student Aid Alliance. It also promotes civic engagement, preparing students to become leaders in their communities.

“When we ask our students and their families to participate in these advocacy efforts, a big part of what we say is, you can make a difference,” he said.

“The last several years have made people feel that government is estranged from them and doesn’t address their needs. What we say is, at this level, these legislators have to be accountable to you, and they are.”

For Isaac Mullings, a second-year student from Ghana on the pre-med track who commutes from the Mount Eden neighborhood in the Bronx, Advocacy Day was a chance to share just how much of a lifeline CSTEP has been to his whole family. When both of his parents were laid off from their jobs as home health aides last year, he took a job at a local fast-food restaurant and juggled a 35-hour workweek and 16 credits of remote-learning classes. He now works in the CSTEP office, where like Rosario, he finds a wealth of resources to support his studies. He also tutors high school students enrolled in STEP.

“It’s been a blessing to give back to the community,” he said.

Giovanni Owens, a second-year student who commutes from Spanish Harlem, said that working with STEP students for his work-study program has increased his knowledge in his own major, computer science. This past summer, he served as an adviser for a STEP class on robotics.

“Although it’s for high school students, I find myself learning things through teaching them, through tutoring, and then just sitting in class taking notes,” he said.

When it was his turn to talk to legislators, he said he emphasized the strength of Fordham’s CSTEP community and how it will help him become the first person in his family to earn a bachelor’s degree.

“In the CSTEP office, I talk very openly about my intended entrepreneurial projects and things I want to do, and just having people there who will listen and say, ‘That’s a great idea,’ or ‘You should talk to this professor, or you should talk to this person,’ is amazing.”

The $2.5 million gift by Fordham alumna and former trustee Christina Seix Dow, TMC ’72, and her husband, Robert Dow, adds to the $2 million they gave nine years ago to establish their scholarship fund for CSTEP students. The new gift, announced in January 2021, comes in the midst of a Fordham fundraising campaign, Cura Personalis | For Every Fordham Student, that comprises four pillars including access and affordability. The gift is now producing an uptick in funding for students and, within a few years, could provide aid to nearly half of the students in the program, said its director, Michael A. Molina.

The fund has been a “godsend” for students, said Michael A. Molina, director of the CSTEP and STEP programs at Fordham. The additional gift is “really going to enable us to help a lot more students meet their financial need.”

In establishing the scholarship fund, the Dows were supporting students who remind them of themselves.

“My wife and I came from very little. For a long time, we’ve felt we’ve been fortunate, and it’s time to pay it forward or pay it back for students who may come from even more difficult situations than we had,” said Robert Dow, a former managing partner at Lord Abbett, an investment management company.

Support for the Underrepresented

CSTEP is a statewide program designed to support those who tend to be underrepresented in professions related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) as well as the the licensed professions, including health care.

At Fordham, the students it serves tend to be Black, Latinx, first-generation, economically disadvantaged, and members of immigrant families living in the Bronx or its environs, Molina said. It has provided them with academic support, counseling, internships, scholarships, and research opportunities since 1987.

The original $2 million scholarship gift has helped 40 or 50 CSTEP students per year, providing sums ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars that can make all the difference for families that have pulled together every last resource—grants, loans, scholarships—to meet their students’ costs, but who still need financial help, Molina said.

“Anything that we can help them with that helps tof ill in those gaps, that’s important,” he said. “If you come from an immigrant working class family … and you’ve got a $1,500 or $2,000 or $2,500 balance from your previous semester that you’ve got to take care of? That’s a lot of money for working class families,” he said.

With the new $2.5 million gift, the Dows’ scholarship fund could help nearly half of the approximately 270 students in the CSTEP program within a few years, Molina said.

Paying It Forward

The Christina Seix Dow College Science and Technology Entry Program Endowed Scholarship Fund is a need-based fund, with a GPA requirement, established to help CSTEP students stay at Fordham and graduate with less debt. “We hope that whatever they do, [the recipients are]they’re successful in life,” Robert Dow said. “And if they become successful financially, hopefully they’ll think about what gave them a start and pay it forward as well.”

Seix Dow has much in common with the CSTEP students she supports. She’s Puerto Rican, from the Bronx, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Fordham. She was raised in a small apartment with limited resources, but, she has said, was surrounded by a loving family that developed her core values.

She became a multimillionaire bond manager, eventually forming her own investment management firm. She later founded the Christina Seix Academy, an independent school in New Jersey for underserved children. Seix Dow was among the first class of pioneering women in philanthropy at the inaugural Fordham Women’s Summit in 2017.

