“I like to be the first to admit that I’m a workaholic” is how Liam Leahy, FCRH ’22, begins his interview. He’s not wrong: Leahy is pursuing a variety of academic interests and is involved with multiple organizations on campus. It’s impossible to walk across campus with Leahy without him greeting someone that he knows.
Leahy is double-majoring in English and economics and double-minoring in computer science and comparative literature. These may seem like a jumble of random interests, but Leahy brings passion to each subject. He said that his love of analysis and problem solving has led to his interest in computer science and economics, while his deep love for literature and creative writing led him to study English and comparative literature.
In addition to his diverse academic pursuits, Leahy is a senator in United Student Government (USG). His drive to become a senator stems from his personal goal of “making Fordham a better place.”
The quarantine has not slowed Leahy’s work in USG; actually, it has driven him to work harder.
“I’ve taken the time to redouble my efforts,” he said. “Especially now that I’m not torn between as many extracurriculars.”
In the past month, Leahy has written statements seeking transparency from the university on a range of topics, such as the pass/fail option, the status of residence halls and the issues surrounding student course registration.
Leahy will not be returning to USG this upcoming fall, but he plans to stay involved in making changes to the Fordham community.
“I’m still planning on working towards initiatives and writing proposals for administration on behalf of the student body,” Leahy said.
This past year, Leahy was also the communications director of the Residence Halls Association (RHA). He’ll have to give up this position next fall, as he’s becoming a Resident Assistant (RA).
Leahy is ecstatic about becoming an RA, particularly for the West Wing integrated learning community that he’s lived in for the past year.
“My hope is that as an RA next year, I can make a community where my residents can feel as welcome as I did,” he said.
Once again, Leahy wants to use his position as an RA to better the Fordham community and help students.
“Nothing really beats the support that you can get from your RA,” he said.
He remembered his freshman year RA, Mike Rinaldi, GSB ’20, helping him feel more at home when he first came to college. Though Leahy will be an RA for mostly sophomores, he too wants to help students feel at home at Fordham.
He also looks forward to creating his own programming — something that originally drew him to RHA — for his residents. Leahy declined to share his program idea, saying only “no spoilers.”
This past semester, Leahy started his own small business, Calamity Cookies, which was featured in the Ram a few issues back. He sells fortune cookies with “misfortunes” inside — for example, “A good feeling you have will soon pass.” Leahy brainstorms the misfortunes, maintains the website and manages the company’s social media presence. Unfortunately, the coronavirus has put his business on pause.
As if this is all not enough, Leahy is looking to start his own club at Fordham. He explained his plans for founding the Fordham Political Union, a club for “nonpartisan discussion of contemporary political issues.” He said that he is seeking to fill a gap he sees at Fordham.
“We’re missing a center where people can honestly discuss these political issues,” he said.
With the current quarantine in place, Leahy returned to his hometown of Philadelphia, where he lives with his grandmother. He’s weathering his time at home pretty well. Leahy has remained involved in USG through the quarantine, and he has also taken the time to relax.
Relaxing, for Leahy, means a lot of different things: playing video games with his friends, making beats and watching YouTube videos. His recent views have covered everything from management consulting to surreal memes, from music theory to Pokémon. Leahy’s “strangely diverse” taste has drawn him towards many passions, and he has pursued all of them head-on.
