By Joe Vitale
Taylor poses on Edward’s Parade, admitting she will miss the Fordham campus most. Kellyn Simpkins/The Fordham Ram
When the weather turned warm and New York City’s streets finally cleared of snow, Taylor Panico, FCRH ’15, did what few New Yorkers did: along with a friend — Ali Bonamico, FCRH ’15, — she walked from the north to the south end of Manhattan. Traversing the island, which is 13.4 miles long, was on her bucket list, and it took her on five-hour journey heading south on Broadway.
Just one thing on a long bucket list (a city scavenger hunt, ride the ram), the trip is perhaps more symbolic of the type of person Taylor is. She accepts a challenge wholeheartedly and never takes no for answer. She is someone who doesn’t just talk the talk, but walks the walk.
A brown-haired, brown-eyed girl who radiates energy, Taylor is a communications and media studies major and a psychology minor at Fordham. Some of her internships have been the rare kind most students are jealous to hear about. She has worked as a production intern for VH1 and as a social media intern at “The Bill Cunningham Show.”
“The Wendy Williams Show,” however, remains her favorite.
“Wendy made sure the working environment was fun and everyone got along,” Taylor said. “Even though I’d have to wake up at 4:30 [a.m.] to be there, the day went so fast.”
The quick pace of the live program made the day move by quickly, she said, calling it one of her favorite Fordham experiences.
Taylor also chose a fascinating place for her study abroad trip, living in Sydney, Australia for a full semester.
“Nobody really realizes how huge Australia is,” she said of the country. “Usually study abroad programs are about seeing a lot of countries, but Australia was so big it was fun to really get to know the country as best as we could.”
While studying there, she took courses on media law and ethics, brain and behavior and educational psychology.
Of Cuban and Italian descent, Panico grew up in Dix Hills, New York. Her favorite artists include Billy Joel, The Strokes, old school Usher, Trey Songz and T-Pain (her nickname to some).
Currently the vice president of Salice-Conley for the Residence Halls Association (RHA), Panico has served Fordham residents for the past two years on RHA and as a leader for New Student Orientation.
She also is a participant in Global Outreach and a member of the program’s GO! San Diego team.
“I was really happy to get to meet everyone on the team,” Taylor said of her GO! team, which traveled to California during spring break. “I hadn’t known anyone on the team but it was really cool to make connections with people I would never have met before I graduated.”
“The project itself was very eye-opening as well,” she added about the trip. “Thinking about a bunch of different issues and being a more aware person on campus can be a great experience.”
Though her involvement on campus makes her a pretty popular figure on campus, Taylor says that not everybody knows everything about her.
He laugh is contagious and her smile glows, but Taylor admits, like most people, she can be shy when around new people. “People see me as energetic, but I can be shy,” she said. “I am a pretty shy person, but definitely ambitious.”
With her Fordham career drawing to a close, Taylor has plenty of advice worth hearing.
First, she says, have more than one group of friends. “It’s one of your last chances to know a lot of people, so take advantage of it,” she says. Second, she says, “get involved early and block your schedule so you have time to do other things.”
Looking back on Fordham, Taylor admits that she will miss the people on campus most of all.
“So many of them just care about so many things,” she said, “and I really like that I have been involved because it has helped me appreciate the community.”
