We are excited to announce Volume I, Issue I of the Service and Social Justice Newsletter.
We hope you all enjoy reading about some of the great Service and Social Justice work that’s going on in Honors and at Fordham.
Many thanks to our SSJ Committee Chairs, Katie DeFonzo and Olivia Jones, for their work on the newsletter!
Click the link below for the Newsletter:
Author: Santiago Sordo Palacios
With support from the Honors Program, I recently attended a symposium at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service; titled “Venezuela: Charting the Future,” the symposium brought together scholars, policymakers, business leaders, and civil leaders to discuss how the United States, Latin America, and the global community can facilitate economic growth, social peace, and political stability in Venezuela.
I applied for an Honors Ambassadorial Grant to attend the symposium to support work on my senior thesis, which uses a game theoretical model of political survival to understand why chavismo (the political movement founded by former president Hugo Chavez) has survived in Venezuela since 1999. The purpose of my project is to identify the equilibrium levels of taxation, private goods, and public goods that Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro have selected throughout their presidencies.
As a mathematics and economics joint major, I was prepared to work with the model. However, I did not have the necessary background in Latin American economics and political theory to apply it. Fortunately, at the symposium, I learned about potential data sources, key economic and political developments in Venezuela, and I networked with the panelists.
I thank the Honors Program for awarding me an Ambassadorial Grant and Dr. Barbara Stolz, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, whom I met through the Honors Alumni Network, for inviting me to attend the symposium.
Author: Megan Schaffner
Bernadette Haig is a Rose Hill Honors senior with a double major in Engineering Physics and Classical Civilizations. A woman of motivated curiosity with a clear love of learning, Bernadette has participated in many research projects in different areas of physics, while also studying Latin, Greek, and the ancient world. I had the opportunity to speak with Bernadette about her double major, her experiences inside and outside of Honors, and her plans for after graduation.
Continue reading for an in-depth interview with Bernadette!
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M: What made you decide to pursue a double major?
B: What really got me into the Classics major was the Honors Program. Professor McGowan taught my first class in the Honors Program at 9:30 in the morning in Alpha House, Ancient Lit, and he just so clearly loved what he was teaching; that was probably one of my favorite [classes.] He said that I should consider a minor in classics and I thought, “Well, why not!” So I started taking a couple classes. Second semester freshman year I took Roman Art down at the Lincoln Center and loved it, and then sophomore year rolled around and I took a couple of classes in Latin and thought, “Wow this is amazing, I’m going to keep taking this!” The classes started to add up and I had wanted to take Greek too because it was just on this strange bucket list of things I want to do over the course of my life – learn a little bit of Latin and Greek. By the time I got into junior year, I started Greek, kept taking Latin, and took the study abroad class Ancient Roman Cities. At that point, my advisor told me I was close to finishing a major so I decided to complete the requirements.
It’s been a lot of fun; it’s something different. Obviously I adore physics, that’s what I’ll be doing with my life I hope, and I will probably never come back to this again in a concrete way. But I’ve just so enjoyed it — tackling ancient texts just for the purpose of doing so.
M: What is your favorite thing about the Honors Program?
B: I would say my favorite thing about Honors as a whole is the breadth of the curriculum because I’ve been exposed to things in Honors that I know for a fact I would never have taken on my own. Even first semester taking art history, art was so not my thing, but the more we started to be in the class and learn about what art history really was, the more I started to love how peoples’ cultures are reflected through their art – their values, their customs – and how much you could learn from reading art if you knew what you were doing. But I never would have taken that on my own, and [the same goes for] the few philosophy classes that I’ve taken through the Honors program – not that I don’t find them interesting, but as a physics major I probably never would have taken [these classes] on my own if I didn’t have to.
What I also love is the critical environment. If you blurt something out in a seminar class, you better be ready to defend it. You can’t have a half-formed opinion, which is kind of frustrating but also for me I’ve found that it forces me to have really fleshed out ideas, and that has carried over even outside of the Honors Program. I find myself wanting to really engage with my own opinions critically, and this is something that I’ve really found to be beneficial.