Preparing Students to Serve

The scholarships are a significant gift for the CSTEP students, many of whom are thousands of dollars in debt, said Renaldo D. Alba, associate director of the CSTEP and STEP programs. They not only help graduates leave Fordham in good financial health, but also prepare them to give back to their own communities.

“Our students often require graduate or professional school training, and at that level, there’s little to no financial aid. But if they’re in good [financial]health after graduation, they can take on additional loans at the next level. And if they do well and manage their loan debt as graduate students, they’re more likely to consider working in fields that may not be as lucrative in compensation, in communities that often don’t have the resources or money, because they don’t have to pay off these loans,” Alba said.

“A scholarship of this magnitude is so significant for students like these that are naturally inclined to stay in their community.”

Among the Seix Dow scholarship recipients is Leslie Abreu, a Dominican student from the Bronx who realized that Fordham was her “dream school” while attending the adjacent Fordham High School for the Arts, where she became class valedictorian.

“At one point, I was considering not going to my dream school because of finances,” said Abreu, who is enrolled in a five-year program to earn both a bachelor’s degree from Fordham College at Rose Hill and a Master of Science in Teaching from the Graduate School of Education. “Receiving help like that gives you reassurance that you are on the right path.”

Life hasn’t been easy for Abreu. Her father passed away in her senior year of high school, but he had encouraged his daughter to apply to Fordham. In her time at the University, she has advised two seventh graders in the Mentoring Latinas program, served as a peer counselor for pre-college students, and tutored middle and high school students in math as a tutor in CSTEP’s sibling STEP program for junior high and high school students. Someday, Abreu plans on following Seix Dow’s and her husband’s footsteps and paying it forward.

“[Seix Dow’s story] reassured me that that path is possible,” Abreu said. “And the fact that she has been able to help people like us shows me that I can also do that in the future.”

Learn more about Cura Personalis | For Every Fordham Student and make a gift.

If you have a question about giving to Fordham, call 212-636-6550 or send an email to [email protected].

“When the pandemic first broke, we were able to pivot, keep the kids tuned in, and give them a sense of community and belonging,” said Michael A. Molina, director of Fordham’s STEP program. “I think that was extremely important and part of why we received this award.” 

STEP is a state-funded program that helps minority and economically disadvantaged junior high and high school students prepare for professions in areas where they are underrepresented, especially STEM. Fordham spearheads two STEP programs—one at Rose Hill, the other at Lincoln Center—that collectively serve more than 500 students every year. 

In typical years, STEP students receive academic counseling, internships, scholarships, and research opportunities both on and off campus. In addition to regular programming after school and during the summer, they have conducted research with professors at the Rose Hill campus and presented their findings alongside Fordham students at research symposiums. During the pandemic, they continued to learn and stay connected through reimagined ways of learning. In a virtual winter panel, successful Fordham alumni offered advice to STEP students. Last summer, a Fordham professor helped STEP students make connections between the civil rights movement and the Black Lives Matter movement; a University psychologist also offered guidance on how to understand racial trauma and identify strategies for self-care. 

This fall, more STEP graduates than ever will be entering Fordham as first-year college students, said Molina. 

“This is the largest contingent we’ve had since 1986, when we first started the program at Rose Hill,” said Molina, adding that the usual cohort is about five students, but this year, the number is 18. “And this is not an accident—this is something we’ve been working on for a long time. For the past five to 10 years, our team and the admissions office have been emphasizing to the STEP kids to consider coming to Fordham and joining CSTEP so we can continue to support them.” 

CSTEP is similar to STEP, but the C stands for “collegiate.” The state program prepares undergraduate scholars from underrepresented groups for careers in STEM, health, and licensed fields. Fordham’s program is one of the largest in the state. This fall, Fordham CSTEP will resume in-person programming because students on campus are required to be vaccinated. But the STEP program, which serves local junior and high school students, will stay virtual until vaccinations are available and mandated for all children, said Molina.  

“We’re going to continue doing what we’ve been doing: create a program that’s as interactive as possible with less lecturing and more of a hands-on approach with projects and faculty,” Molina said. “I’m optimistic. We have a lot of partners, great staff, and teachers who are creative.”

In a few weeks, Molina and his team will welcome to campus not only first-year students, but CSTEP sophomores who never stepped foot on campus during the pandemic when they were first-year students themselves. The CSTEP students, who served as virtual mentors to STEP students during the pandemic, will continue in that role, said Molina. 

