For the Class of 2013, the arrival of May 18, graduation day, is bittersweet as graduation always is. After all, four years were spent looking forward to ‘the real world,’ to finally being done with school. Now, it seems, all one can do is look back. It was only four years ago that the Rose Hill Campus seemed entirely confusing: Why do we have two libraries? Is FMH really not on the campus? Why is there a “Beer Cave” in that Dunkin’ Donuts?
In time, Fordham became as familiar and welcoming as all of its students know it truly is, making it all the more difficult to leave.
“I can’t believe how fast graduation crept up,” Brendan O’Grady, GSB ‘13, said. “It’s very exciting but also a bit scary. It’s going to be sad leaving Fordham, but hopefully I can stay involved with the school.”
There are those, however, for whom graduation day is not so bitter: those who are footing the bill for that rather pricey diploma that members of the Class of 2013 will be (hopefully) handed within the next few weeks. Rest easy, parents (or impressively independent students), because the Fordham insignia emblazoned on that expensive degree four years in the making undeniably connects its recipient with Fordham University, both in name and in reputation.
For O’Grady, that reputation, along with four years of hard work, helped to set him up for an impressive post-college career, one that he will begin in the Technology Advisor Program of Ernst & Young’s Financial Services Office in Times Square. He gives Fordham a lot of credit for providing and preparing him for a career with such a prestigious company, and hopes to pursue his MBA at Lincoln Center sometime in the near future.
“I think Fordham prepared me well for the human side of work, if you will,” O’Grady said. “All the networking opportunities, especially the informal ones, along with everything else that comes with going to school in New York, prepared me to chat with colleagues and build a working relationship with them, even outside the office.”
Of course, O’Grady is no stranger to the world of finance. He has been working as an intern with LEXCO Wealth Management, in Tarrytown, N.Y., for about two and a half years.
Having experience, even minimal experience, in the field of work a student wishes to pursue is a definite advantage when putting together a résumé, something to which communication major Madyson Spano, FCRH ‘13, is a testament. She interned with QWASI, Inc., a company that offers solutions for SoLoMo marketing, this past year and was subsequently offered a job with the same company.
Students should not worry, however, if they have been unable to land an internship. David Shapir, GSB ‘13, is a perfect example of how a successful career is a very reachable reality without internship experience. David worked as a server and bartender for two years, and for the latter half of his time at Fordham was employed as a Licensed Real Estate Salesperson with Town Residential in the Financial District.
“My experience working in the hospitality industry taught me how to multitask and communicate with people, which helped me immensely during my interview process earlier this year,” Shapir said. “I was able to implement the material I learned in GSB by marketing myself and building my own brand.”
Whether due to his experience working with Town Residential, or the skill-set he acquired through the Gabelli School of Business, Shapir managed to market himself as an appealing enough prospect to attract the attention of the Corporate Services and Real Estate division of financial powerhouse Goldman Sachs. Despite this impressive career path, Shapir, like O’Grady, intends to work towards his MBA or Series 7 Certificate in the future.
For those soon-to-be graduates who do not necessarily find themselves in the same situation, do not fret — there is most definitely a long road ahead, one which Fordham University prepared you well to traverse. As those Fordham laundry bags say, “Once a Ram, always a Ram.”
