By Elizabeth Doty

Senior Claire Bailey looks back at her time at Fordham as her final year begins (Courtesy of Claire Bailey).

As the first semester gets underway, it is easy to find oneself lost in the shuffle, ordering textbooks or spending the last few glimpses of summer weather walking around the city and avoiding the library for as long as one can. Claire Bailey, FCRH ’18, is heading into the semester with the mindset of the year being “the last leg of the race to graduation,” as she is focusing “less on the stress of assignments and work shifts, and more on the easy enjoyment I get from my classes, internship and job.”

Bailey began her time four years ago at Fordham as a pre-health student, and now finds herself as a double psychology and humanitarian studies major. This 21-year-old Syracuse native is very active around campus driving Ram Van, working with Partners in Health Engage and promoting recruitment for the U.S. Peace Corps as a campus ambassador. Further, Bailey participated in a medical service trip to Guatemala this past summer with the non-profit organization International Samaritan (IS), and will be interning with that same organization this fall semester.

About a year ago, Bailey learned of IS via a Fordham alumnus who is currently the medical coordinator. What struck her most about IS as an organization was how it focuses primarily on working with populations living in garbage dumps, who are extremely adaptable to poor living conditions. Since then, the Rose Hill senior has worked closely with IS to get a chapter off the ground at Fordham. Motivated by her experience in Guatemala, Bailey is “excited to now share this opportunity on campus and improve future medical missions given our accomplishments from this summer.” Recounting the work done so far with the organization, Bailey stated that the biggest success came at the end of last year upon “recruiting student volunteers for two summer medical missions, one to Guatemala and another to Nicaragua,” which worked out for the better. Bailey encourages interested students to contact fordham@intsam.org

When off-the-clock from Ram Van and other academic or professional commitments, Bailey finds herself in Manhattan. Whether it is biking around or visiting an art museum, she loves the “unrushed feeling of exploring new spaces in the city.” Owing a lot of her success in college to pasta, Bailey also enjoys the “slow process of an off-campus student trying to cook for herself” while listening to selections of her preferred genres of indie or folk music. She emphasizes the importance of making use of whatever free time she does find, providing the advice to “one, do the things you enjoy, and two, enjoy the things you do.” While seemingly a simple mantra, Bailey admits that “there are times when I’m so caught up in my own responsibilities or things outside my control, that I need the reminder to live simply.”

All in all, Bailey described her Fordham experience as one “that has been characterized by the people I’ve met, and not just those who became my closest friends.” She is thankful for everyone who has shared this community with her and feels that her impact can never measure up to the impact our community has had on her.

Bailey is hoping to leave Fordham behind with a chapter of IS that has a permanent foothold in the university, “so that each year afterwards, Fordham students are made aware of this amazing service opportunity and mission.” She urges underclassmen and upperclassmen alike to not “be afraid of the ways that you will change in your four years, because you will definitely change.” She believes that students will look back and find the promise of change that will occur during their time here at Fordham is more exciting rather than distressing, hopeful rather than depressing and finally inspiring rather than mundane.