“One of the biggest things we’ll be focused on is building community with the kids. In-person relationship-building, the academic and non-academic relationships that students build with each other and us—all of that, we’re going to need to rebuild with the kids,” Molina said, referring both to STEP and CSTEP students. “We’re looking forward to having them back.”

“It’s been a godsend,” Michael A. Molina, director of the CSTEP and STEP programs, said of the fund. “This money has enabled us to at least try and help students and their families.” 

CSTEP is a statewide program that has provided academic support, counseling, internships, scholarships, and research opportunities to minority and economically disadvantaged undergraduates at Fordham since 1987. The CSTEP program, along with its sibling STEP program for junior high and high school students, has been a source of community for many students, especially during the pandemic. 

Eight years ago, the Dow family established the Christina Seix Dow College Science and Technology Entry Program Endowed Scholarship Fund with a $2 million gift to help CSTEP students stay at Fordham and graduate from college with little to no debt. Now they are giving an additional $2.5 million to support students who remind them of themselves. 

“My wife and I came from very little. For a long time, we’ve felt we’ve been fortunate, and it’s time to pay it forward or pay it back for students who may come from even more difficult situations than we had,” said Robert Dow, a former managing partner at Lord Abbett, an investment management company. “We hope that whatever they do, they’re successful in life. And if they become successful financially, hopefully they’ll think about what gave them a start and pay it forward as well.”

Seix Dow has much in common with the CSTEP students she supports. She’s Puerto Rican, from the Bronx, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Fordham. She was raised in a small apartment with limited resources, but, she has said, was surrounded by a loving family that developed her core values. She became a multimillionaire bond manager, eventually forming her own investment management firm. She later founded the Christina Seix Academy, an independent school for underserved children. Seix Dow was among the first class of pioneering women in philanthropy at the inaugural Fordham Women’s Summit in 2017. 

About 90 CSTEP students have benefited from the Seix Dow scholarship fund over the past seven years, including recent alumna Arnell Stewart, who delivered the student scholarship speech at the 2018 Women’s Philanthropy Summit. 

These students have received significant awards from the scholarship, depending on individual need, to help pay for the full cost of tuition. Molina estimates that over the next decade, approximately 300 to 400 more students will benefit from the additional $2.5 million added to the scholarship fund.

The scholarships are a significant gift for the CSTEP students, many of whom are thousands of dollars in debt, said Renaldo D. Alba, associate director of the CSTEP and STEP programs. They not only help graduates leave Fordham in good financial health, but also prepare them to give back to their own communities. 

“Our students often require graduate or professional school training, and at that level, there’s little to no financial aid. But if they’re in good [financial]health after graduation, they can take on additional loans at the next level. And if they do well and manage their loan debt as graduate students, they’re more likely to consider working in fields that may not be as lucrative in compensation, in communities that often don’t have the resources or money, because they don’t have to pay off these loans,” Alba said. “A scholarship of this magnitude is so significant for students like these that are naturally inclined to stay in their community.”  

Among the Seix Dow scholarship recipients is Leslie Abreu, a Dominican student from the Bronx who realized that Fordham was her “dream school” while attending the adjacent Fordham High School for the Arts, where she became class valedictorian. 

“At one point, I was considering not going to my dream school because of finances,” said Abreu, who is currently the only employed member of her immediate family. “Receiving help like that gives you reassurance that you are on the right path.”

Life hasn’t been easy for Abreu. Her father passed away in her senior year of high school, but he had encouraged his daughter to apply to Fordham. In her three years at the University, she has tutored middle and high school students in math as a STEP tutor and peer counselor for pre-college students and advised two seventh graders in the Mentoring Latinas program. Someday, Abreu plans on following Seix Dow and her husband’s footsteps and paying it forward. 

“[Seix Dow’s story] reassured me that that path is possible,” said Abreu, a psychology student on the five-year teaching track. “And the fact that she has been able to help people like us shows me that I can also do that in the future.”

CSTEP is a statewide program that prepares minority and economically disadvantaged undergraduates for professions in areas where they are underrepresented, including STEM, health, and other licensed fields. The STEP program, similar in design, focuses on junior high and high school students. Both programs at Fordham provide academic support and counseling, internships, scholarships, and research opportunities throughout the academic year and summer. Together, the Fordham CSTEP and STEP programs serve roughly 800 Fordham undergraduates and local high school students. 