M: What was your favorite internship/research project you did during your time at Fordham or one that taught you a lot?
B: The two major projects that come to mind are the ones that I’ve done this past summer and then the summer before. The summer before my junior year I was here at Fordham doing research in the physics department and we were using Raman spectroscopy to look at cancerous tissue compared to healthy tissue to see if the signature looks different in healthy tissue as opposed to cancerous tissue. We were working with Mt. Sinai Hospital in Manhattan and they essentially gave us people’s cancers to study. They wanted to include the project that we were developing into a surgical robot so that if they were going to do robotic surgery, they could check to see that the margins were clear to make sure they removed all the cancer, and do that without excising the tissue and sending it to the lab; they have to do that all while the patient is still under anesthesia and it takes about 45 minutes. So we developed a new probe that was much more precise than some of the other [tools] that my professor had worked with in the past. That was really exciting because this was my first experience with “real” research, working on something that was going to matter. Our research is going to be published in a journal called Review of Scientific Instruments and so the probe that we developed is really the focus of the research so that will be really cool; I don’t know when it will be published but it is still really exciting.
This past summer I was doing completely different work out at the Fermilab in the Chicago area. It’s a particle physics lab and I was working on a piece of equipment in their neutrino beam line that was malfunctioning. Basically I got there and they said to me, “Your project for the summer is going to be to figure out why this thing is not working and what we should do about it.” It was a really cool project and I got a lot of training and got to go down into the ground 300 feet underground to work on this piece of equipment. In order to look at it and install what we needed I had to take a huge elevator down and it was really exciting but also very frustrating because I had to deal with a lot of real workplace issues, like my supervisor was not the most helpful person and would sometimes disappear or did not know the project very well because he was new to the department. Everyone was very nice and it was a great place to work because of the general atmosphere, but I did encounter a lot of those logistical issues. I would say that those taught me a lot about working in general outside of academia, which was again really frustrating but really cool.
Neither of those projects are in fields that I will be going into, so it has been neat to do research that’s a little outside of where I want to go because I will probably never get that chance again.
M: How do you think Honors has influenced your opportunities and decisions throughout college? Is there anything that you learned in Honors (information or a skill) that you have seen specifically come into play in your non-Honors/work experiences thus far?
B: I would say the critical thinking has been the biggest chance that I’ve seen in myself in terms of when I evaluate myself as a student. Being more critical about the information that I’m hearing or the things that I’m working on, and not just accepting things at face value and if I have an opinion formulating it really carefully and making sure that it’s something that I really do believe as opposed to something I’ve just always assumed.
I don’t know if I’ll ever come back to all of the interests that I’ve developed through Honors, but like I said about Classics, it’s been really great to just do something for the fun of it. I’ll probably never come back to Latin or Greek, which on the one hand is kind of sad, but on the other hand has been really, really neat. I feel like that has made me a more curious person. The fact that I have been exposed to all of these different things and found them very interesting everywhere I’ve gone has made me more inclined to try new things. I knew coming into college I wanted a broader undergraduate experience and that I wanted to be exposed to things outside of my own field and so Honors has honestly been perfect for me – it’s everything I could have ever wanted out of a college experience.
M: What are you looking forward to? What are your plans for after graduation?
B: I’m going to graduate school for a Masters degree in aerospace engineering and right now the best offer on the table is Stanford – I’m still waiting to hear back from a couple of other schools but I’ll be going out to visit Stanford next week and they have a lot of cool projects going on there. They have an aerospace robotics laboratory, which is everything I could have ever wanted; it has my name written all over it. But like I said, I’m still waiting on a couple of other schools so I just want to evaluate all my options and go out and visit to see the environment and make my decision based upon those factors also.
There are certain things that I’m a little worried about leaving Fordham — I’m really involved with Campus Ministry and I have experienced so much personal spiritual growth through that ministry so I’m a little concerned about what will happen to that part of me when I leave Fordham. I will obviously miss Fordham a lot; it’s been such a great place for me and has ended up being exactly the place I needed to be. I’m sure I won’t be gone for good!
