The forum was the Social Innovation Collaboratory’s third Our Story event, where, in addition to letting people in on their own lives, students aimed to confront biases and build community in a safe environment.

“This is a chance for students to share uninterrupted stories, share authentically, and share truthful stories from their life,” said Julia Gagliardi, a storytelling mentor and one of the founding members of Our Story at Fordham.

Before the student storytellers spoke, the audience was urged to leave their expectations at the door, suspend judgment, and, most importantly, observe deep confidentiality. The evening event was designed to provide a safe space, with story “details lingering only in our hearts and minds—not be shared after the event,” explained Carey Weiss, director of sustainability initiatives and social innovation.

The theme of the evening was “Caught off Guard.” Students told stories about when they had felt surprised, uncertain, terrified, and/or transformed. The storytellers candidly reflected on their personal struggles, past relationships, and the lessons they learned.

One of them mentioned that last summer, she watched the Pixar movie Inside Out five times. It taught her something special:

“It’s okay to be sad. These feelings—the hard feelings that no one wants to confront, of sadness, fear, anger, disgust—no one talks about those, but those are very, very real parts of life that you need to make you who you are,” said Shelby Daniel, FCRH ’20, a journalism major.

At the end of the night, students were asked to reflect on what they had just heard, summarize their feelings in one or two words on a Post-it, and stick the notes on a wall in the back of the room. By 8 p.m., more than 100 colorful squares covered the wall. Students had scribbled dozens of words: uplifting, touched, humbling, self-aware, affirmed, emotionally spent. One person wrote the word “catharsis,” surrounded by a heart. “Everyone has the strength, even if they don’t say it,” said another.  

“Them making themselves vulnerable in front of so many people, and sharing those personal parts about themselves—things you would never really know about them from a normal conversation or a normal pass by—definitely hits a nerve,” said Max Lynch, GABELLI ’19, who has worked with the Social Innovation Collaboratory since his first year at Fordham.

Abby Monaco, FCRH ’21, said she teared up throughout the evening.

“In some form, in some way, all of the speakers connected to each of us,” said Monaco. “Every one of their stories—I felt something similar had occurred in my life, or something I knew happened in somebody else’s.”

This spring semester, the Social Innovation Collaboratory plans on hosting another storytelling session.

“Storytelling is a critical piece of changemaking,” concluded Rosemary McCormack, a storytelling mentor and founding member of the Our Story team, in her closing speech. “It’s not just something that we should do once a semester. Stories can create much larger impact on our society as a whole.”

Everyone has a story to tell.

That was the message of the Social Innovation Collaboratory’s first-ever Our Story event. The storytelling event, held on Nov. 15 at the Rose Hill campus, gave five Fordham students a unique opportunity to share powerful stories about their lives in a safe, empathetic, and empowering environment.

“I think that we can be so accustomed to putting our own perspectives outward that we don’t take the time to genuinely listen to someone else’s perspectives,” said social entrepreneur Charlotte Vitak, the founder of the public storytelling initiative, My Story. Vitak worked with the Fordham Social Innovation team to organize their own storytelling event. “It’s a moment to kind of sit back and reflect.”

The personal stories were as diverse as they were thought-provoking: One student shared her experience struggling to find herself as a refugee while another student recounted a family tragedy that helped him to explore the healing power of forgiveness.

Sally Brander, a Fordham College at Rose Hill sophomore, shared her experiences as a Korean American adoptee grappling with the pressures of exceptionalism.

“It’s natural to think that someone may be better than you, but I don’t think [exceptionalism]should be a constant pressure,” she said. “In the same way that I can be an incredible person, I also give myself permission to be average.”

For Sheron Cyrus, a U.S. Army veteran and senior at the School of Professional and Continuing Studies (PCS), sharing his experiences with PTSD was therapeutic.

“There are a lot of people coming back from conflict zones that need help,” he said. “Mental health is a part of total health so it’s an ongoing battle.”

At the end of the event, students were asked to write down words on a Post-it note that described their impressions of the event and what they gained from hearing each other’s stories. They then posted their notes on a wall in the back of the room.

Joe Zoyhofski, a Gabelli School first-year student, wrote down the word, “awareness.”

“I probably crossed paths with many of these people, and I would have never imagined that they were struggling with so much,” he said.

Carey Weiss, director of sustainability initiatives and social innovation, said the goal of Our Story was to create empathy and solidarity in the Fordham community, especially in moments when students face setbacks or become overwhelmed by college life.

“As we try to create a diverse and inclusive environment for students, events like this help us to create a bridge and connect on a deeper level.”