Over the past nine months, CSTEP/STEP have remained a constant in the lives of students dealing with the tricky transition to remote learning, technology glitches, and a loss of normalcy. Through reimagined ways of learning—from a virtual student lounge where students have bonded over popular games like Kahoot! and Among Us, to shorter meeting times designed to decrease screen fatigue—their programs have continued to serve students. They’ve also recently expanded their reach with new partnerships in local schools. Their events haven’t been canceled, either. This December, around 30 Fordham CSTEP alumni spoke with STEP students about their careers on a virtual panel; next January, the CSTEP program will launch its third mentoring program that pairs alumni with current students who share similar career goals. 

“Our meeting space has changed, but what really has stayed the same is our impact,” said Renaldo D. Alba, associate director of the CSTEP and STEP programs and a 2002 graduate from Fordham College at Rose Hill and its CSTEP program. “That’s something that we’re really proud of.”

The two programs have also addressed traumatic national events with special activities for students in the wake of George Floyd’s murder this past spring.

“The issues that were raised by George Floyd’s murder and the Black Lives Matter movement that followed it are issues that our students and my staff have personal experience with. We’ve been subjected to it or we’ve had family and friends who have,” said Michael A. Molina, director of the CSTEP and STEP programs. “We were sensitive to these issues, and we knew that we wanted to do something.” 

This past July, Mark L. Chapman, Ph.D., associate professor of African and African American Studies, spoke with STEP students about the similarities between the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s and today’s world. Ashlee W. Davis, Ph.D., a supervising psychologist and coordinator for diversity, inclusion, and social justice initiatives at the Rose Hill campus, also helped students understand racial trauma, find words for their emotions, and identify strategies for self-care. 

“We want our students to understand that you should always have strong feelings about these things that happen in life: the pandemic, George Floyd, and the Black Lives Matter movement. You should feel whatever you feel. But you should also have facts and some balance when you’re looking at what’s going on,” Molina said. 

Staying ‘INSTEP’ with High School Students in the Bronx

Through virtual learning, CSTEP counselors and students have also continued to extend their pre-pandemic “INSTEP” college access initiatives to outside schools and community-based organizations, including KAPPA International School, a public school located a few blocks south of the Rose Hill campus. 

“How do you select a college or university? Should you go away? Should you stay in New York City? Should you apply to a CUNY or a SUNY or an independent school? What does living on campus look like? These are the kinds of discussions that our college students, the CSTEP students, do in small groups with the INSTEP high school kids,” Molina explained. 

Over the past two years, KAPPA students have visited the Rose Hill campus and learned about the transition from high school to college—the thing they struggle with the most—from Fordham CSTEP students who can empathize with them, said their assistant principal, Casey Smith. 

“It really hits home,” Smith said. “The kids really find it beneficial to work with college students and to have what feels like a mentor to walk them through the process.” 

Help with College Applications

This fall, the INSTEP program focused on a more timely topic for high school seniors: college application season. 

“I’ve learned signing up for FAFSA and TAP as soon as possible will help you go to college with barely any debt,” Amado Reynoso, one of the 26 KAPPA students who participated in the INSTEP program this fall, wrote in an email. “My favorite part of the program is when we did fun activities like college-themed Family Feud. It taught us more about college and stuff and financial aid, and [the Fordham counselors and students]kept it fun while doing so.” 

The virtual workshops also helped Leslie Garcia Torres navigate the financial aid process—something unfamiliar to many potential first-generation college students like herself. 

“The college process is stressful, especially if you don’t have any family members that have gone to college. It was just me, alone. I had to do the CUNY application, the FAFSA, all of that, the TAP application, by myself, but with a little bit of help,” said Torres, a high school senior from the Bronx and a Fordham STEP student. 

Among the CSTEP students co-leading the sessions was Anita Adu Manu, a junior at Fordham College at Rose Hill. Manu said they also discussed how to manage being a person of color in a predominantly white institution.

“These are kids who want to go abroad, in a way—outside of the city. We had to talk about that and how to find your own community,” Manu said. “We definitely used CSTEP as an example of one of these communities that other schools might have.”

‘Hey, I’ve Been In Your Shoes’

Manu said she found her own home through CSTEP. Before she became a program scholar in her sophomore year, she tagged along with her CSTEP friends to their program-sponsored biology and chemistry review sessions. She said she was also welcomed to a CSTEP potluck in her first year, even though she wasn’t officially part of the program. 

“I was able to build a community that I didn’t know I needed,” said Manu, a pre-med biology major from Van Cortlandt Village in the Bronx. “All the people I met freshman year at CSTEP are basically all my friends now.” 