Santiago is a Mathematics-Economics major from Chicago, Illinois. He will be working as an Associate Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago after graduating in May. His Honors Senior Thesis explores whether there is a game theoretical model to explain political instability in Venezuela under Hugo Chávez.
Why Fordham/Why Honors?
Santiago chose Fordham because he was attracted to the Jesuit mission of the school, and because of two excellent campus visits. (On one visit, even though Fordham was closed, an admissions officer set Santiago up with a private tour of campus.) Santiago was excited to be invited to join the Honors Program because he knew its community and the experience of its curriculum would enrich his time in college. And they have!
Favorite Honors Class
Santiago’s favorite honors class was Religion in the Modern World with Dr. Kathryn Reklis. Analyzing what religion means in the modern world challenged his assumptions and pushed him to think in ways he considers “eye-opening.” Santiago believes that this analytic approach has helped him think more critically in his major classes, too. He seeks to assess, not merely accept, what he’s taught.
Other College Involvement
One of Santiago’s favorite extracurricular activities has been leading Fordham’s retreats. During these weekend trips, he’s been able to interact on a spiritual level with different kinds of people with whom he shares classes and a social life, and this, he feels, has both enriched and expanded his Fordham experience.
Feelings about Moving On
While Santiago will miss New York City, he is excited to be moving to his hometown and starting an engaging job with the knowledge that he is leaving college with a really strong and diverse set of skills. The strong liberal arts background of Fordham Honors will bolster his economics and mathematics skills, and he feels confident he’ll be able to apply all of this in his new job and professional future in Economic policy or research.
**This is the final post in a series of four posts written by the summer 2017 Honors internship fellows. The students received a stipend that enabled them to work at non-profit organizations for the common good.**
Author: Paul Samson
It’s been said that the “dirty little secret” of Fordham’s Rose Hill Honors students is that they love to learn—not just in class, but on summer vacation, as well. After the Honors Program graciously granted me the Summer Fellowship, I had the funds to further cultivate my love for learning alongside some of America’s top policy experts at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) in Washington, D.C. Given my previous summers of retail experience, the opportunity to intern at one of America’s top think tanks was an invaluable opportunity that I could not deny.
As an intern in AEI’s development department, I gained knowledge about the donor base fundraising methods, managerial structure, and finances of the non-profit institute. While my responsibilities alone granted me research, computer, and analytical skills, I also had the opportunity to attend weekly intern-only meetings as well as public events with United States Senators, diplomats, and scholars.
Whenever I told my peers and family members that I was venturing to “the District” for the summer, they would tell me something along the lines of, “Brace yourself. Weather-wise, those D.C. summers are intense.” What resonates now, however, is not my constant dehydration in the blistering swamp heat, but my memories of learning and personal development. My conversations with interns and senior scholars constantly challenged me to reevaluate my opinions on public policy. I am beyond grateful to have received the Honors Summer Internship Fellowship, and my experience sparked a desire to further expand my policy knowledge and to promote civil discourse worldwide.
**This is the third in a series of four posts written by the summer 2017 Honors internship fellows. The students received a stipend that enabled them to work at non-profit organizations for the common good.**
I am honored and extremely grateful to be an inaugural recipient of the Honors Fellowship. This new program is another indication of the commitment of Fordham and the honors program to supporting the intellectual and professional endeavors of their students. The fellowship enabled me to live and work abroad in Panajachel, Guatemala as the Community Outreach Intern at Mercado Global. Mercado Global is a non-profit that is dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty for indigenous artisans in rural Guatemala.
My work entailed keeping track of the donations and fundraising efforts of our network and facilitating donor visits to our office in Guatemala. The most interesting aspect was being a part of the company’s biannual Social Impact Assessment. With the help of local interviewers, the company gathered data on their 200 artisan partners. I learned the demographics of their artisans and witnessed a process that enabled the company to better support the women in the future. I then was able to use this information and other interviews I collected to create a research project about the effectiveness of social enterprises in the lives of indigenous artisans. As a result of this fellowship I was able to live abroad, develop my foreign language skills and learn a significant amount about nonprofit management and the value of research.
