Spring Break

Greetings from Punta Cana!

Fordham's Spring Break has begun and the masses have left campus and gone to many different destinations in the world. This year I decided to have a “typical” college Spring Break trip with some of my friends to La Republica Dominicana. We flew out of JFK on Saturday morning in the rain and wind right before the big storm hit the Northeast. After a bumpy ride, we landed in 85 degree weather with no clouds in sight. This has been an incredibly relaxing vacation, something that I needed!

While my group headed to the DR, there were a bunch of different groups who gave up their Spring Break to participate in a Global Outreach (GO!) project. About six different groups traveled as far as Guatemala and Ecuador, and as close as Nashville, TN to culturally immerse themselves with the people of the region and perhaps lend a helping hand to those who want it. I've been on two Global Outreach trips in the past (Kentucky and Alaska) and they have both been a wonderful experience that I will not soon forget. For more information, please check out their website!

Still others find themselves across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The College of Business Administration is currently conducting two mini Study Abroad trips to Paris, France and Beijing, China. The Paris trip was open to anyone in CBA that was interested in attending. The Beijing trip was open only to student in the Global Business Honors Program (GBHP). GBHP began three years ago as the CBA Honors program. For more information, check out the CBA website.

Well, that’s all for now. Hopefully, I will have some pictures for you all by the end of my trip.

Hasta luego amigos!

Benefit Week

Hello everyone!

It's been a while since I've written on the blog because I've been caught up with Benefit Week 2010 (BW2010).

RHA created this week a few years ago to raise money for a number of charities benefiting different needs through a number of events that students would find fun and entertaining.  This year we donated money to Incarnation Childrens Center, Parents of ANGELS, POTS, Hope Lodge, Operation Shoebox, and Haiti Relief.

The week started out with a awesome volleyball tournament with prizes generously donated by our local Applebees.  We also had a Poker Tournament, a Battle of the Bands, a Wine and Beer Tasting, a video game tournament, and a huge auction.

We are very excited to report that during the Haiti Relief Auction, we were able to rasie an astounding $14,244 for Haiti relief.

Benefit Week as a whole raised a combined total of $18,285 for the charities.  Over 600 students attended and contributed.  The week was, to say the least, a wild success.

Benefit Week

Today marked the first day of Benefit Week 2010 (BW2010). Benefit Week is an annual week of events that raises money for various charities. It is run by the Residence Halls Association (RHA), the student government for the residence halls. BW2010 is being chaired by Marisela Sigona, the Executive VP of RHA.

Below is a list of events that will be taking place this week:

BENEFIT WEEK 2010

Saturday, February 20th - Volleyball Tournament - Lombardi Fieldhouse - 6PM
(Benefits Incarnation Children's Center)

Monday, February 22nd - Battle of the Bands - Ramskeller (McGinley) - 8PM
(Benefits Operation Shoebox)

Tuesday, February 23rd - Benefit Poker Tournament - O'Keefe Commons - 6PM
(Benefits Parents of ANGELS)

Thursday, February 25th - Video Game Tournament - Ramskeller (McGinley) - 4:30PM
(Benefits POTS [Part of the Solution])

Thursday, February 25th - Wine and Beer Tasting - Tognino Hall - 9PM
(Benefits New York Hope Lodge)

Friday, February 26th - The 16th Annual Benefit Auction - O'Keefe Commons - 7PM

(Benefits Haiti Relief Funds: Jesuit Refugee Service and Catholic Relief Services)

This week of event have always been very popular among students. Last year, the events raised over $13,000. I will give update throughout the week on the total amount of money that has been raised each day and perhaps a few pictures of the events as well.

Till next time.

New Halls!

Two days ago, I got a first hand look at the construction of the two new residence halls at Fordham: Campbell Hall and Salice-Conley Hall. We were filming a new promotional video for the halls that will soon appear on the ResLife website: www.fordham.edu/resliferh

The construction is set for completion this summer and it will have new residents starting in August. I took a few pictures of the progress of the construction.

The halls will contain several different types of rooms. They are all apartment style living for Juniors and Seniors. Each apartment will have two doubles (four person suite), three doubles (six person suite), four singles (four person suite), or five singles (five person suite). Each apartment will have a common space complete with furniture, a fully functional kitchen with a microwave and a dishwasher (something no other building has on campus), bedrooms with beds, armoires, and desks for each person in the room, bathrooms, and the ability to control the climate.

I’ve been on the planning committee for these buildings and I have to say they are pretty cool. We are going centering the focus of the buildings on the fact that many seniors have internships. Some cool initiatives include a dry cleaning pick up and delivery service and free coffee when people are leaving for work on a big internship day.

NACA

Good afternoon everyone!

Today I am heading to Boston with a group of 17 students for a conference called NACA (National Association of Campus Activities). One of the things that I have loved about being involved at Fordham is that there are a lot of opportunities to attend conference all over the country.

NACA is a chance for students involved with the large programming organizations on campus, (RHA – Residence Halls Association; CSA – Commuting Students Association; CAB – Campus Activities Board), to attend showcases of performers who are looking to perform at colleges. This is my second time going to NACA as I am the President of RHA.

Look out for more updates about NACA next week.

Snow Pictures

Here are a couple shots of the campus when it snows. As predicted, at 3PM yesterday there was a large scale snowball fight, as well as the creation of large snowman and igloos. Check it out!

Happy Snow Day!

Happy Snow Day! The snow is coming down at Fordham today and all of our campuses are closed.

Fordham is so unbelieveably beautiful when it snows. I just took this picture on my phone from my room in Walsh Hall. Later today, once it stops snowing, I will take a better picture and upload it to here.

Edwards' Parade, our green oasis in the center of campus, is completely snow-covered and there have already been three large scale snowball fights starting at noon. I hear that at 3 today there will be an effort to build igloos and giant snowmen. If I happen to find myself outside, I will upload some more pictures for you.

Until later, have a great snow day!

Welcome!

Hello!

Welcome to my Fordham University blog for the Admissions Department/Rose Hill Society. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Mike and I am a senior in the College of Business Administration, majoring in Marketing. I am originally from Philadelphia and went to St. Joseph's Prep, the Jesuit high school in Philadelphia.

Why should you read this blog?

Well, hopefully this blog will give you a look into the life of a very actively involved Fordham student. There is a lot of things happening all over the place at Fordham and I want to share some of the exciting things that I do both at Fordham and New York with you so that you can get a better sense of whether Fordham is the right place for you.

What are you involved with on campus?

I am is currently serving my second term as Executive President of the Residence Halls Association (RHA), the student government for the residence halls. I am a member of the Rose Hill Society, the Fordham Retreat Team, and I recently completed a year as an Orientation Coordinator for the 2009 New Student Orientation program. I'm also the student chair of the National Jesuit Student Leadership Conference that will be held this summer at Fordham.

How often will this blog be updated?

About once a week. Perhaps more if something really really interesting happens.

Ok, well I'm off to my 1PM class. Until later.