She said her CSTEP counselors also helped her believe in herself. 

“There were a lot of things I didn’t know about the pre-med track, but all the counselors steered me in the right direction. And when I felt like I wanted to switch my major because I just wasn’t good enough, they reassured me. They were like, hey, I’ve been in your shoes,” Manu said, adding that many counselors are Fordham alumni, including Anya Patterson, FCRH ’19, a past Coro Fellow. 

Manu said she’s now considering becoming a sports cardiologist who travels with a soccer or football team. But at first, she wasn’t sure it was possible. 

“I felt like I was lagging behind. But when I would sneak into the review sessions,” Manu said with a laugh, “I had a boost of confidence. The professors were there. My peers were there. We were all collaborating. It made me feel like, OK, yeah. I think I can do this.”  

Thirty-Four Years of Growth 

Collectively, the CSTEP and STEP programs have been thriving at Fordham for decades. The STEP program at Rose Hill was created in 1986, while the STEP program at Lincoln Center became official in 2011. CSTEP has existed at the Rose Hill campus since 1987 and expanded to the Lincoln Center campus about 15 years ago.

“What the University has done over these past 34 years with the Rose Hill STEP program and for the past 10, 11 years with the STEP program—if you look at those numbers, you probably have somewhere between 8 and 10 thousand students over the life of these programs that have been positively impacted and who have been introduced to the possibilities of going to college and pursuing a career in a STEM, health, or licensed field,” Molina said. 

The oldest Fordham STEP graduates are now in their 40s, said Alba. The oldest CSTEP graduates are in their mid-50s. 

“These are folks that are doctors, physicians, Ph.D.s, accountants, lawyers, scientists, social workers, teachers,” said Alba, adding that many of them are originally from the Bronx. “And they proudly carry the STEP flag wherever they go.” 

Molina said the most rewarding part about their work is seeing their students as young as 11 realize their options in life and become adults. “You see these kids come in. They’re looking around like tourists … They’re wide-eyed with a lot of ideas and ambition and they’re highly motivated,” said Molina, a graduate from a similar program, the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP). “It’s really a joy to see them grow, develop, and become these really accomplished young people by the time they leave us.”

Who he is
Director of Fordham CSTEP (Collegiate Science & Technology Entry Program) and STEP (Science & Technology Entry Program)

What he does
We administer the STEP program, which is the pre-college program at Rose Hill, and a new one at Lincoln Center that’s about three years old. We also administer the CSTEP program, which is the undergraduate program. The purpose of both is to address the preparation of minority students, and particularly blacks and Latinos, in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), health, and licensed fields.

What he likes best about the job
Working with students, seeing them come in as wide-eyed freshmen and leave as accomplished young men and women. It’s quite a transformation, and it’s wonderful to see every four years.

What it means to be awarded the Sursum Corda award at the March 3 Convocation. (See story Fordham’s Most Loyal Celebrated at Convocation)
I view it as recognition for the work we do. I have a great staff of eight people who are absolutely phenomenal. They keep me young; they’re really smart, and they’re great with the students. I do appreciate the recognition; it’s very flattering. And the fact that Father McShane was there—he’s someone I really have a lot of regard for and he really shares our vision.

His background
I’m a born-and-bred Puerto Rican New Yorker. I grew up in the Jefferson projects in East Harlem and was the first person in my family to go to college, so I’ve had a blessed life. I’ve lived in New Providence, N. J., for the last 16 years. After living in New York all my life, it’s an interesting change. Suburban living is great—except for the commuting.

What he does for fun
I’m a Tito Puente fanatic. I like all the new jazz musicians too; I just heard Russell Malone at Shanghai Jazz in Madison, N.J., and got to meet him and have a picture taken with him. I love going to Jazz at Lincoln Center; I’ve seen Eddie Palmieri, Joey DeFrancesco. I don’t play though; I’m a frustrated musician. I just bang drums on the counter when I get really excited.

His family
I have a great family that allows me be here late many nights and go to conferences and events that take time away from them. I’ve been married to my wife, Ada, who’s chief clerk of the criminal court in Staten Island, for 30 years, and I have two daughters: Laura, FCRH ’08, and Sandy.

Why he has stayed at Fordham for 27 years
I grew up during the civil rights movement and saw history taking place. I was a young man in high school and college when Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and all these others who brought about change were alive and actively involved in the struggle to make the United States the place it is today. I guess, being a child of that period, this kind of work is consistent with who I am and what my values are.