**This is the second in a series of four posts written by the summer 2017 Honors internship fellows. The students received a stipend that enabled them to work at non-profit organizations for the common good.**
Author: Lily Patterson
This summer I had the joy and privilege of working at a non profit organization called charity: water as a Water Programs Intern. charity: water works, through fundraising and implementation of those funds, to bring clean water to people in rural areas all over the world.
The Water Programs team is responsible for working with local partners in the field and ensuring that each donor dollar is used to promote the mission of the organization. I was given incredible opportunities to sit in on phone calls with potential new partners and complete many other tasks that normally would not be given to interns.
I had worked at charity: water during my junior year in a different capacity than this summer, and while I grew to love c:w I had not been as passionate about my previous work. I had been looking for a way to come back to c:w in a more exciting role, but it did not make sense for me to work as an unemployed intern in New York during the summer, so I had ruled that out. For me, the Honors Summer Internship Fellowship came at the perfect time. When I saw the email from Dr. Keller in my inbox I jumped at the opportunity. I would not have been able to have the experience this summer that I did and be so confident in my desire to work in the nonprofit sector if not for the Honors Fellowship, and I am so so grateful.
**This is the first in a series of four posts written by the summer 2017 Honors internship fellows. The students received a stipend that enabled them to work at non-profit organizations for the common good.**
Author: Olivia Jones, junior
This summer, I was proud to receive the Honors Summer Internship Fellowship. The fellowship was an incredible opportunity for me, since it allowed me to pursue my dream of working at a nonprofit organization. Many nonprofits only offer unpaid internships, so the fellowship was crucial to my being able to accept the position.
I interned with the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), an international association of reproductive health care professionals, including researchers, practitioners, and clinic administrators. During my internship, I worked with the Education and Training Department to prepare educational materials for dissemination and prepare for their annual conference. I spent much of my summer reviewing presentations that doctors has submitted to present at the conference, so I learned a lot about medical writing and terminology.
As an EMT with Fordham University Emergency Medical Services, I’m familiar with patient care, but less familiar with all the work that goes on behind the scenes in the medical field. This internship allowed me to explore possible careers in medicine that wouldn’t necessarily be hands-on. I’m excited to continue exploring new career fields as I continue my time at Fordham, and none of this would have been possible without the support of the Honors Program.
The Honors Program had a strong presence at the Fordham College Rose Hill 2017 Undergraduate Research Symposium. Honors students from sciences, humanities, and social sciences gave oral presentations and presented posters on their research.
For example, in an oral presentation panel focused on cancer research at Fordham, two of the three presenters were honors students: senior Carolyn Allain (chemistry) and junior Bernadette Haig (physics). Carolyn presented on the angiogenic implications of mutant adenoviral E4ORF1, and Bernadette on innovative Raman spectroscopy for diagnosing head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Honors students spoke in other oral presentation rooms as well, on topics as various as refugee resettlement in upstate New York, Italian silent cinema, and historical trends in the United Mineworkers of America.
Besides oral presentations, there were also poster presentations at the event. Honors students were highly visible here as well. From a project on counter-terrorism through deep learning to drug delivery vehicles for cancer inhibition, honors student research from this past year was both prominent and exciting. We can’t wait to see what research honors students work on this coming year!
The Honors Program hosted a lively alumni reception at the Lincoln Center campus at the beginning of March, to which we were excited to welcome 60+ alumni from class years 1957 through 2016. The alumni enjoyed drinks and hors d’oeuvres while mingling with classmates and honors students from different decades, as well as honors professors, Dean Maura Mast, the Dean of Fordham College, and Dr. Eve Keller, the Director of the Honors Program.
The event also included a welcome from Dean Mast, some words on the current program from Dr. Keller, and highlighted accomplishments and experiences in honors from current students—accomplishments ranged from being recognized for work towards women’s equality at an event where the student met Joe Biden, to being admitted to Columbia medical school. The event was a joyful one for alumni to reconnect with old friends and learn about the honors program in 2017. We’re looking forward to hosting more fun alumni events in the future.
